Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-06-02
MnemosyAe 9 A Sonnet.
BIT JoKU sAYv
Partisan Swindliue.

A Paris letter to the Philadelnbia TIL
graPs says 1t is an unfortunate fact-nn-
llrtunate for the travelling public at la-oa
mean-that Americans are nsnaIlv o. -
% submit to the swindles and extort;ons -
larslan hotei-keepers. OF course it is not
peasant "nen the trunks are packed and
the carriage Is at the door, to be called upon
70 MIS- tram in order to set right some
elmparatively triaing over-charge in the
il-t-rendered bill, and so the amount is maid
and the hotel-keeper rejoices in his success
!ai roguery. Occasionally my fellow-coun-
iry-men rebel, as In one instance that came
70 my knowledge, where lady, having
sIAled little ink on the carpet of her he'd,
rl5u- found the price of a new Garnet added
% her bill. In vain did she call attention 10
the tact that the spot was but small on
and that the carpet was but miserable
worn, threadbare concern, that could last
hlt short time longer at best. Her host
grew insulting, and talked of the police
etc.. and 50 the lady gave in and consented
% Jay. But the day she left the hotel she
walked quietly out, purchased quart bot
i.e oi INK, and, returning to her room, she
-e.uged the carpets from end to end. lyon
>lal not make tioo carpets out Of me, =" was
arr comment to the exasperated hotel-keeu-
C-- On another occasion, an American gen.
temen was compelled to pay for a large
9AIng-glass which had small crack in enc
ruer, the crack having existed when he
engaged the room, but he, being unused 10
ilc Sl.es and wiekedness of foreign inns
aAl never thought of calling attention to it.
Tie paid his bill without word, but he shat
cred the mirror into minute fragments be-
re he lef: the house.
The worst form of swindle, however. is
ilat which Is praeticed upon persons who
IKE furnished apartments in Paris. MANY
french people, and especially French wo-
men, make comfortable living by hiring
ai@rtments on long leases, furnishing them,
1ai then renting them out to foreigners
Tie price Is always sufficiently high, being
--lgrallJ twice the rent of an unfurnished
irtment OF the same size and style. One
would think that such charges would cover
8rv ordinary wear and tear OF the furniture
t-t such is not the idea of YOUR Partisan
lr'fmre. On the contrary, whenever
te tenant is about to depart, furniture
,zrsrt, armed with an inventory, takes pos
-.---on Of the premises. Every scratch,
-I-e, Or crack, every missing nail, or
-flylnc cbair-back Is set down in the bill
80 price varying from one franc to six.
L'erY piece OF china that Is nicked or de-
ilee, no matter how slightly, must be paid
fig at It's full retail value. As the furniture
never perfectly new, and as the unwary
tenant seldom or never thinks OF having an
inventory Of the cracks, holes, scratches and
pots, taken when he or she moves in, the
sane defects are generally paid for some five
NJ times over at the very least Then the
expert always receives 20 per cent on the
charges. so 1t is for his interest to run up as
.arce bill a. possible. The sums thus e1-
trted vary from 5000 to $50, according TO
tie elegance Of the furniture and the length
o.! time that the apartment has beeen occu-
ped. know Of one instance where the
lenent, by the terms OF his lease, was oblig-
10 put all the kitchen utensils in perfect
order before leaving. lie did so, and when
be came to settle, a bill of $40 for damages
10 the kitchen was rendered. where are
the damages 20 he asked the expert, in high
luiignation That individual sought high
and low in the perfectly-orgsnized room for
q single injured article Finally, in cor
aer he espied small tin-dipper, somewhat
bent and worn with use There" he cried
triumphantly, holding it up to the light.
Very good, made answer the American,
eoolly, Il paid 10 cents for that thing when
first came here, and will replace it, if you
ike, at the same price" One lady, on
hiring furnished apartment, found in one
corner of her saloon a small table covered
with red cloth, so dirty and worn that she
sent it up to a lumber room to get it out Of
the way. When she lett she was forced to
pay 81 for "soiling the table" As the
wisest Of the American correspondence
abroad once remarked to me ''You may
hire an unfinished apartment, furnish it,and
live in it for two years at the end of that
time, if You take your furniture down to the
courtyard, break it up and burn it, you will
have spent less than by living in furnished
nuarfnents.