The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-26
BEST PAID OF ALL
ARE THE PRIVATE DETECTIVES
 IN BIG HOTELS
Sit Around the Lobbies, Look Pros porous, and Keep Their Eyes open-Hotsl Thieves Hard
 To Detect.

Ha
 Uinauestionably. the best fed and tkc men who are <nown to be detectives by only few of the persons who see them. says The Chicago Tribune.
 hotels. Their principal duty is to be as as polite as possible, and yet to keep their eyes open for possible fnfractons of the law against the larceny of property from
 rooms. The men are chosen for two qualities, which, if they do not possess them makes them valueless to the hotel which pays them. They must in the first Nothing in their dress or manner or lam guage must jar upon the most senst- tive guest. They must sit as easily In the best chair, drink the best drinks at
 the bar. smoke the best cigars, and look as prosperous and contented as ths. man who pays the highest price For the best room in the house. These house de- tectives give tone to the hotels. They know all about the city and their advice Is always sober and quiet. There Is noth- ing harsh in their makeup and polite ness they cultivate as an art.
 The second qualification Is far removed from the first. As we'll as being an or nament to the hotel they must have a utilitarian value and this comes of their intimate knowledge of hotel thieves. The hotel thief is in a class by himself. With him caste cuts as much figure as 1t does with the sedate and dignified bank burg lar and the bank burglar is commonly supposed to be the flower of the crim- inal aristocracy. The man who steals in hotels must have quick wit, good ad- dress and an acquaintance with the best hotels in the land. He must not attract attention by shabbiness or furtiye eye If he sees fit to register under an assumed name the better to ply his vo- cation. He must harmonize with the pic. ture as much as the detective does. and 1t is harder for him. But he does 1t. That is why he is a hard thief to catch. Often when a detective has put his hand on the expensive coat sleeve of man he Is sure Is a thief the suspect turns on him with a n1ien of offended inno- cence that would Tighten an inexpe- tel detective then must be immune to intimidation and must be quick and sure in his judgments.
 Hotel Thieves Hard to Detect.
 As the hotel thief looks so much like secrets well. the new detective has no chance of arresting many of his tribe. But the men who prot ,ct Chicago's ho- tels are not novices. Most of them have deteetives. 'Is Frank @ Rep e ito, who is tse house detective at the Auditorium and the Auditorium Annex. used to be city detective at the Harrison Street Stahon of the Grand Pacific. was a detective attached to headuuarters and travelling as the police phrase is, with John Raf- ferty, now the proprietor of the levee's most picturesque saloon.
 They and the other hotel protectors know the noted hotel thieves by sight and reputation. The proof that tho ho- tels arc well guarded is that Few rob no guests ose articles from rooms. The hotel sneak has the skele- ton key habit and knows the uses Of a transom. A fire escape is to his liking. rooms he uses the tactics that have giv. ell the telephone burglar" a distinct place in the gallery of criminals. He calls ur a ho;el guest on the telephone, and, using an assumed name. finds time when that guest will be absent long enough to permit him to work with ease Then he comes around and if he car run the gauntlet of the ., ooys ana the
 The house dete has two other mls- sons besides catching hotel thieves lie watches for guests that may emulate to some degree the man immortalized in the song as the "boarder who let his trunk down with a rope and off to freight train he did slope" Many guests have little baggage and more of them have big bills. To preserve an equality between what the guest can pay and what he contracts to pay is part of the work or the detective. A false move. an import nent question or pertinent one lm- pertinently put might cost the house a good guest. But the information as to the guests reliability must cone froih some place. and the detective Is the man who has to get it. So he treasures all the gossip he hears and does all the yer Ification work that he can. He Is often as a commercial guide.
 Watching Hotel Employees.
 Another mission that is his Is the watching of employees. The hotel silver and linen. although carefully checked up by the housekeeper each day: Is Of such value that many employees will run great risks to get possession of it. Then the detective has work to do that is more ike that of the regular city det ecIL, than any of his other labor. He must shadow employees and worm himself into their secrets, and always with Am eye l., the interests of the hotel. His day IS filled with interesting things! and he never lacks variety From sitting at toni,S sa1S ,areiessly scrutinizing the passing throng to getting ont at night and md followins os suspected empl yes $ some change o1 uc5 ,upati0n, But it is all in the game, and ne is the man upon whose shoulders the work falls.