Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-18
IN HOTEL CORRIDORS

That's sensible sign" said John Laugh
lin, one Of the old-time billiard experts, who
aspired to championship honors when the
carom tables first were introduced in this
country and the pockets were relegated to
pool purposes only. He was admiring the
new billiard room at the Riggs House and
referred to the placard hanging over each
table: Players must keep of these tables"
There is rothing Injuries the cushions
of billiard or pool table as much as the
habit so many players have of climbing
over on the table to make a shot where
they can't reach cue balls In the proper
way" continued Mr.. Laughlin. THE cush-
ion Of a billiard table is made so that its
edge will be struck by a ball exactly in the
center of the latter. This condition causes
the ball to not only take an exactly per-
feet angle when tt is shot straight, but to
receive great deal more English" from
being shot on the side. The habit / speak
Of so general among players of climbing on
the tables pushes the cushions down and
consequently they strike the balls below
their centers and cause them to slide off
and change their course. The error is only
small, Of course, but a first-class billiard
player who has been accustomed TO good
tables and who plays with confidence is
all broken up when he gets on a table with
sagged cushions, because the departure Of
a ball from Its proper course by even a
hairs breadth sometimes ruins big run.
The bridges are supplied along with every
table for use in making shots where a
player cannot make a shot by means OF
the natural bridge formed of his thumb and
forefinger, and players should be made to
use them. A man should no more think OF
climbing on a billiard table than a musician
should think of pounding a piano with a
meat AK. The billiard table is a mighty
delicate piece Of construction and should be
that's a sensible sign, and / hope the man
who runs this room will insist that its in
junction Is obeyed"
There are lots OF dummy telephones
coming into rse," said r. c. Owens. New
York electrical expert. at the Ebbitt yester
day. What are they? Well, In the first
place. they are a necessity to a busy man
who does not keep a public telephone and in
cno'her place they present an. excellent
means for getting rid of bores who don't in
tend to be bores. who don't know that they
are bores, and who would resent any sup
Sed discourtesy In pretty emphatic way.
Since the telephone came into genaral use
and pay stations were established a class
has also come into being composed of peo-
pie who want to use a phone pcrpetually
and eternCiiy, but whose messages are not
important enough to allow the expenditure
o. dime. These people always want to
they are becoming more numerous every
day, the dummy phone has been jrtroduc-
ed 1t looks exactly like a telephone but
Is made OF papier mache. When a man
asks to use your phone and you have q
dummy. you Just refer him to it, and then
ne rings away for central until he wear
les OF getting a reply. OF course he thinks
the instrument Is out Of order He NAV
come In at some other time and ask to use
II again, but he never comes the third. Two
whacks at dummy telephone will break
the biggest telephone beat in existence Of
ever trying to use It again."
L saw a telegram in one of the papers
day or two ago Of an old man being pulled
overheard into Chautauqua lake by n mus
callonge he had hooked" said Frank Den
man Of Fairfax county at the Metropolitan
last night Il saw something OF the same
SORT several years ago in the rapids lust
below Great Falls. and didn't have any
OF the bait that comes In bottles, either
DICK Evans, who used to live here and
VINO was powerful fisherman in those
GAYS. went up to Great Falls early that
spring TO try the first run of bass. He had
a young man named Smoot with him and
they concluded to try their luck below the
falls. You know in the spring rock are
sometimes caught at that place in the
Potomac weighing all the way from ten
TO twenty-five pounds. Well, young Smoot
was fishing from big stone in the river
and one OF those fish took his hook. A bat
tie royal ensued and the result was that
Smoot was pulled of his perch and into the
water. 1t was dangerous place, but when
Smoot was pulled out the only thing he
upbraided IN the way Of his hard luck was
his loss OF the fish,
Pullman car porters form one great Sc
cret society whose ritual differs only In a
slight degree on separate systems" said
Philip WEIGH. travelling man, at Wizards
this morning. you know the professional
tramps leave hieroglyphic information for
those of their guild who come after them
on fences and gate posts along the roads
they travel Pullman porters instruct each
other about the travelling public in much
the same way. The means taken by the
porters are simple but unerring. The ia
vorite place in which they put their ciphers
so full OF meaning Is on the inside edge of
travellers boot heels. Every patron of a
Pulln an must. Of course, place his foot
gear for a time at the mercy Of the porter,
and IL such a traveller is wise in his genera
ton and will examine the heels of his
shoes he will find a nick here and another
there, which, II he can secure the transla-
ton Of them. will tell him what the porter
thinks OF him. A nick in one part of the
heel will mean that their wearer is a gen.
erous. open-hearted man. and the porter
who gets q pair OF heels marked in such a
way will fairly oyerwhelm their owner
with attention. A nick at another place
will denote q grabbed, close and bad tenn
pered. owner and future porters who get
CATERS bearing that information will steer
clear of their wearer. A 'spotter' one of
the individuals who are employed by the
Pullman company as spies on the conduc-
tors and porters-is known by q certain
nick in his heel, and you can bet the en-
ployes mind their p's and as when such a
heel Is found In the porter's nightly aggre-
CATION OF boots and shoes. The American
railway porter Is q pretty cute individual I
tell ou.and when you see one Of them par
ticularly attentive to some one passenger
you can make bet that his heels bear the
proper cabalistic marks"
THE HINDOO'S RELIGION.