Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-12
SOME HOTEL METHODS
How Gotham Hostelries Keep
Reporters Guessing.
PROTECTION OF GUESTS
SOMETHING NOVEL AND UP-To-
DATE IN GRATING LINE.
Environ Of Security for Wealthy Pa
irons of New York's Best
Caravansaries.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
NEW YORK, December 10, 1904
Readers of press dispatches from New
York are probably often puzzled over the
fact that the New York news gatherers APP
pear to have all sorts of difficulties in posi-
lively naming the hotels at which persons
figuring prominently. for the moment, in
big matters of news, are established.
Recently there was striking instance in
point Of this. A woman whose mysterious
ability to obtain vast sums of ready money
from conservative persons and institutions
Is marvel to the curious, and is also the
chief object of attention of the New York
newspapers.
The New York newspapers were informed
from western city, where there is big
lend to the story" that this woman was
registered at a certain noted hotel in 5th
avenue, New York. Thither the men as
signed by the New York city editors to
cover the New York end" went with the
natural idea that they might be able to see
the woman figuring so prominently in the
news and obtain her side of the story.
They We're met at the hotel desk by q
prompt and fiat denial that the woman was
stopping there at all. More than that, the
hotel people stated that the woman had
never stopped there, and that. in fact. the
hotel had never SO much as heard of her.
There are various ways of "springing"
folks who secrete themselves in New York
hotels, however. Baffled, the news search
erS confabed a bit with the police of the
precinct in which the hotel is located. When
their own affairs are not involved the New
York police are occasionally willing to go
to quite little trouble to aid favored work
ers on the STATS of New York newspapers.
A plain clothes detective appeared at the
hotel desk, stating that he had been sent
by his captain to investigate a little mat
ter. News had reached the station. he
said, that Certain woman involved in q
financial mess, about which a great deal
was being written in the newspapers, had
committed suicide at the hotel. The hotel
people assured the detective that she had
not done anything of the sort. This, of
course. clinched the newsgatherers' belief
that the woman was really guest of the
house. The detective demanded to have
a report with certainty to his captain, and
the hotel folks had no way of lodging this
demand. The detective had short peep at
the woman guest about whom so much is
being printed and thus he was enabled to
describe her appearance to the ~ Of wait
ing news hunters down in the lobby. It Is
hardly necessary to say that only little
bird had informed the police department
that the woman had committed suicide, and
that the dodge was merely an adroit method
of ascertaining beyond question that the
woman was lodged at the hotel where the
news hunters supposed her to be.
Ihe IalK OF the FOWL.
Only a few weeks ago a vastly wealthy
Pittsburg couple, whose quarrels and dou-
ble-ended divorce proceedings and kidnap-
ings of their children. first on one side ana
then on the other, were the talk OF the town
and the country in general through the New
York press dispatches. were carrying on
their little comedy-dramalt had decided
comedy end, for the pair are now recon-
ciled and are talking of remarriage-at one
of the great New York hotels facing the
park. ..+.,
The woman was registered at the hotel
with her children and large retinue OF
nurses. with bodyguard OF detectives EN-
ployed to see that the husnana sno 1l;d,a on
kept from executing his threat 10 kidnap
the children A good deal of the action III
this little piece was carried on IN Tue eie
yators of the hotel and in the PUBIC recep-
tion rooms and even on the sldeWa!ks
aIoneside And yet the hotel people, WIFI
fhe greatness GOODNESS ana apparent sin
carity Imaginable informed the neWsgath,
erers assigned to the story tina. 'a and her
children involved, but that the hotei dio not
even know that such persons were aiVe ia
the world. r. nv ,esa foil
ten If not flippant on the part or tine notei
naonIe TO those not acquainted with the ma
t1re of the annoyances to when weaishS
guests at New York hotels are sup1ectsu.
Very few of the best hotels OF Ne" 1oIh
NOW give out the names or tnelF guests
n nNsr IN those publica tons which make
BUSINESS of collecting the names OF the
guests of all of the leading hotels OF the
city- The hotel register Is no longer at tne
DISPOSAL of anybody who comes along. II
is kept no longer on the hotel desk open
for anybody's inspection. That OLD metnoo
made things altogether too easy for the
smooth and oily grafters, who for many
years made a rich thing OF 1t by piucKlng
wealthy. handed and "easy' strangers
within these gates.
Who's Who Grafters.
These grafters. possessing who's who?
information from every section of the
United States, only had to look over the ho-
tel registers pick out a little list of prom
isine names compare the names with the
business and money rating given the pos
SCISSORS of the names in the various publica-
tons devoted to that purpose and then sail
in and begin to work their wiles upon the
guests found to be the possessors of riches.
The grafters who worked in the name OF
fake charities found this sort Of work
mighty remunerative, and not few OF
them grew so rich at 1t that they were en-
abled to retire in affluence. They would
simply send their cards to the guests whose
'names had been selected" and then ask
for contributions to imaginary homes for
the aged, non-existent lying-in asylums,
"phony'' orphan asylums. fictitious institu-
lions for the care Of superannuated printers,
or what not. The game was something de-
lightfully easy. Rich people visiting New
York from all parts of the country are gen.
to- 10 nvr6f hoyr hay ffoa