The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-28
HOTEL DETECTIVES.
They Keep Bad Men on the Move ana
Perform Many other Services.

| -
crooked"
The question was asked by the pro-
prietor of a large hotel. The man who
answered looked like a drummer wait
ing in the hotel lobby for trade" but
he was the house detective, and had
just finished a little conversation with
| the person in question. The card man
went to the cigar stand, lighted the
half cigar which had gone out, smiled
at the detective and walked out.
The man who makes his living by
| dishonest methods, the card sharp, gold
brick man, sawdust Spectator, green
goods agent, sneak thief or confidence
man, was formerly dreaded by the pro-
| prietors of metropolitan hotels. These
| men came to the hotels in all sorts OF
DISCUSSES and reaped rich harvests
among the guests from the hayseed dis
| tricts. But for the last few years they
have abandoned the hotels as bad oper-
ating fields. The confidence men who
still work in reputable hotels are new,
or they have new game to play. Card
sharps lure their prey to "clubrooms'
| and private apartments" green goods
men make their headquarters at hotels
| in the suburbs or in the lower part of
the city, and all around crooks know
| that the glare of light in an uptown
| hotel is not beneficial to their health.
With these members of the criminal
world eliminated one would naturally
believe that there was no longer any
occupation for the hotel detective. But
there are few hotels that do not carry
| at least one detective, and in some in
stances as many as four, on their pay
| roll.
The man who stopped" the card
sharp and told him in diplomatic terms
that che guessed he'd better find some
| ether place to hang out" explained
that he had met the man at Saratoga
at the races, where the detective work.
ed during the summer months. He
had a hard name among the book
Makers said the detective, land they
know pretty we'll how to gauge a man,
| but we don't have to turn many of
his kind away. They don't turn up here
not one in blue moon. But we have
cur hands full just the same. The
sneak thief is like the poor and taxes,
always with us. The oldtimers we
needn't fear, because they work in the
country, but the gang that travels in
all sorts of costumes, from college
student to priest-those are the fellows
we have to look out for. Another
| troublesome lot are the men who have
a game to work, the fellows who have
| big mails come to their address, and
lots of callers in answer to advertise
ments. Many of these fellows are
crooks, who fleece their visitors, and
| it's our business to get onto their
game"
At the Waldorf Astoria there are
four detectives in the employ of the
house, exclusive of two women who
| are on duty when crowds of unusual
| size are expected These people have
no regular duties to perform, but they
are expected to keep their eyes on all
parts of the house, to note the ar
rivals and departures, to see who sends
| cards to the guests, to make regular
tours of the upper floors to see that
| no one is working the rooms of alb
| sent guests. and at evening functions
| to mingle with the throng, always be-
| ing ready to quell disturbances or
bow out" any objectionable person
who may have slipped into the place
At the smaller hotels the time of the
| detective is utilized in various ways.
| He takes the deposits to the bank, acts
as purchasing agent stands between
the manager and the unknown visitor,
and is often the general utility man
| of the house. AT one of the hotels in
the residence district of New York
there is a detective who receives nc
pay for his services. He is there a
few month every year, and does the
work in the hotel to 'freshen up" and
see and hear things that are necessary.
In the summer, from July until Oc-
tober, he is at a Northern summer re-
sort. where he keeps an eye on the
visitors, acts as confidential man for
the proprietor. strolls through the halls
tries the doors of guests who are away
sees that no baggage is struggled out
| of the house, and that no undesirable
| people are struggled in. After the sum-
mer season he has a few months in
New York, which he devotes to study
in a metropolitan hotel He requires no
books and no instructors, but simply
hangs around" and keeps his eyes
and ears open. Then the Southern sea-
son opens, and the detective goes To
a Southern hotel to perform the same
| duties there as at the Northern spa
| The detectives good pay is earned in
summer and winter; the other seasons
are "off times" with him.
The tourist who is anxious to see
New York by electric light" OF
wicked New York" is valuable
source of revenue to the hotel detec-
tive The detectives employed by the
San Francisco hotels were the first OF
! their profession to sell their services to
the hotel guests. They acted as pilots
! through Chinatown, and realized hand
some sums of money by the enterprise
| They would make up parties at from
| 81 to SIS a person, and then show the
sights in keeping with the prices paid
| The smaller the compensation the
more liable the guide would be to for
! get" important points. Aside from the
regular fee the guides in many in
/ stances received a commission from the
merchants whom the party would
patronize. In New York. Chicago and
! New Orleans there are hotel detectives
who may be employed as guides for
! parties in search of the queer pictures
of those cities. In New York the de-
toctives take their patrons to China
town. to the Russian and Italian
| quarters, show them an East Side
! lodging house at close range, a Bowery
! or Chinatown theatre, and for good
measure give them glimpses into beer
! gardens, shooting galleries, dime mu-
seums and well known pothouses.
/ These sightseeing parties are prohta-
BILE 10 the house detectives. but they are
less popular than they were few
/ years ago when some hotels employed
a man FOR the sole purpose Of guiding
guests through the slums,