Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-09-11
HOTEL BEATS.
A Veteran Clerks Experiences
With Genteel Frauds.
Weli-EilIed valiscs and Their Contents
HustlinE Baggage Out of Back
Windows-The Expected
Check Dodge.

hotels leaned over his desk yesterday
afternoon and pensively regarded a
tall. rather well-dressed young man,
who had evidently just received a bluff.
The tall young man walked out of the
frontdoorandd.sap up the street.
A sympathet c reporter approached the
clerk and asked in his kindest tones
what was the matter.
''Oh, nothingmuch: justbeen euchred
aga.n by a dead-beat, that's ALL" re-
piled the gentleman. with a mournful
sigh, as he cast a savage glance at one
of the colored porters, who CHANGED to
pass by. The porter had done moth.
ing, but the clerk did not feel we'll.
Tel me all about it," said the sym-
pathetic reporter.
'Thele was nothing unusual about it.
The case was a common one. The man
came here and took 4 room. He staid
four days. and at the end of that time
had no money with which to pay his
bill. VIZ simply let him go and are
out twelve dollars"
Il suppose you hotel men have a
hard time collecting the bills of all
your guests, do YOU not:g" was asked.
Yes, we do" returned the gentle
anan, emphatically, land it keepsus con-
stantly on the lookout. Even with the
greatest care every hotel keeper has to
suffer some loss by dead-beats. A mar
can not ALWAYS be sharp enough to
checkmate their little plots"
.How many kinds of hotel dead
beats are thcre?:"
''There are many different kinds.
The commonest is the man who en-
cages BOARD and doesn't have the
money to pay for it. Usually a sleek,
selt-posscssed nan walks up to the
desk and registers his name with a
flourish. He has along with him a
wcll-filled val!se. or maybe a couple of
them. He is shown to q room, and a
porter carries up the baggage for him.
The man remains around the hotel fer
probably a week, but one day he does
not turn up for dinner. He is also alb
sent at supper. and we don't sec any,
thing more of him. Finally we go up
to his room, open the valises and find
them to contain nothing but a few old
clothes and other things not worth
moe than two dollars. The hotel, OF
course. has lost the bill, as the man is
gone and will never be seer again.
Ih $ is the rick ottenest played, and
usually meets with success.
There is another version of the bag
gage racket continued the clerk, as
he took a seat in the Office cha L. and
squared himself for a good talk. The
guest may really have with him articles
OF value VIII CHI would readily bring
more than his bill amounts to. What
h. must do is to get that baggage out
OF the house without the knowledge of
the clerks. This is the way he man
ages. On the day he wishes to leave,
he brings down his ~valises, and leaves
them in the baggage-room, which is on
the first floor. Convenient to the lobby.
This is done in the daytime, and he
tells the clerk Oh watch that he wishes
to have his baggage handy, as he has
important business to attend to, and
wi hardly get back in time to catch
the night train gong out of the G ty.
When the guest returns at m>lnightfo
his valiscS another clerk, who knows
moth ng about the arrangement, is on
watch. The man simply walks to the
check-room. picks up his v~alises, and
goes out. The baggage boy knows no
better. and the clerk very probably
doesn't see the man.
Il have often heard of men letting
Their baggage out OF Il back window
by a long rope in order to keep it from
being contiscatcd. Is that trick ever
played upon the clerks:9"
"Not ofrcn. 1t requires a confeder-
ate outs de. and Their there is too much
danger of being seen by some one
passing. On the whole, it is not safe,
as an inquisitive policeman might nab
the goods as soon as they touched the
ground. The trick has been tired on
us only two or three times. About two
years ago a fellow from st. Louis reg
istered here, and four or five nights
after a porter saw h IN gently lowering
q Big valise from a third-story window.
L was notified, and grasped the bag
gage as Don as it touched the ground.
When the man found he was caught he
offered to pay the bill if 1 would let
him go and say moth g about it. I
accepted the otler and have never seen
or heara OF the individual since.
1--WE are beaten out of board by a
great many men who don't intend any
thing dishonest when they come here"