Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-04-21
WAY OF HOTEL GUESTS.
. r"uliaritic> of Prominent Men in Sign
ing the Register.

lp"uliaritic> al Prominent Men III sign
ing the Register.
Hotel clerks are. rs Il class. cNccp-
tiUnal men. The qualities that fit them
IT, discharge their duties as they ought
to hr are not given to every one. They
come in contact with all sorts and d"-
S;riptcms of persons. and they must
understand the art of dealing with
them aS The occasion and their char
actrrS r,uuirr.
To hr Il good hotel clerk means tu
br Il good judge of human nature, II
diplomat. Il person of agrc"ab" ad-
dress. accommodating. polit" Ind
| ahnundiuy in tact. To Il conSi,lcrabl"
degree he represents til" proprietor.
and the impression he makes upon
guests and visitors largely influences
the pupIlal'ty of the house. The trI-
ditiunal clerk is IL fellow who ASSUMES
the airs and dignity of tn Grand
Llama. The actual clerk. rs We find
Inn. > an Individual who studies the
inlrirSt, of his employer by being p"-
litr tn everybody.
To New York News reporter Il
clerk M one of the big hotels in that
city explained his opportunities fnl
studying the disposition, temperament
and pc, uliariticS of his fcllnw-crCaturcS
He ~lid that he could judge of Il man
somewhat from the very manner in
which he approached III" desk and
Sgucd his name i'll the register.
The late James G. Blaine always
caIur up with Il brisk. huSincSS-lik" air,
greeted the clerk. his assistants and
the houlik"HprrS as if they were old
acuuaintnncrS, calling them by their
names, if h" had ever heard them. and
drporling himself generally like Il man
who felt fi'irnhiy towards all tn"
Wurld. and had reason te believe that
al the word was his friend. Even
during his last visit to New York,
when disease had wasted his frame
ana Sipp"I his vitality. he preserved
this free. cordial. off-hand manner to-
wards the hotel employees. 1t WAS Il
Spontaneous. unmiStakablc revelation
of tn mans real nature.
RUSrnr tonklingS manner WAS very
different. He WAS rather slow and
very dignilird. He did not appear To
hav" Il very good m"m"rN for names.
His recognition of the clerk wa> usual
ly mad, by nod of til" head. He al
ways waited for the register in be
handed To him. and never WAS guilty
of glancing over the names on it in Il
spirit of curiosity The cmp'"yr"S all
liked him.
COL Robert g. IngrrSol usually
comes forward like Il big good .naturrd
! boy draws the register up to h m. and.
leaning one elbow on il. prD Dr"l> 10
get off some story before he puts his
nam" down.
The late cNlrcSidrm Hayes had Il
style quite as characteristic. He was
as mvthod'ral and particular a> if he
were attiNjGr his Signatur" I" some
impnrllnt state paper. His form of
recognizing the clerk WAS Il slight i'll
clinllnn of the head. accomp lnrd by
Il ben gnanI smile. and he had Il
strange habit of Wipin% the pen ON his
hair after using it,
In the matter of receiving visitors.
promin, public men differ MIR.
Blaine when he thought il necessary.
left Il standing order at the office lllt
no matter who called. tn" clerk WAS
not to say he WAS out. unless such WI>
the fact He made cvcryhody wei
come. but if he was engaged or unable
to see the visitors, he preferred saying
50 frankly instead of trying to dodge
them.
Mr.. Conkling never hcSitatcd To deny
himself if he felt so inclined. hut he
too refused to plead an alibi Ia escape
making an excuse.
The late President Scott. of III"
PENNSYLVANIA Railroad. when he came
to New York on business. was grnrr-
ally accompanied by Il secretary. viii"
acted as Il barrier between him and
unfortunate callers. When this valu-
able assistant said he was out. he waS
ont. and when he said he was in. he
WAS in.
The hotel clerk discovers that the
human family contains Il large aSSorr
ed lot of cranllS. and he makes ii his
business to get along with them as if
they were as sensible and common
place as most people are. If he at
trmptS to do this and fails he realizes
that he has not the qualifications for
his position.