Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-09
PLAYED A MEAN TRICK

A little affair or theatrical trunk dttacH-
ing that was pulled off here by hotel pro-
prietor late last Saturday night reminded
an old-time actor of similar affair that
happened in Washington a good many
years ago.
1--WE were a repertoire outfit" he said,
land for some time previous to our strik-
ing Washington, a year before the lncidenl
happened that L m going to tell you about,
we'd been having some pretty savage Ill
luck. When We came along to washington
we all put up at one of the Pennsylvania
avenue hotels and deposited the baggage
containing our every day street clothes
there. Our costume trunks, OF course
went to the theater. From the first night
we could see that We were going to nave
a bau week OF IL, and thai there Wouid
PROBABLY be no money TO pay the hotei
bills on Saturday night. Wen, we needed
the clothes that We mad packed In the
TRUNKS at the hotel, ana 50, every time we
Went to the tneater, we LOOK some Oh EN-
away in bundles and packed them In our
costume trunks. BY the time Saturday
came AROUND Inere wasn't rag belonging
to any OF us in our trunks at The hotel.
Our uuds were safely tucked away IN ouf
costume trunks. we stood to loose our
empty trunks and grips, lett behind at the
hotel, of course, but mat was small loss
compared with what the loss OF all our
street garments would have been. Inc
Landlord OF the hotel was unSusplclouS, but
the manager of the snow 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, We're on
the baggage car, on their way to PlttSDuiS 6,
our next sop. 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 out OF
town all right, without paying our MOTEL
bills. 1t wasn't a NICE tning to do, OF
course, but We coulun [ hep 1t. We didn't
have the money, and We had to get on to
the next stand.
I'VE 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 remembered very vivid
ly our precIpitous departure from the
capital the year before. We put up at
another Pennsylvania avenue hotel, but we
didn't send a single piece of our baggage
there. We avoided that necessity by pay
ing in advance our hotel bills for the
week. All of our baggage went
to the theater. The manager knew
that the hotel man who had been done by
US the season before, under circumstances
over which we had no control, would have
the papers all ready to attach US on Satur-
day night, and there wasn't enough money
in the treasury to pay that dead-horse
hotel bill.
1.-The manager couldn't resort to the pre-
vious scheme of sending the baggage and
props. out of town early on Saturday even
Ing, for we were to give costume play on
that night, and We had to have our gear.
But he was pretty ingenious manager.
About 10 o'clock on Saturday night, while
the show was in progress, a huge wagon
drew up back of the theater, and the man
ager had it loaded UP to the gun'ls with
big dry-goods boxes big abandoned props.
that weren't worth burning up, cast off
trunks that were out at bottom, and so on.
When several tarpaulins We're stretched
over the wagonload of junk, it looked
enough like a bona fide truckfuIl of the
atrical baggage and gear to be the real
thing
'As we anticipated, the man with the at
tachment papers was in waiting at the end
OF the alley. The wagon load of hotsam
and jetsam clatteTed out of the alley with
all kinds of noise along toward 1880 and
1t was promptly seized. The manager was
on hand to witness the seizure He was a
pretty good actor himself, ano he stormed
and raved. The man with the papers was
only doing his duty, however, and the man
ayers dlssembied wrath did no good as, of
course, he knew would be the case. Finally
he hoped onto the wagon with the man
who had the attachment papers, and told
the driver to go to the hotel where the bill
was owing from the year before. That look
all right to the man with the papers, and
to the hotel the wagon load of driftWood
was driven. The manager jumped off the
wagon and went in to see the proprietor.
The proprietor was granite. The manager
pleaded, expostulated, implored, ragged,
made all sorts of promises, but nothing
went with the hotel proprietor. He wanted
every sou-marque of the money owing him
ioi d year, oF lHe baggage ana props on the
wagon We're hisn. The manager put In
good hour trying to reason with the hotel
man, and his eloquence was enough to move
stone, but the Boniface didn't turn
hair. The end of it all was that the hotel
man remarked. calmly, No ker-tish no
baggage. You're wasting your breath
Well said the manager, when his
voice was hoarse with talking, I spose
I'll have to go out and see if l can't make
dig somewhere
"a That's about right said the hotel man.
brought around back of the hotel and care
fully guarded. You're a foxy proposition,
son, but this is one of the times when
you're up against it right
with a gloomy face and a succession of
deep signs the manager departed saying
that he'd try to get the money somewhere
and return in an hour If successful. What
he did was to hop on a car and ride to the
station, where we were all waiting for him
IN our sleepr. AS soon as the load of junk
mad left the alley to be swooped upon by
the man with the attachment papers an
other van had come up and the bona fide
baggage scenery and props were transfer
red thereto with lightning rapidity and
hauled to the waiting baggage car. There
was another man with attachment papers
waiting outside the hotel where we were
stopping for our hotel baggage-which
wasn't there. This man may be standing
there yet for all I know. We got out Of
town all right without leaving SO much as
a toothpick of our possessions behind /
speak OF boastfully-none of u.s. of course,
had any especial reason for feeling proud
Of achievements like this-but I'm simply
describing an incident. The next time we
came to Washington We were prosperous,
and that bothersome hotel bill was settled