Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-12
IN HOTEL CORRIDORS


there has been an earthquake shock in
| Mexico. People generally have idea
that earthquakes occur only in hot coun-
tries, and that, consequently, they are
| numerous and severe in Mexico. This is
not so. They are more numerous and Sc
| verer in California than In Mexico.
] Revolutions are things of the past in
| Mexico, too. Diaz gives us strong and
able administration. Telegraph lines now
communicate with every state. and rail-
| road communication enables the concen-
| luton would be crushed before it got start
| ed. Mexican revolutions for twenty years
| have not been political. but for purposes of
depreciation and plunder.
The Tehuantepec railway, recently COM
| pleted, now gives Mexico an Inrcroceanic
| railway. which viii, when its terminal
harbors are completed, prove n serious ri
| val to the Panama railway, which has for
| so many years monopoliZe1 interoceanic
| traffic. In few years there will be stiil
| another railway across Mexico. from Vera
| Cruz to Acapulco by way of the City Of
| Mexico, which Will have an even more i'm
| portant bearing on the development or
| Mexican commerce.
1.-THE currency question is still a serious
| enc with Mexico Exchange on London is
at q premium of lO2, and there is no pres
| ent prospect of permanent Improvement"
1.-The sugar producers of the world said
| Mr.. John Farr, prominent New York su-
! gar importer, at the Arlington, "are pass
| ing through the same period of depression
| that the American wheat and cotton grow
ers are experiencing Overproduction seems
to be the trouble. 1t is struggle between
the beet sugar interests of Europe. aided
by government bounties, and the cane Su-
gar producers. The latter are row raising
and selling sugar at a price half cent
pound less than the cost of production.
down in New York, duty paid, at a price
lower than it was when raw sugar was
free under the Mckinley act. This condi-
ton of affairs will continue until bank
ruptcy has compelled enough of the cane
sugar producers to close up their mills and
turn their plantations into other crops to
sugar growers have the best of the fight.
/ see no hope for the Louisiana planters.
They might as well abandon the contest
now as later. The sooner they get out of
the business the less money they VIII
lose.
1.-The sad death of the little Clements boy,
an account Of which l have just read il
The Star, reminds me of an affair equally
as pitiable and still more mysterious in its
surroundings, which occurred in Cincinnati
many years ago." said Alfred r. Rollins of |
Pittsburg at the Ebbitt last night. The
cases are so similar that the one 1 speak
Raub had very interesting son, lad Of
twelve or thirteen years, whose only fault
seemed to penchant for dime novels.
He revealed in the yellow backed pamphlets
and his boon companions did the same |
thing. Naturally they acted the plots on |
the vacant lots around their neighborhood, |
and as wooden tomahawks and knives |
grew monotonous they managed to procure |
some old firearms and to pursue more |
secretly their favorite pastime of mimic |
frontier warfare. Young Raub and several |
of his playmates were in his fathers back |
shed one day, when a pistol report was
heard. followed by a piercing scream. 1t
was young Raub's death cry.
when the servants ran to the shed they |
found the boy dead and his companions
palsied with fright Raub had been shot in
the middle of his forehead. When the
other boys were calm enough to be ques-
toned they all said the dead boy had fired
an old horse pistol at a mark on the side
of the shed and had Immediately fallen
back with scream and died. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY impossible for him to have inflicted
the wound, and cruel suspicion fell on the
other boys. This was heightened by the
fact that an autopsy showed that the ball
in the boys head was a smaller caiiDer
than that carried by the pistol he had fired.
while the ball from the latter was found
imbedded in the wood near the mark. The
elder Raub determined to probe the tragedy
to the bottom and caused the arrest OF MS
dead sons companions. They still stuck to
their story, improbable as it seemed, and
the case promised to be more IMAM orui-
narily interesting.
lone day shortly afterward a young
man was heard to remark that he had
made an excellent shot with his pistol
few days before at cat walking on
fence four doors from his own house. When
doubt was expressed he said the cat was
on George Raub's fence and that he had
fired from his window. his house being in
the same block with Raubs and four
doors west. You evidently anticipate the
rest. The ball that struck the cat killed
the boy The investigation that followed
the young mans boast discovered that
from his window to the cat and through
young Raub's head was when he was
struck was the direct line of fire. The
bullet that killed him fitted the uncon-
scious murderer's pistol. also. OF course,
there was great relief to all concerned. ex-
cept the man who fired the fatal shot,
but. of course, no one was punished. There
should be such a license put upon the
sale or possession Of pistols to make
their use prohibitive," said Mr.. Rollins in
conclusion, for the time has gone by
when it is necessary for any one save
law officers and others in dangerous oc-
equations to have them
''Do hotels Iosa much property taken
away by guests?" repeated the head clerk
of a big uptown hotel, stroking his mus
ache so as to dazzle the eyes of the cor
rider man with the kohinoor his third
finger. well, should say so. 1 wouldn't
like to be quoted personally, because every
guest who ever took towel away from
this house would think 1 was speaking of
him. but absent-minded people, to speak
cart off a considerable amount
of hotel belongings in the course of a year. |
Soap and towels are the chief things We
lose, for the reason, l suppose. that they
are about the only portable articles hotel
provides its rooms with. But we have |
had some queer experiences here with trav- |
elers afflicted with kleptomania. One sea-
son we supplied each room with pretty |
rug in front of the fireplace. Over dozen |
of them disappeared in the first month |
The keptomaniacs had just fallen in love | ,
with them, rolled them UP and put them
in their trunks before departing, and no
one was the wiser until the loss WAS re-
ported. Probably half dozen other peo-
pie had occupied the room since the thief
had, and consequently there was no telling
who got it, One of our bell boys once
discovered guest putting pair of hand .
some brass mounted andirons in his trunk
Now, what do you think of that? Pretty
near bad as burgliHg a stove, wasn't |
it? We have lost a good many pillows.
.oo but it is from the loss of towels that | ,
We suffer most. 1 reckon We lose forty
iozen towels year. The towel thieves
usually leave dirty towels taken from other
hotels in place of those they take from us. |