Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-04-24
HOTEL DETECTIVES.
ONE OF THEM GIVES SOME OF
HIS EXPERIENCES.


guises-The Class of Guests Who Occupy
Their Atte1tion-Sneak Thieves and
swindIers in HoteIs-Extrs Work.
! One Of the best known Of the hotel detec-
tives OF New York is Mr. David j. Larkins,
who. although young in years, has had a
great deal Of valuable experience IN the de
tective line He Is a fine hooking man, but
could go anywhere without attracting special
attention for any peculiarities Or him, a
/ reporter recently made some inquiries regard
! ing the work of a hotel detective.
/ The very essence Of good detective work
Is 70 BE- good shadower,' said Mr. Larkins.
+ you want 70 be able to follow man from
the time he gets up until he is in bed again,
and never let him know that he is being fol-
lowed: you must watch him, but must never
attract his attention And this is not done
+ By any petty personal DISCUSSES, such as the
story books and weekly papers tell about.
Detectives don't so around with their pockets
filed with false whiskers and hair dye, nor
do they change their clothes every half hour
when they are following man. If you fol-
low man from one city 10 another il is some
times well 70 shave of -FOUR mustache OF have
sCAii LcAA '0v q clst DlI tHciC II
limit 70 all that sort Of business. That de-
scribes detective work in general, and theirs
Is nothing which radically distinguishes hotel
detectives from others"
~But what ara the special and peculiar du-
ties Of q hotel detective.'
1t is the business Of hotel detective, first
of al, 70 keep an eye on all arrivals at the
hotel OF course, il is impossible for him 10
stand at the door ut all hours and infinitely
note tie physiognomy Of every man who ap-
proaches with a gripsacll in his hand. but
within q few hours after a stranger has ar
rived the detective is supposed to have seen
him and sized him up. The greater part of
the guests in any hotel are always either per-
InSnent residents there, or, az leest, very reg
ular transients. That is to say, of all those
persons from out of town who may be stop
ping at hotel at particular time the ma
JoTity have put UP at the same place before.
With all these regular guests the detective is
supposed to be acquainted just as thoroughly
rs the clerk Is, and as soon as one Of them
comes into the house he is supposed to be able
TO recall everything he ever knew about the
man. But every actual stranger is TO be
be noted and observed until the detective is
satisfied that he is straight. So long as he
has any doubts about a man at all he is to
keep that man under watch. OF course, how
ever, this does not mean that detective is to
make himself conspicuous in following every
man about whom be does not happen to
know. He is 10 exercise judgment in the
matter"
What classof criminals frequent the big
hotelsr'
First Of all, the high grade class Of sneak
thief. One of this class will take room at
first class hotel for the opportunities he may
have to go through the rooms of the other
guests. Such man viii post himself about
the people in the house just as thoroughly as
a detective would. He viii observe the
people who have the best clothes, the most
money and finest jewclry, and he viii learn
where each one has his room Then he will
learn something about the hours they keep,
and sometime when they are away he Will go
through their rooms. The favorite time for
such operations is dinner time Having
selected the rooms to be gone through be lets
himself in with a skeleton key, and selects
whatever he can best get away with. These
professionals can tell very quickly just where
the ordinary man or woman will hide valua-
bleS, and IL does not take them long to 90
through a room. Then they skip out On
such expeditions crooks DO not carry much
baggage, although. for the sake Of appear
ance, they may have big valise or trunk
stuffed with bricks and old papers Conse-
quently when they make haul they do not
hesitate 20 abandon all their baggage. and il
is needless 70 say that they forget to pay their
hotel bill"
And how 90 you look out for such fellousr
"Well, as I said before, If we see anything
suspicious about man. we watch him. and If
we see that a guest is unduly inquisitivs re-
garGing the plan Of the house that is sus-
picious. If we find a man wondering about
hall where he has no business we watch where
be goes, and il we see him several times that
way we set a regular watch upon him, and
caution the servants to look out for him II
may be that such man is simply masher,
trying TO fiirt with one Of the female guests,
or simply following one Of the chambermaids
about. But it is always well to watch a man
when you see him wandering about the hall
ways great deal with no apparent object
But you cannot keep watch on man all
the time"
That is true, and, because we can't, we
sometimes get left remember the case of
man who came here several years ago, and
had the name of Watson. saw him when he
first came III, and from the looks of his eyes,
thought he was a thief When he was register
ing tried TO tell toe clerk not to let him have
g room, but the clerk did not notice me, and
he gave him room now used for washing
dishes. This room had window near the
ceiling, opening into an adjoining room
where a lawyer was stopping Well,
watched that fellow close for nearly week,
and saw nothing wrong. Finally the lawyer
went over 10 Baltimore, and in the afternoon
] was sent down town to cash check When
l got hack could not see the fellow Watson,
and after time vent into his room There
were scratches on the wall under the window
[ spoke Of, and the dust had been brushed off
from the sill. Two days afterward the law
yer returned and found that be was minus
s20 worth of clothes. Watson had walked
right out the side door, and as he was a EN-
tee! looking fellow. the side door man never
bothered him at all Wei, watched for
That fellow for q month. and then l saw him I
one day just about 70 register at the Grand +
Central hotel I touched him on the arm and /
told him n come with ma He was very in /
iignaDt, and declared be did not even know !
where TIE New York hotel was. ! showed |
him where 1t was, and when tie clerk recog- !
1ized him. toe. be weakened. We recovered 4
he clothes from Philadelphia pawnbroker, 1
md ora an tine P0ySs1-v ey1i Va-So-, ,.a,,r ~