The Washington times., 1901-10-27
THE HOTEL DETECTIVE.
Sleuths a Necessity to the Big Mod
ern Hosteleries.
Men Who Know the Business of
Every Guest-Paid to See That No
Objectionable Characters Secure
demonstrating for Crooks.

Objectionable Characters Secure
Rooms-wntching for Crooks.
| Who is that man?'
Hes card sharp, and no good-he's 8
| crooked"
| The question was asked by the proprie-
tor of a large hotel. The man who an
| swered looked like a drummer waiting in
| the hotel lobby for trade" but he was
the house detective. and had just finished
little conversation with the person in
question. The card man went to the ci-
gar stand, lighted the half cigar which
had gone out, smiled at the detective, and
walked out
The man who makes his living by dis
honest methods, the card sharp, gold
brick man. sawdust speculator. 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 dis
guises and reaped rich harvests among
the guests from the hayseed districts But
for the last few years they have aban-
doned the hotels as bad operating fields
The confidence men who still work in rep
utable hotels are new, or they have new
game to play. Card sharps lure their
prey to "clubrooms'' and private apart
ments. 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 healthh. With these members of the
criminal world eliminated one would nat
urally believe that there was no longer
any occupation for the hotel detective.
But there are few hotels that do not car
ry at least one detective. and In some
Instances as many as four, on their pay
roll
The man who stopped the card sharp
and told him in diplomatic terms that he
guessed he'd better find some other place
to hang out" explained that he had met
the man at Saratoga at the races, where
the detective worked during the summer
months. He had hard name among
The bookmakers.' said the detective, 'and
they know pretty well 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 a blue moon. But we have our
hands full, Just the same. The sneak
thief is like the poor and taxes, always
with us. The old-timers we needn't fear.
because they work in the country, but
the gang that travels in all sorts of cos
TUNES, 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 fell
lows who have big mails come to their
address, and lots of callers in answer to
advertisements. Many of these fellows
are crooks who fleece their visitors, and
it's our business to get onto their games"
At the Waldorf-Astoria there are four
detectives in the employ of the house, ex-
elusive of two women who are on duty
when crowds of unusual size are expect
ed. These people have no regular duties
to perform, but they are expected TO
keep their eyes on all parts of tile house,
to note the arrivals and departures, to
see who send cards to the guests, to make
regular tours of the upper floor to see
that no one Is working, tne rooms of
absent guests. and at evening functions
TO mingle with the throng. always being
ready to quell disturbances or bow out"
any Objectionable persons 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 resi-
dence district OF New York there is a de-
tective who receives no pay for his serv-
ices. He is there few months 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 October, he is at a Northern
summer resort. 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 smuggled out Of
the house, and that no undesirable peo-
pie are smuggIed in. After the summer
season he has a few months in New York.
which he devOteS to study in metropoli-
tan hotel. He requires no books and no
instructor, but simply hangs around
and keeps his eyes and ears open. Then
the Southern season opens and the detec-
tive 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 of times with him.
The tourist who is anxious TO see New
York by electric light or wicked New
York; is valuable source of revenue 10
the hotel detective. The detectives en-
ployed by the San FraL cisco hotels were
services to the hotel guests. They acted
as pilots through Chinatown, and realized
handsome sums of money by the enter
prise They would make up parties at
from 81 to 20 person, anu lneH siio"
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 instances
received a commission from the mer-
chants 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 detectives take their pa
irons to Chinatown. to the Russian and
Italian quarters. show them an East Side
Iodging-holse at close range, a Bowery
or Chinatown theatre. and for good
measure give them glimpses into beer
gardens shotting galleries, dime muse
ums and well-known pothouses. These
sightseeing parties are profitable to the
house detectives, but they are less popu-
lar than they were a few years ago, when
some hotels employed q man for the sole
purpose of guiding guests through the
slurns New York Tribune