Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-28
IN THE HOTEL CORRIDORS.

S. P. Sheerin, national democratic commit
teeman from Indiana and secretary Of the
committee, il at the Arlington.
Il am in Washington" said Mr. Sheerin, ''on
business and Imay parenthetically say that lam
not after an Office. / do not place any i'm
portance upon the alleged charges which have
been brought against Mr.. Risley. They are
new to to me- am satisfied that Mr.. Risley is
correct in his statement Of the matter.
The question Of federal patronage in nv
state il, of course. one Of great Importance to
the democracy and to the applicants for Office.
] do not anticipate any serious disputes over
the distribution Of official favors. There are a
good many Offices to be secured in my state
but there are, Of course. q large number of ap-
plicants for each position. every man of whom
considers his claim the more worthy There
must necessarily be some dissppointments for
1t is impossible to please everybody. Our
perry is. however, thoroughly united and
harmonious that do not look for any disturb
Ances from those who were overlooked"
Just hand me the envelope gave You this
morning. please" said a well-dressed young
man to the clerk Of uptown hotel last even
ing.
An envelope containing a large sum of money
was taken from the safe and handed him. Alb
stracting several bills he returned it to the
clerk. who redeposited it in the safe
Safes in the large hotels in this and other
cities, said the clerk to The STAR representa-
tive, contain frequently the capital of several
national banks held on deposit for guests.
During the season here we frequently have over
half million of dollars in money and jewels,
and the safe would indeed make a rich haul for
the sleepless burglar.
The money. however, is as secure as IL it
were in the vaults of safe deposit company.
There are always one or two men constantly
behind the counter. and during the major part
Of the day the lobby is Of course filed. It is,
consequently, a physical impossibility for any
body to gain access to the safe except those
who have the right to do so. In large and
fashionable hotels wealthy ladies deposit their
jewels with US for safe keeping, and fire.
quently have enough to start q good-sized
jewelry store. The valusbles are never lost and
Instances Of a hotel clerks dishonesty are rare
indeed"
John Van Schaick of Cobleskill, Schoharie
county, n. Y, is at the Riggs. Mr.. Van Setback
formerly represented his district in the state
senate, il . prominent anti-snapper and men,
Der Of the state central anti-snapper committee.
Mr.. Van Schaick's county, together with Otsego |
and Madison counties. represent the great
hop-growing district in New York state.
my county" he said to The STAR repre- |
sentative, has always been a banner demo- !
cratic county. Hops constitute the chief pro- |
duct. On the question Of the tariff farmers in |
my district are on all fours with the wool |
growers. They thought that IL a high tariff |
was put on hops that the price would be i'm |
mediately sent up and maintained. They have !
learned that the question Of supply and demand |
and not protective tariff regulates the price of |
hops. and ii has been demonstrated to their /
satisfaction. In fact, under high protective |
tariff the prices have not been nearly good. |
This is one OF the many reasons why my people |
are strong tariff reformers-"
II don't want any whisky out Of that BOTTLE" |
said the man With the silk hat with a flourish. |
''Give me some out Of that jug behind you"
1t was gwen him
He drained his glass, smacked his lips and |
gave other evidences Of his satisfaction.
That goes to prove" said the bartender to |
TIE STAR representative. THAT not one man in |
q hundred can tell one brand OF good whisky /
from another. The hquor in each Of those
bottles was drawn from the same barrel. Men |
make pretense Of being judges of whisky. A
confirmed whisky drinker. however, can, Of |
course, at once detect the difference between |
good and bad whisky, but when a certain grade
of corn Juice rye extract is passed only |
liquor expert can tell the difference.
al know of two hotels in this city who pur-
chase one grade of what may be termed |
good whisky. This liquor is kept in the |
familiar bottles which stand out Of sight be- |
hind the bar and are elevated thereto upon de- |
mand, and IL also fills the decanters and oddly |
shaped whisky Jugs which are on the shelf be- |
hind the bartender. In the liquor business. as |
In everything else. mans imagination has a
great deal to do with quenching mis- thirst II |
ne Il served from a wicker bottle, stone jug or !
q bottle covered with labels and guarantees or |
from cut glass decanter he thinks he is get
ting superior article.
1T would be trite to say that liquor dealers |
are not up to snuff in their business. Many Of
them are interruptions. They will empty q |
bottle bearing standard label and fill and re- |
I'LL il with q good but inferior brand Of liquor, |
for which they charge an extra price. The l
profits on whisky at Is and Is cents a drink are |
80 enormous that 1t is an outrage not to supply |
the very best stuff for the money. But it is no !
torious among Us that this is not always done"
There 10 one individual about q hotel who is |
seldom seen by the outside public, but who &C. |
cupies one Of the most responsible positions in |
every hostelry. 1t is the night clerk
His duties are, Of course, not as srduous az
the day room clerk, but they very re- |
sponsible. The house is filled with sleeping
people and he maintains over all these precious
lives an indirect and important supervision.
He looks after the watchmen closely TO see that
the halls are properly pat-olled and sharp
lookout kept for fires. At the disastrous Hotel
Royal fire in New York it will be remembered
thst il alleged that the great loss of life
there resulting mainly due to the fact that
the night clerk was at the time the FIRE broke
out either asleep or improperly attending 10
his duties. the flames gained such tremen-
duous Roadway before any effort was made to
arouse the guests.
The night clerk witnesses many strange and
interesting scenes and incidents. and could
many an interesting tale unfold if he chooses.