The border vidette. (Nogales, Ariz.) 1894-1934, 1904-03-26
The Chair Warmer.

The "Chalr Warmer is type OF
humanity to be found in the west that
is almost as injurious to the mining in
| dustry as is the "Knocker," and it is
sometimes the case that they are both
combined in one person.
The "Chair Warmer" if given his
Just deserts, would be run in by the
police on a charge of vagrancy, for he
| has no "visible means of support" AMI
YET, to listen to him, one would be led
| to believe that he Is il millionaire iii
embryo; and he is, in his mind, the
only difficulty being that he lacks fer
tility, while his ambition. for a decade
or more, must have been kept in ''cold
| stora ee-"
The "Chair Warmer" is to he found
| in numbers in the lobbies of Our lead
ing hotels, for the atmosphere of these
places is a comfort and a JOY to him.
Some of them come very near owning
these hostelries, as possession is nine
tenths in the law" aud many of them
spend about this much of their time in
and about the hotels scanning the re-
gisters as soon as new guests arrive,
and, when not otherwise enga ged, are
occupying seats and sofas that, by
rights, belong to the travelling public,
who pay for the use of the same.
There are "Chair Warmers" in Salt
Lake who have haunted the lobbies of
our hotels for the last ten or fifteen
years One may leave the city for IA
few years, but, upon his return, he will
find the same old veterans holding the
fort. He Is a fixture, and the land
lord has never found the means to get
rid of him. By skilful questioning the
''Chair Warmer" finds out the business
of visitor. By hook or crook he
manages to make the acquaiHtance of
the guests. If the stranger is here on
| mining business, the "Chair Warmer"
knows all about the property, and lays
his plans at once to do little "black-
mailing" He will not rest until he
has his finger in the pie, and his con-
federates are all 'put next" and elabor
ate plans are made and concocted to
get into the deal. If this cannot be
done, an endeavor is made to switch
the prospective purchaser to some other
proposition, for the "Chair Warmers"
are always loaded down with bonds
and options on property that compares
'favorably with the biggest thing in
the west," or each and every one of
them have properties of their own
which need but little capital to make
| them the peer of the Silver King, the
Centennial Eureka, or the Utah Con :
solidated. Perhaps the victim will
bite at the bait, but he never is land
ed, and, after spending some money in
discovering that he has been .faked !"
he leaves the city, leaves the west,
4t4Ix RI, i IL L.
ing that mining is not hat it is crack
ed up to he by his friends and ac-
quaintances
The "Cbair Warmer then selectes
new victim and will ia ke hours of his
| time telling him of the magnificent
possibilities of property that he would
like to sell him. cerchance he is able
to bleed him, also, for small sum; and
SO the game goes on year after year
until he becomes SO frowsy and disre-
| puta ble- looking that the host, fo- ''the
sake of the respecta bility of his house, ,
is obliged to kick him out, when he
continues his occupation on the street.
But new fakir takes his place in the
hotel lobby, and SO on, ad infinitum.
For years we have known of the ex-
istence of the parasite of the genus
"Chair Warmer" bu. have often
wondered how it is that they are
allowed free entree to our best hotels
to the discomfort and detriment of the
travelling public. Ii a polite request
on the part of the clerk does not have
the desired effect, big porter might
have success in clearing the atmos-
phere of their undesirable presence
Salt Lake Mining Review.