The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1885-10-02
HOTEL BEATS.
A Veteran Clerks Experiences
With Genteel Frauds.
Well.Filled vaiises and Their Contents
HustlIng Baggage Out OF Back
Windows-The Expected
Check Dodge.

A&068e6O
Windows-The Expected
Check Dodge.
The head clerk in one of our large
hotels leaned over his desk yesterday
afternoon and pensiyely regarded {
tall, rather well-dressed young man
who had evidently just received bluff
The tall young man walked out of the
frontdoor and disappeared up the street
A sympathetic reporter approached the
clerk and asked in his kindest tones
what was the matter.
.Oh, nothingmuch; just been euchred
again by a dead-beat. that's ALL" re-
piled the gentleman. with a mournful
sigh. as he cast q 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 well.
Tel me all about it, I" said the SYM
pathetic reporter.
There was nothing unusual about it.
The case was common one. The man
came here and took 3 room He staid
four days. and at the end of that time
had no money with which to paw his
I'LL We simply let him go and are
out Twelve dollars"
4 suppose you hotel men have a
hard time collecting the bills of all
your guests, do you not?" was asked.
Yes, we do. returned the gentle
man. emphatically, land it keeps US con-
stantly on the lookout Even with the
greatest care every hotel keeper has to
suffer some loss by dead-beats. A man
can not always be sharp enough to
checkmate their little plots'
s.How many kinds of hotel dead
beats are there?'
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 sleek,
eelf-possessed man walks up to the
desk and registers his name with q
flourish. He has along with him q
well-6lIed vallse. or maybe g couple of
them. He Is shown to . room, and a
porter carries up the baggage for him.
The man remains around the hotel for
probably week. but one day he does
not turn up for dinner He is also alb
sent at supper. and we don't see any
thing moro Of him. Finally we 90 up
% his room. open the valises and find
them to contain nothing but few old
clothes and other things not worth
more than two dollars. The hotel. Of
oOufBe. has lost the bill, as the man Is
gone and will never be seen again.
Tbs Is the tt OK oftenest played, and
usually meets with success.
There is another version of the bag
gage racket continued the clerk, IS
no took seat in the Office char. and
squared himself for good talk. THE
guest may really have with him articles
Of value VII Oh would readily bring
moro than his bill amounts to. What
&c must do Is TO get that baggage out
q tne house without the knowledge Of
me clerks This is the way he man.
e&ee On the day he wishes to leave,
ne 1ring down his vslises, and leaves
nem ~ The baggage-room, which is on
see mt moor, convenient to the lobby.
HIS = done in the daytime, and he
oel!s t4e clerk on watch that he wishes
g haye his baggage handy, Is he has
important hu8neos TO attend To and
vii hardly got back in time to catch
ne night train 90 ng out Of the 4. ty.
nen TIE guest returns at midnight for
M valisee another clerk. who knows
noehIng about the arrangement, Is on
uatch. Tho man simply walks to the
eheek-room. picks up his valises. and
80 out Tho baggage boy knows no
60fHrR and Tia 49, &c. ..-ln