The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-09-01
JANITOR'S VARIED DUTIES.
THINGS M HAS To DO TO HrMOR
THE TENANTS ~ TINE FLATS.


ments Attended Helps locked
out Tenants Take. care Of Pets.
well. that's about the limit exclaimed
the janitor Of an uptown apartment hous,
as he came down In tho elevator nlopping
his brow That most crtainly h the
limit
what Is the limit'- asked a cinous
passenger.
The lady In apartment u. seventh floor.
rear. west. just rang me up and when ]
reached the fat she explained with some
confusion that her shirt waist was one Of
the new ones that button In the hack and
that she could only reach six down from
the collar hand aud three up from the waist
line. This left n gnp Of seven buttons
and holes and she wanted TO he coupled. ~ to
sbeak My hands were all black from
handling tho ash rams and ] had To wash
them first and then &c, buttons about tho
size Of a pin head into little bits Of laco
eyclet holes. l tell you. I'll never tackle
any thing like that again II | lose my job.
TIN willing TO 10 agreeable, but when II
oomcs to Lady's maid. tbey'r have Ia cut
ms out
Il suppose ali sorts o. tn ngs arr cI-
pected Of n Janitor?' said tho curious tenant.
who didn't know that tho newest name
for the janitor L. the manager.
There are more things expected OF the
jani,or OF All apartment house. said the
Jani;or. than any one man could do or
could know how TO do. When h" take-
the plNcr he ~ instructed h That ne "a
Irresponsible for tho steam heat. IN" electric
light, the elevator, the employment ui
hall men, the removal 81 kitchen waste
twice a day and the cleanliness Of the hall
wsyp. sidewalks and entrance
.Ihe-r duties. Il " not dificult 10 under
stand. are quite sufficient To occupy any
one mans time. hut this is not n sixteenth
part Of the various favor that arr asked
Of the jsnitor hy the tenants, often as
though they wer a part 81 hiS regular
work.
Naturally. a fat manager wishes To IL
on good terms with III" tenant~ Tor various
rpasnns besides his own reputation A. a
manager and his continuance In the piace.
There are .oTnc tenants who do not hesitate
TO make the Jsnitor's alleged inatt"ntloh
10 their wants an excuse Toy hrAkmg
leases and leaving their nate with rent
unpaid. II this complaint is mad" often
unjust though IL may h.. Il will inJurr the
managers record. and Il Is therefore a
better policy to cnnciliats tenants ana
keep them IN good humor
To do this. however. frequently gets
20 - a Herculean task. especially when
the IantOr - A-he1 tt W a bdFN : wv
or a lady's maid. But there ~ "a limit
I've been a ~hathou-e managcr nov Tor
over fifteen vrars. working always IN IN"
letter class OF family apartment hou-'~'
and | feel that ] am competsnt 10 work az
any trade from thai of an electrical engi-
nser 10 blrglaizing a ho'I~e or brrakiug
into a safe am obliged To have a ST OF
burglars tools In order 10 g~t INTO th'
fats when the tenants have harricad"d
them on all sides and then come out without
their KEYS. I could g. a. acrobat m a
cirras from INV experience In scaling walls,
frp escApes and roofs. and as mind reader
and family advisor ] hstter myself That
would -uccsed.
The nuisances tha, rank first among
tho.s. that tho janitor meekiy accepts a.
duties IL the delivery Of notes and messages
and the care Of packages that come from
The shops. laundry. markets. DC. Indeed
many tenants IN highly indignant " {:
q. u. parcel- ar- not received aud Tatd
for in their absence the Janitor being sup
posed 20 H. afiuent and 10 possess a reserve
fund for such emergencies
Once upon a time In my youthful DAYS
! used Ia pride myself on ohliging tenants
In this way. hut after being burco"d OUT
Of q ny a loA ~ broken china ! quit. H.
sides this. many n shopper, whom sh" gets
home. or in another shop decides that she
can d. without tho articl" 81 material
bought or would prefer some other and
~ concludes ~ send u hacN 10 the sinf"
Ia this ease she refuses 10 paN the Janitor
Who has nid tho & Il. " charges and he
II thur left with n few yards ct lace or per
hap- a pair ~ pink stays on his hand.
AAs n social register. keeping tails on
the engagements. visits and calk of tenants
and on uesra ge~ over the phonr the AN
itor must h. y wizard Tell Mrs. Jon".
an the fourth foor that NJ. smith called
and was - sorry To fnd her ou and will
Mrs Jones call 40 MIR Smith on the tele-
phone- Nc. ism Bedford At $40 -
morrow That l. the specimen 81 the
demands that are made on a Janitor : mem
Dry
with Ave fat. housing from two to si1
this question Of me-sags~ gets
To I've a responsibility ave a set OF books
going nov with columns marked on Tor
the dates and the hour uf IN" day and III"
name Of the person sending the nle--ase'
hut even then people slip mp on engage
ments and come To me To- know ne reason
why
sTh. ordinary accidents In n fat n to
bathroom and hssin leaks, b e'csp@
~ gns. door and windows that stick ami
cr.ak. locks that will not hook or that viii
no, unlock. broken windows and all III"
other hundred and one casualties are 81
daily occurrence often I have a waiting
isi Sometimes when the tenants can
find nothing Serious the matter th"y be
gin 10 search Tor trouble and declare that
NV I'M ~
unless they ar" repuiit'u
A fai manager must have = lit OF car
pen,er'. tools and plumbers implements
a burglars Jimmy and n lunch Of falsc KEYS
alvavs In readiness Ne mus he gas
ntt.r. eIeCtncal engineer, carpenter and
man OF all work, l.eide~ social promoter.
Then there arc tine other lighter dutie-
such as the chasing 1T mice, IN" eN'"rinina-
ton ~ insects. the expulsion uf lmpudert
servants and tho rec"ipi OF
but above all other Vocations tho laniior
mus, H. Az animal trainer and ntenager'e
ke..t-r. a dog doctor and eScrc'-er The
rooms allotted 90 IN" ianitor in the base
m.ni are a. all timcr. .~pes'ially during
he summer. CAV with singing birds. talking
parrots and a gihlrnng monkey. whiie
mice, aud sometimes rabbits A. Tor dogs.
Va, have them ~ all sizes and breeds. Ons
Young man, who occupies n two-roon suite
which he ha- nllcd With hric-a-brac and
uss, has q ~. Bernard 80 rig thet !, would
wreck the place II II once wagged its tail
inside ~ it, owners apartment. 10 II
hve~ with me mo~t of the une
I've had - build a kennel In the cellar
aud have an aviary attached, hut the mon-
kew required a -rpsrGi" cag". and when
so, a bowl 81 goldfish 7 wondered What
wosild com. next u vac a foN TERRIER
with az pups
Then I iesan Ca take an interest In the
matter and took all the ulbt-'r plants