St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-11-04
WHAT PEOPLE TALK ABOUT.
I have had an ex-
perlence recently with
a boarder which has
set me thinking on the
Hotel
Keeper.

I have had an ex-
|s4 Hotel perlence recently With
a boarder which has
Keeper. set me thinking on the
relations which exist
between innkeepers and their custom
ers, and I have concluded that there are
some considerations which go to make
up the equities and amenities between
them which are not always taken note
of by even the parties in interest. A
gentleman came to me some months ago
and, showing good references, said that
he had just come to the city, was In re-
| duced circumstances. but had good
situation with large concern here and
wanted few weeks credit. This was
readily granted, and he has ever since
boarded with me, but notwith-
standing he has borne himself
in every way as a gentle
man, he has never yet quite. paid me
up. When his pay day comes he always
pays me portion of his Indebtedness.
but though he has money over for
which he has no apparent use, he insists
on leaving a balance due until next
time. l asked him the other day what
he meant by this and why he did not
square up. His answer was that ne
kept behind in his payments on PTinol-
ple-that he did it to insure proper
courtesy anu consideration n Il, the h0teIs
treatment of him. He said the little
debt he owed ME was a constant lever
which commanded good attention and
further indulgence, on the principle
that people twill send good money after
bad,'' and that he never intended to
square accounts until he was ready to
leave. | wonder if the rule of selfish
ness is at the bottom of all our social
and business intercourse, as this mans
theory would seem to indicate?
A Cable may be overly SEN
sitive, but | fully be-
Gripman. lieve had / remained
in my position as grip
man my hair would have been gray long
before now. The general public have
little idea of the constant strain Oh a
mans nervous system who fills posi-
ton of this kind. A locomotive engineer
has to constantly keep his weather eye
open for Instructions on the track, but
where he has one On trip we have
hundred. When cable roads were first
started In st. Paul, people were very
careful, both in crossing the tracks and
boarding cars. They are becoming
careless now, as the novelty OF
the thing has worn off. People
will insist in crossing in front OF
grip car, no matter how close IL
may be to the crossing. The greatest
danger. however, is from children play
ing in the streets. A lot OF them may
|; be PLAYING alongside of the track, when
suddenly one of them will make a dart
across the street in front of the car,
pursued by some one of his or her com
panions. Then the gripman has to
/ bring the car to sudden stop in order
to avoid an accident. Notwithstanding
the fact that these cars are equipped
with the best of brakes, accidents do
happen. in some cases resulting In
death or the severe manning of chill
dren. am perfectly content to confine
|emy street car labors to tight grip On
"a pair of mules.
-. sesre-
"A Travellers AS rule, in the
/ cities of the United
az Ex- States the best hotels,
restaurants and stores
periences. are located at some
distance from the rail-
road depots. [ have reflected good
deal about this fact, aud never satisfied
myself that such an announcement ar
rangement was the proper one. II
man has only one hour between trains
to spend in city he must eat at sec
ond, third or perhaps tenth-class eating
house at or near by the depot, and, OF
course, his opinion of the town will be
influenced by the sort of accommoda-
tions and meals he receives in the depot
neighborhood. The boldnesS of hack
men at the depots of our American
cities is shameful and out OF all
harmony with the gentility and
good manners of the people OF the
United States. The men OF this Yam
kee nation are famed the world over for
their civility to strangers, and l could
never understand why our depot, cab
bieS" are allowed to act like lot OF
clamoring hoodlnms at the doors of our
elegant union depOts whenever the
well-dressed crowd pours forth upon the
street.
Probably the most ungovernable
hoodlum hackmen in the nation are
those that assaiI the travelling public at
the union depot in Chicago, on Canal
street. for number OF them are eX-eon-
victs and we'll known robbers. So des-
perate are they that detectives of the
Chicago police force are kept constantly
| among them to keep them from 1obbing
green and unsophisticated travellers.
During the last six years they
have robbed a number of peo-
pie from Europe and the back
woods of this country, one of their
methods being to drive stranger to
lonely place, sandbag him, take all his
money and dump him in an alley to
come to or die, as he may. Experienced
travellers, when approaching a strange
CITY. learn while on the train the name
of good hotel, and make for it on ar
| irving. 1t is the poor men who look for
cheap lodging and board that designing
people select as their particular victims
at the depots notice throughout the
West that good many ''snide" lunch
counters still flourish at the way
stations. The proportion OF uninviting
lunch counters is diminishing and may
in time entirely give place to better
ones. Bad as some of our restaurants
are, the cooking in them is done much
better than in the same kind of estab-
lishments in England.
A Watch. There are a great
ust many funny things at
sm maker. tending the rise of the
s'Jenkinses." / mean
those people who have advanced in ma
terial wealth without adding whit to
their literary or social position. They
are Dragging of an ancestry they never
had, and are at loss to establish them
selves as members of the old families.
Just now there is search for old gold
watches, which will be paraded as family
heirlooms. handed down by this or that
distinguished Roundhead or Mayfower
pilgrim. The old johnson watches,
made on Church street, Liverpool, are
among those that are most eagerly
sought by the man who wants to trade
money for lineage. Few of them are
left, and in Baltimore an especial mar
ket has been established, and large sums
are paid for them. Money is a great
deal plentier than blue blood, and the
exchange is willingly made by those
who have lately acquired the shekels.