The Washington times., 1901-12-01
BEATING A HOTEL.
Fashionable HosteIrics Suffer Most
From bad Bills.


From had Bills.
"It is the easiest thing in the world to
beat hotel"
Simeon Ford's melancholy face took on
a sadder tinge. Being one Of New Yorks
champion funny men has given him an
expression OF settled gloom
Perhaps l oughtn't to tell the public
how easy It is" he added, looking doubt
fully at the reporter.
There's the Hotel Mems Protective
Association" suggested the reporter, en-
couragingly.
Yes, there's the association" admitted
Mr.. Ford; that helps. Well. it's DO trou-
bic at all to beat hotel, The law says
we must take anyone who comes, without
regard to age. color. or previous condition
of servitude. The only thing we can look
to Is the baggage. All beat has to do is
to present himself with fair array Of
ba ggage. We take him to our bosom.
After few days or week or a month.
according to the custom of the particular
hotel concerned, he is asked TO pay. He
hasn't any money. A remittance he ex-
pected hasn't come. We hold the bag
gage. He skips. We open the trunk and
find soiled handkerchief and three dirty
collars. There we are! We can go 10
law. What good viii it do US in nine out
Of ten cases?
Some OF the beats aren't sharp enough
to work the thing that way. They re-
move their baggage or property by piece
meal. II we can catch them doing that.
with intent to defraud, the law can hold
them in criminal proceedings; but 1t is
almost impossible to nab a departing
guest under such conditions that we can
prove intent to defraud.
There are a good many regular beats.
but they can't make their living at 1t very
long nowadays. The hotel men OF every
State have protective associations. When
ever a fragrant case OF fraud turns up at
any hotel the proprietor gives the associa-
tion an account of the circumstances and
careful description of the beat. We are
all notified. and we have a welcome up
our sleeves for him
Then there are outside associations for
our benefit. Ever head of the hotel collec-
tion agencies? Well. they are great in
stitutions-sort of genteel blackmail af-
faIrs-thoroughly justihable blackmail, you
understand. Suppose Smith comes here,
stays a week. and jumps bis bill. l notify
the collection agency. They look up Mr..
Smith and tell him that If he doesn't pay
up they viii post his name in their list of
delinquent debtors for circulation among
all k,.4 l.
in the country. The thing is managed so
ingeniously that it can't be brought under
the laws definition OF biackmaiI and 1t
generally brings Smith to time. A man
who doesn't care a hang for a judgment
squirms under the idea of having his name
published broadcast in a list of dead
beats
You see, the average man who doesn't
pay his hotel bill isn't man without any
pride isn't regular beat. He is more
often a man who is well to do. or has
been well fixed, but is hard up for the
moment. He expects to catch on next
week, and he goes ahead and blows him
self in good faith. Next week doesn't I
come loaded with bank notes, and he can I
settle It's the fashionable hotel that
loses heavily through bad debts. We
catch comparatively little of it here, but
the very swell hotels of New York lose
thousands and thousands of dollars every
year through debts run up by social
lights.
They can't turn down a patron Of high
social standing. He is used to burning
money, and runs up a tremendous bill
It seems natural enough that he should
Then he can't pay. What's the hotel man
to do? He can't afford to raise a row.
He may eventually get the money. Then
again, he may not. You'd be surprised
if you knew the men and women who owe
hotel bills in this town.
Il don't know but what the old timer
has been the most fatal proposition for
me. Sometimes man has been coming to
the house for years. and has always been
on the straight. He strikes hard luck,
asks for time We let him run along for
the sake Of his record His bill climbs
high, he doesn't pull out of the hole, and
he lands us for good round sum.
But it isn't only the old timer who
beats us Why, even the children can play
with us hotel men. Onfy little while ago
three small boys came here. That was the
most ingenious beat I ever saw"
Mr.. Fords serious face relaxed into a
reminiscent grin.
They were small shayers," he went on,
land they stayed three or four days be-
fore we asked them for money. When we
did, they confessed that they didn't have
any. that they had run away from home
and had spent every cent they brought
with them. We thought it was a good deal
of a Joke. They were such nice. bright
little chaps. They gave US their home
address and we telegraphed to their par
ents Got a telegram right back. Par
ents were overioyed to get track of err
ing children Would we kindly hold the
boys. The parents would be down here
after them.
we held the boys. and they kept right
on eating everything in sight. After a
few days had gone by we telegraphed to
the agonzed parents again. Prompt an
swer Family bereavement had prevented
their coming at once, but they would be
on by the end of the week. We fed the
young cormorants all that week No par
ents At last We bought railroad tickets
and sent the kids home to save ourselves
from bankruptcy. They had had the time
of their lives. l suppose the parents want
cd to give the children an outing They
did it-and it didn't cost them anything
beyond the price of the tickets to New
York.--New York Sun.
Miss Cushmnn's Request
There is a story told Of Charlotte Cush-
man that once, when she was filling an