, 1888-01-19
DEAD BEATS.
A RACE WHICH HAS INCREASED TO Al!
ALARMING EXTENT.
= Livcry-Stabie rroprietor's Experiences
Hotel and Restaurant TleePers-The
Cigar Nan and BarkeePcr-The
Theatre Ticket seller.
cleveland Herald. /

cleveland Hrrald.i
In conversation with livery stable pro
priCiur a reporter learned that the race of
dead bcaIs. instead Of being extinct, has
increased TO an alarming extent. I'VE
must be very careful, he said how We
rent our rigs No matter how much eX
pcricuCc q nan may possess in our bust
ness he is liable 10 be done up i'll first class
style. People with every outward indi-
cation of genllemanlineSs step into my
CifiCc and ask for buggies for few hours.
| actually don't know whether to make
them pay i'll advance for fear of insulting
them. and the result is l am kept pretty
busy at times hotifgfng the police of miss
ing rigs. They use up the horse and buggy
to their hearts content, and when they are
through with them they hitch the horse to
some post and that Is the last we see of
our friend; yes, sir; in our business We
meet with all sorts of dead beats, gentcci
and otherwise. 1t seems TO be passion
among certain people TO confidence a liv-
eryman, and those are the very men who
abuse an animal more than the best pay
ing customer.
The reporter next ran across an expert
mixer of drinks, and, when asked a ques
ton or two about dcad-beats, he smiled
and said: "In our busiicss we run across
beat every minute of the day. Some of
them ask for their drink first and then
try to stand me off These are of the
most troublesome class, for there 5 no
collecting from them, rs they haven't a
copper i'll their pocket Others lean up
against the bar, talk about the weather.
and politics, and one thing or another;
then they confess that they are dead
hroke, but feel mighty mean in theii
s'omach, and nothing but Il little whisky
would effect Il positive cure. Do trust
EN-? No, sir; | know 'em too well for
that, and unless they ask for the drink
first they never get the best of me.
a proprietor of a third drate hotel, whcE
asked for information about dead beats
told the same story as the barkeeper and
the liveryman We can't drive them
day after day, poorly clad, well-dTesscd,
and all sorts of people. OF course, | al
ways cast longing glance at their bag
gage, If have reason 10 suspect tLGm
but one of them played mean trick on
me the other day. He boarded with me
couple of weeks. and at last disappeared.
The first thing did was to go for his
sachel, and when | examined the con
founded thing | found it stuffed with old
newspapers. OH, yes, we lose great deal
OF money IN the course of year, and only
to-day l was thinking of selling out ard
going into i business where | won't he
Obliged TO encounter so many dead beats
The man in the restaurant told the same
story. "We are often obliged TO trust old
customers, simply because we cannot re
fuse them, and the result is they never
come near us again. l encounter dead
beats of every kind-the man who
changed his pantaloons and forgot his
poCketbook, the fellow who puts on cos
mOpolitan airs, orders almost everything
on the bill of fare and good imported
cigar. Ills imperiineuce in asking for a
few days time is so astonishing that it a.
most takes my breath away, and before
can recover he coolly walks out of the
room.
The tobacco and cigar man had a pitia-
bic story to relate concerning dead beats.
I'VE are peStered with them all day long.
They ask for cigars, but most of them are
quite modest and simply request the loan
OF a little chewing or smoking tobacco.
The other day | came across the champion
dead beat lie was elegantly dressed, and
represented himself to be New ork
drummer, stopping at the Kennard house.
and before he left my place he swindled
me out of box of Henry Clays. never
saw him since and l don't expect l ever
will. Oh, yes. we have to keep our eyes
opeu, VI tlse II WOulu DE llnpOSS!Ole 10 90
any kind of business
The theater ticket-seller, when ap
preached on the same subject, said:
Dead beatsl why, the woods are full of
EN- People who have no earthly right
to ask for free admission walk up to the
box with all sorts of excuses. After
the curtain is up they come here by the
dozens with pretenses of every kind. The
man whose wife is in the theater wants to
know whether he can step in out of the
cold; then the fellow who passes himself
of as professional, for having appeared
in some amateur performance, and finally
the citizen who is in hurry and is look
ing for doctor in the audience.
The reporter listened to the same story
everywhere, and finally came to the con.
clusfon that the professional dead beat,
instead of becoming thing of the past, is
gaining IN adherents every day.