New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-08-30
CAUGHT Tn T He IRA p

CAUGHT In THE IRA p
The GREAT SMALLPOX SWiNDLE AND.
HOW IT WAS W0RDED
A Braxe1 and Well Planned Sche emo
BIZ Which Two Sharp Confidence
Men Bunkoed /. H sfe1 Keeper out
of $4,000.
9 dare say you never heard of the.
great smallpox swindle,,' said the ho-
tel manager. The facts of that re-
markable affair were withheld at the.
time for the most urgent reasons Of
policy, and even now l prefer to tell
the story without names or localities.
It happened in the fall of 1886, when a
certain hotel in a large western city
was crowded with tourists. One day,
at the height of the season, two gen
stlemanly looking strangers put up at
the house and were assigned to what
we call q double ROOM About a week
later one Of them appeared at the of
fee and requested private interview
with the manager. I regret to inform
YOU he said, after the door was clos
ed, that my friend is down with Sc
we're attack of smallpox.
"The proprietor nearly fell out Of his
chair. There was known to. be small
pOx In the city, and the bare sugges-
ton that the disease had appeared in
the hotel was enough to empty it in a
twinkling. To let the news get out
meant the loss Of thousands, upon thou
sands Of dollars. 1t meant the ruin Of
the seasons business. He must be
quietly removed at once said the pro-
prietor, trying to control his agitation
Removed! exclaimed the other.
Taken through the cold air to laze-
retto! Why, man, that would be MUIR
der! I'll not permit it, ...-
"The hotel keeper was thunder
struck. DO you mean to say he must
stay here? he gasped. -
Certainly said the stranger.
cit was a ticklish situation. The no.
tel keeper dare not enforce his sugges-
tion, while to let the case remain was
like storing gunpowder in a furnace
room. He pleaded, protested, begged,
threatened and clustered, but all in
vain. The man was firm as a rock. If
you attempt to eject my sick FRIEND he
declared, I'll publish your inhumanity
to the entire community
Finally it occurred to the distracted
proprietor to see, first. whether it was
really case Of smallpox. So he sent
for physician, swore him to secrecy
and hustled him up to the room. The
doctor took one look at the disigured
face on the pillow and reported that
the malady was there in malignant
type. He advised the mans immediate
removal at any cost. If you keep him
concealed he said, the disease may
spread, and it would ruin you for life
You owe something to your guests
Again the proprietor interviewed the
friend, and again the latter refused to
bulge from his position.
?" Where can l take him? he demand
ed. You know very we'll l can't get
comfortable quarters for such pur-
pose, and l won't have him butchered
in pesthouse to please any landlord
on earth! The hotel man felt his hair
stand on end. but concluded to let
things stand as they were until morn
ing.
Next day he sent for the sick mans
friend and asked him whether he had
any suggestions to make.
GSVocS hD q
plan over night, which you may adopt
or not, as you like. AS l said before,
he continued, 1T is useless to try to
rent quarters for such a case. We
might, however, buy a small cottage
and take him there. have figured the
thing up and the total expense would
be about $4,000. If you are willing to
hand over that amount, will take him
away and assume all further respon-
sibility. I make the offer entirely out
Of sympathy for your guests
''The landlord looked him in the eye.
I, too, have thought the situation
over he.said, and I'm convinced it's
I'm convinced there's nothing the mat.
ter with your dear friend up stairs
but am also convinced that the slight.
est breath Of the affair would greatly
damage the reputation of the house
As business proposition consider IL
worth $1,000 to get rid Of you
1.-THE other man smiled ironically
Call cab and get out your money,
he said, and inside an hour the incubus
had been spirited through side door
swathed in blankets and driven away.
"As the landlord shrewdly surmised
the whole thing was confidence game
and he learned the particulars later or
through sport he had once befriend
ed. There was nothing the matter
with the rascal up stairs except thai
his faca had been nrfckad little witt