The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1896-01-18
HOTEL SWINDLERS.
How They Ply Thor Arts in
London ald Paris.
Extraordinary Robberies Executed by
Darihg Adventures of Both Sexes
The Champion Hotel T5ief
OF the World.

or the World.
TIotel-kcepers are peculiarly liable to
be swindlcd. So many people Of all
sorts arc constantly coming ard 60
ing in the busy season thai it IS next to
impossible for the most careful man to
be sure beforehand that his quests are
all honest aud straightforward, and
will not be found 10 have skcdaddlctl
when the time comes for the little bill
to be collected. after they have Jared
sumptuously for many days. The best
the sorely tried landlord can do is to
steer, as we'll as &c may, the happy
middle course, without o1cEding the
solvent by raising suspicious Of their
solvcncY beforehand. ard watching the
doubtful lest they suddenly disappear
in the night And he may bc trusted
to be pretty sure ON the average to
make up for his losses by sticking
them on to those Who do not Pay up.
Two wcll-tlrcsscd young follows, APP
parcptly strangers to each other, were
givcn rooms OH the same floor of a cer-
tain hotel. y day or two later enc of
them said his trunk led Leon stolen.
and made such an cutlery Tat, to get
rid of him, the unsuspecting landlord
paid him the value Of his ti1rl, and its
contents. amounting to something like
Ell. The young man left and prcsnt-
ly the other gentleman paid his IilIaud
also took his departure. Eut in come
way the dcfraudcd landlord learned Ia
ter that when gentleman 30. left he
took with him not only his own trunk
but the one for which no. had been
paid, concealed inside it.
From Margatc there comes q tale of q
bold attempt by foreign countess"
to get the better of hotel manager
Aware that hotel keepers arc liable for
the property of guests mp TO certain
amount, irrespective of ''ncgliGerce,
the countess. when her bill WAS Pre-
rentcd to her, declared that she had
hccn robbed of Z valuable silver belt,
worth moro than the Smoilnt of her
hill. But while the manager was dn-
biously discussing tho point there
stepped forward the head chamberlain
ard quietly said that he had heard that
identical silver belt story twice pre-
viously-at Monte Carlo two years Ec-.
fore, and at Scarborough last year. At
both places She had happened to lie sery-
ing rs u housclnaid. The countess
quickly paid her bill aud departed.
One OF the most extraordinary rob-
berries recorded is the ono which was
effected a short time ago 1t hotel in
the Rue Sophie Gcrlnain, Paris. Orc
afternoon well dressed man ard vcra-
an arrived at the hotel in question and
took the best bedroom in the house for
one night, paying for it in advance and
requesting the waiter to call them at
four O'clock the EeXt morning. lie did
so. ond they left at five o'clock. But
when the chambcrmaid wentto PUT the
room in order she met with an astound-
ing sight. The place was nearly Eare,
and, in fact, every movable article Of
furniture had disappeared The visit
ors, with the aid Of accompliccs in the
streets, had managed to lower all
through the window without being per-
ceived.
The death was recently recorded of d /
remarkable scamp who must surely !
have been the champion hotel thief 0
the world lie rcjoiccd il the narac o /
Col. William Addison, ard is estimated
TO have in his lifetime departed from
5000 hotels without leaving any money (
behind him His mode of operation
was peculiar and ingenious. He had I
devised contrivanccs for carrying on |
his ncfarious career in the shape Of an I
Addison collapsible trunk and an Adj T
olson balloon hand lag. The trunk APP T
pcarcd to be an expensive leathcr-cov-
cred affair Of large size, which, when
contracted, could be carried under the
arm like an artists portfolio, while the
hand bag could be diminished so as to
20 into a pocket. Selecting his hotel
usually high-priccd one-the colonel
would fill his trunk with bricks and
blow out his hand bug with straw and
proceed to take uphie quarters. At the
least indication OF Impotence on the
part of the landlord for payment OF his
bill the colonel, announcing that he was
going to the hank, would rack his trun,
in his portfolio and put his bag Ill his
pocket and depart for good. In this
way he had lived in luxury for many
years, and, consistent to the end, he
died in a leland leftno money behind
hiin.--London Ti:-Bits.