The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1893-02-20
ELUDING REPORTERS,
HOW BIG GUNS DODGE NIMeLE PEN.
Oils AT THE HOTELS.

Che Hotel Visitor Is Safe if He Has Made
Himself Solid with the Hotel Clerk.
Thankless Work for Bnte.prising News
paper Men-Many Tricks.
In attempting to avoid man or wom-
An at large hotel it is necessary to use
good deal Of wisdom. You do not need to
BET detective and glide through the lobby,
making frequent changes in your headgesr
or In your coats, or in pulling on or taking
OFT false mustache. All you need to do
Is to:
Lie to the bell boy.
Tip the clerk
Locate the little side door.
And attend to one or two other small
matters.
When the reporter starts out on the ''ho-
tel beat" trying to interview celebrities he
has absolutely no guarantee that his work
will net anything worthy of record. A
hotel beat" it should be understood,
means getting news at the hotels. BEAT"
Is used IN the sense of route.
This is about the way it goes: The re-
porter stops first let us say at the famous
place that has the marble corridor, the re-
sort of all the politicians Of the Union--the
Fifth Avenue hotel He looks at the regis
ter. He mods to the clerk, passes the topic
OF the day and incidentally asks whether or
not there are any notables on hand.
He sees the name of Charles T. Yerkes on
the blotter. He has been reading the pa
pers, and he knows consequently that Mr.
Yerkes has donated $500, 900 to the Chicago
university for telescope. That's mighty
good stuff, he thinks to himself. So he
scribbles his name ON q card and sends it up
stairs by the bell boy, requesting the privi-
lege of a brief talk.
Now, note che circumstance-the reporter
Is never allowed to go up stairs of his own
free will. He knows, maybe, where Mr.
Yerkes' room is. He could 60 directly to
1t, but he would be stopped by porter or
by hotel detective. So he has to trust ia
the bell boy to bring an answer.
That worthy starts up stairs at lively
clip. The last the anxious reporter sees of
him is the tails Of his coat as he tips up the
marble stairs. Five minutes pass. He
does not return. All, yes, here he is. He
sings out to the clerk, mind you. aud not
to the waiting reporter, these words:
mo. 1879 not in. Don't know when will be
in Then the bell boy directs his steps
over to the wooden bench over In the '-''e
anteroom and sits up straight, like 9
der, panied expression on his face
There is no going behind the returns Is
the boy says Hes out" he may meas
''out" in the social sense of not home. "
But you can't help that. And the sly ras-
cal over there on the wooden board, he's
reading dime novel;
Sometimes big gun will get away from
q reporter by registering under false
name. Mr.. Aston often travels ineog. Not
more than ten months ago he was I'M
earthed at o hotelin Kansas, where he had
been stopping under the name of one I'M
known TO fame. A variation is to register
under the name of your gentleman's man.
1t is clever, easy and usually effective.
Men rarely remain around the hotels any
way, whether they are big guns or little
fishes A man registers at hotel, goes
to bed if it be night, gets out in the
morning and away to business. When
the reporter comes in, say at O'clock, the
birds have usually flown. 70 see mans
name on the register is along, long way
from finding him In the hotel. After wait
ing five hours to see a man likely enough
you. Then you Will be rebuked by your
paper for neglect of duty.
Another way of escaping reporters at the
hotels is through the clerk When Mr..
Walk-in-the-mud, Of Mudvilie, the recent
ly elected governor, drops down on the
New York hotel, he registers his name all
In furry and then, leaning over the coun-
ter, says to the clerk in a hoarse voice:
Remember, ann not in to any report
ers." The clerk bows, rings up front, and
the gentleman Is shown to bis apartment
Half an hour later Mr.. Hotel Lounger, a
reporter for a daily newspaper, comes in.
He looks over the list of arrivals. He sees
She name OF Mr.. Walk-in-the-mud. He
fetches out his card. 1t says: