The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-17
MEAN TRICK ON A LANDLORD
CARFTY THEATRICAL MANAGER
ELUDES A HOTEL BILL.
Had Owed It For a Year and Had To
Make Another Appearance At the
Scene of Former Trouble.
washington stcr.J

A little affair OF theatrical trunk at.
taching that was pulled off here by
hotel proprietor recently reminded an
old time actor of similar affair that
happened in Washington a good many
years ago.
I'VE were a repertoire outfit" he said,
land for some time previous to our
striking Washington, year before the
incident happened that I'm going to tell
you about, we'd been having some pref
~ saving ill-luck. When we came along
to Washington we all put up at one or
the Pennsylvania avenue hotels and d.
posted the baggage containing our
every day street clothes there. Our
costume trunks, of course. went to the
theatre. From the first night We could
see that We were going TO have bad
week of il, and that there would prob
ably be no money to pay the hotel bills
on Saturday night. Well. we needed the
clothes that we had packed in the
trunks at the hotel and so. every time
we went TO the theatre. we took some
of 'em away in bundles and packed
them in our costume trunks. By the
time Saturday came around there was
MT rag belonging to any of us in our
trunks at the hotel Our buds were
safely tucked away in our costume
trunks and grips. left behind at the no.
tel, of course, but that was small
loss compared with what the loss of all
our street garments would have been.
The landlord of the hotel was unsuspi-
cious, but the manager of the show
wasn't taking any chances. By O'CLOCK
on Saturday night all of our trunks. as
well as all Of the scenery and props we
carried. were on the baggage car. on
their way to Pittsburg, our next stop.
On Saturday night we gave play that
required only street dress. and we wore
the clothes that We were going to get
out of town in. We got ont of town all
right. without paying our hotel bills. Tt
wasn't nice thing to do, of course.
but we couldn't help it. We didn't
have the money. and we had TO get on
to the next stand.
1--WE contrived to hold together. and
we were booked for Washington late
in the following season. All of US. not
excluding the manager. came on here
with some fear and trembling; we re-
membered very vividly our precipitous
departure from the capital the year be-
fore. We put UP at another Pennsyl-
vania avenue hotel but we didn't send
a. single piece Of baggage there. We
avoided that necessity by paying in adj
vance our hotel bills for the week. Ali
of our baggage went 20 the theatre
The manager knew that the hotel man
before. under circumstances over which
we had no control. would have the pa
pers all ready to attach us on Saturday
night. and there wasn't enough money
in the treasury TO pay that dead horse
hotel bill
THE manager couldn't resort TO the
previous scheme of sending the bag
gage and props out of town early on
| Saturday evening. for we were to give
q costume play on that night. and we
had to have our gear. But he was a
pretty ingenious manager About 10
o'clock on Saturday night. while the
show was in progress. a huge wagon
drew up back of the theatre. and the
manager had it loaded up to the gun'ls
with big dry goods boxes. big aban-.
doned props that weren't worth burn
ing up. cast Off truss that were out at
bottom. and so on. When several tar
paulins We're stretched over the wag-