The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-01-30
HOTEL SPONGES.
PROFESSIONALS WHO THRIVE At THE
EXPENSE or HoTEL-KEEPERS.
The Tactics They Adopt in Order to Sue
cessfuIiy swindIe the House Pc
cuiIar Method Of Operating
The Loss

New York Mail and Express,l
Mr.. William ID. Garrison, proprietor OF the
Grand Union hotel and secretary of the Hotel
association, gave some interesting facts In
relation TO the professionals who thrive at
the expense Of hotel keepers
There are innumerabls modes of swim
ding u.s." he said, "but since the formation
of our association we have been able to pro-
tect one another to very considerable ex-
tent. The most respectable style Of impos-
ing on us Ia known as the family mode. A
gentleman with his wife and daughters will
engage board and select the most expensive
rooms we have. His tastes viii be the
most fastidious, and the daughters will re-
auire attendance danced on them constantly.
The bills will be paid the first week, the sec
ond, and perhaps the third Next week pay
ment win not be made on the regular pay day.
but few days afterward, and after that
they will shut down altogether and in
form you that a remittance which Is ex-
pected from some distant point has not ar
rived, and that husband. wife and daughters
do not understand what could have hap
pened, and that they are panied beyond
measure at the suspense. Meantime they
are unremitting In their demands for extra
attentions, and never appear to imagine
shat hotel manager has feelings that might
possibly be panied also, and bills that must
be met"
1How do you deal with such peoplel"
awe would seizs their baggage a. security
for board, but professionals who come to
your house for the purpose Of swindling you
do not bring valuable baggage, and you
have really no remedy against them. They
scent trouble ahead, and when they find IL
coming they adopt tactics suited to the &C.
casion. They lodge n complaint at the Office
charging that valuable jewelry has been
stolen from their rooms, and thus assume
the aggressive. We are compelled to in
vestigate the charges, and while doing SO
our worthy guests obtain another lease Of
life at our expense. Occasionally they will
condescend TO compromise by paying some
thing on account, which we are usually glad
to receive"
"Who conducts the diplomatic work on
behalf Of family guests9'
1.-THE gentleman usually leaves these deli.
cate affairs In the hands Of the ladies, who
manage systematically. The lady will tell
you that her husband is full Of business and
has no time TO attend to the details Of house,
hold affairs. She will generally try to make
arrangements by the month, and IL you drop
hint about security she will grow indignant
and take from her trunk q big bundle Of
mining stocks, which she win exhibit before
your eyes II you happen to smile on be-
holding these Securities she is liable to 60
Off In q fit.
Another class Of swindlers with whom it
10 hard to DEAL" continued Mr.. Garrison,
fare members Of the learned professions,
usually broken-down lawyers The limb Of
the law win register and give you his business
card. He will pay his first bill promptly, AMI
then the trouble commences When you pre-
. sent the second bill he will offer
you q worthless note or an indorsed
check drawn by party whose
existence IL simply mythical He will
not admit that the person is a myth and
when the paper Is discovered to be Of no
value he will rave and swear, and insist that
he himself Is the victim Of swindle."
"Does the lawyer come out ahead in the
transactionr
ain oil cases we hold the baggage, but we
are losers all the same. These men never
pay their bills because they never intended
TO do so. They win often replevy the bag
gage, and we usually find 1t most economical
TO grin and bear the loss, as it does not pay
10 retain counsel In all these cases. We are
not allowed TO open the baggage, and as 1t
may lie worthless to any person but the
owner we let 1t 60, and report the swindler
TO the hotel fraternity, who will be placed
on their guard. Hotel men, as rule how
ever, are considerable and kind hearted III
they believe that one Of their guests has met
with misfortune and that he means to do
right he is met with courtesy and generous
q eatm snt
"There is another class OF swindlers," he
continued, "who are characterized by hotel
keepers as professional beats. Their method
Of operating Is peculiar. After one of these
gentlemen has registered he takes q violent
III, and as he writhes and groans great COM
passion is excited In bis behalf We send
for physician and do everything we can
for our guest, who give us the address of his
friends In an hour or two he Is GONZALES
cent, and orders meals and delicacies sent to
his room, of which he partakes heartily.
Next day we discover that his friends are
not 10 be found at the addresses given, and
that our guest has fitted. The losses we
sustain from such men are not serious, but
they are very annoying. Should we happen
TO capture one Of these patients while making
his way TO the street we ring for a police
man. and the magistrates usually send them
TO the island for ten days In default OF pay
ment Of fine Of $40. Ladies feign sickness
on our hands also, and IL Is not so easy to
deal with them as with the men. Invariably
they secure the sympathies Of the servants
by telling extravagant stories They can
play sick far better than men. and we can
only dispose Of them by sending them to a
hospital, which they quit almost Immediately
after their arrival"
Hotel proprietos lose 500 per cent. moro
by the family mode Of swindling than by
any other method. Business mon who travel
from city to city are regarded as the most
desirable guests. They require less attention
and are more prompt In settling their bills.
A check or draft presented by commercial |
traveller 10 usually taken without question. |
Mr.. Garrison says that the losses sustained |
by hotels through the operations OF profess |
sional swindlers do not now exceed one half |
Of per cent. the year round. Before the as
ISOLATION was formed they were much |
higher. Professionals can now operate with |
success only by registering q new name at |
every hotel they patronize, and even then |
their chances Of success are small, because q |
descriptive list is forwarded to landlords |
with every case reported. Few Europeans |
attempt systematic swindling, and those |
usually operate by representing that they |
are scions Of some noble house or officers Of |
some foreign army or navy. Petty devices |
for "beating" restaurants have been practicei |!
from time immemorial In the eating. /
houses ON the Bowery special provision il /
made for such cases. The cashier turns the /
customer over 10 the 1bouncer" Of the house,
who visits him with the law OF which John |
L Sullivan Ia noted exponent
ll.aAA lx.I