Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-11-16
DEVICES OF DEAD.BESTS.
Some that Work and Some that Do Not
A Few Specimens.

| Odlu tHe proprietor Oh Il IeStauA ant VI tn'
vicinity of Third and K streets to re-
porter the other evening: " Well. sir, yot
would be surprised to know the number o
! lodges that are played by the dead-bea
fraternity to get ahead of those who, fol
charity's sake, endeavor to help them {
little. Occasionally citizens pay for meals
for men who seem to really appreciate ar
act of kindness, but there is a whole army
| Of fellows wandering about who are all the
time on the lookout for an opportunity tC
| beat somebody" He then related mum
| Der of instances in which Tamps had
sought TO abuse acts of kindness extended
! to them, a few of which are mentioned as
| specimens:
Quite recently rough-looking man en-.
tered the restaurant and presented an
order, signed by a wholesale merchant
which read Give the bearer 4 meal, and
charge it to me-" This order was rather
indefinite, and the bearer was shrewd
enough to catch on" He sat down at a
/ table and first ordered half-doZen fried
oysters, as a sort of appetizer. Then he
ordered plate of roast beef, several side
dishes and cup of coffee, the bill amount
ing to 40 cents, which fact he learned by a
careful perusal of the bill of fare. His
meal finished, he strobe out 10 the counter
with the air of 4 lord, and said Give me
a cigar, please, and that'll make it an even
half" The fact was explained to the gen
tleman in polite manner that meal
in that establishment did not include an
Havana cigar. He cast look of WitheT-
ing scorn and contempt upon the proprie-
tor of the place and went forth to procure,
perhaps, from another source an order for q
meal on some other establishment, where
little matters Of that kind were honored in
a more liberal spirit.
On the same day n well-known citizen
was accosted on the street by two men
who said they were hungry and broke,
and be stepped into the restaurant referred
to and told the proprietor to give them
each meal, and laid down half a dollar.
After the men had gone into the dining
room, the proprietor remarked that thirty
cents was sufficient to pay for a good meal
for both ofthem. As soon as their benefactor
stepped out the men left the table and
came to the counter, where they ordered
some beer. What on ?' demanded the
proprietor. Wa-al." said one of them. in
an insolent manner, :" we amt hungry. an
we don't want nothin' ter eat. It's all the
same to you, you got yer money, an we
want suthin to drink Well, it's not all
the same TO me-" said the proprietor.
" That gentleman paid me to give YOU
something to eat. You may sit down and
eat, but you get no drinks here" And the
two cau-canners shuflled out the door, one
of them remarking, To HI with his
grub -
A day or so afterward another hungry
man-one Of the shabby genteel sort
came in with an order from a storekeeper
near by for a two-bit meal. He sat down
and ate a hearty meal, for which he re-
ceived from the waiter a fifteen-cent check.
This he took to the counter. where the wife
of the proprietor was temporarily in charge,
and said, as blandly as he knew how
" Madame, | have, as you perceive, con-
tented myself with a meal costing only
fifteen cents. BY reference to the order
which l deposited with you, you will find
that il calls for twenty-five cents. Being
temporarily in Strengthened circumstances,
by delay in the transmission of the usual
remittance from my agents, | will thank
you TO let me have the remainder in cash
ten cents, please He was told in the
poltest manner, so as to avoid wounding
his sensitive feelings, that the house had
established rule not to pay out coin on
orders for meals 81 beg a thousand par
dons' he said, with an assumed air of
modification, under these circumstances
you may just let me have a couple of five
cent cigars; the supply brought with me
from Cuba Is quite exhausted" When in
formed that cigars were also on the
list of inhibited commodities, he con-
Guided that he would return TO the
table and consume the value of that re-
naming dime in ice cream That evening
the circumstance was related to the party
who gave the order and quite laugh was
enjoyed at his expense his partner remark
ing that he should use better judgment
and be sure he helped those really deserv-
ing. Next morning the same fellow pre-
scented himself at the restaurant with an
order from this same partner for meals to
the value of dollar and half The laugh
was on the other side of the house for the
remainder of the day.
Another dodge that was for a long time
successfully worked at the same restaurant
was this: A man would cone in, and ap-
preaching the proprietor get off something
to this effect " Say, mister, I've patron
lied you good deal, and now I'm broke
and hungry. You'll give fellow a meal,
won't your Thinking that possibly the
party really had eaten at his place often,
the proprietor would generally grant the
request. He found after a while, however,
that he was being imposed on, and
accordingly he shut off that avenue of
leakage. A book was shewn the
reporter in which was long list of meals
given to persons on written and verbal or
ders from a clothing firm near by. Al &C
count Of the meals thus furnished is kept,
and regularly every month the firm settles
the bill, which sometimes amounts to a
considerable sum. Notwithstanding the
fact that charitably- disposed citizens are Of
ten deceived in the character of persons to
whom they extend relief, it is rarely that
anyone having the appearance of being in
distress is allowed TO go hungry. And op
| the whole, it is better that ninety-nine per
sons in a hundred should occasionally be
deceived into giving away few dimes to
| undeserving persons than that one honest
but unfortunate creature should suffer from
want of the common necesSaries of life
~
THE RAIN-It commenced raining IN
this city at 10 a. NJ. yesterday The rain
| fell in copious showers throughout the af
| ternoon and evening, and was still coming
| down of u1idniobt SERGEANT Rary-ici- So,-c