Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-15
CONVERSATION HABIT

'It may be that by the time I reach the
age Of ninety-four, or something approx
mate, TIL have learned that this gas-house
| habit of mine Of telling all I know. and
then some. to perfect strangers. doesn't
conduce toward my getting anything" re-
marked the man with that chagrined look.
Coming down in chair car from New
York about ten days ago fell into talk
with the man holding down the chair in
| front Of me. The weather was the entering
wedge, and he began it, at that for I
wasn't really in any unusually louuacious
| mood. Then the base ball situation held us
for a while, after which. in the smoking
| compartment, over the weeds. we dPifted
! to w. Bryan, T. Ruzvelt, Joebailey, and
| the rest OF the stock conversation Of the
| day.
From that we fell to talking over some
| things we'd noticed In New York. He OBJ
| served as thing that had struck him with
| establishment, that fiat rents in New York
are considerably cheaper than fat rents
| in Washington-the same being strictly
true as you can stick pin in and make a
note ont for I'm digging up $S5 a month
| in Washington for a fiat that could rent
in New York for $50 at the very outside.
We'll. then this travelling mate got on to
the subject OF fats I was there. for I've
| been fatter in Washington for long
while. and. moreover, the fat thing was a
/
| own mind right at that time.
And another difference between renting
| fiat In New York and renting one In
Washington. said when we'd got into
| the swing Of that subject, IS that in New
York they don't make you sign any lease,
whereas in Washington they nail you on
| the lease thing for year
| do
And that fool lease-signing arrange
ment In Washington is all blamed rot, at
that l went on. warming up, Rot for this
reason, that they can't hold a fellow to
one of those leases. They're not worth the
| paper they're printed on. No account in
the world when it comes to holding man
| In fiat that he wants to vacate.'
| Now, don't know so much about that >
| said my chair-car mate. 1t seems to me
that I've heard Of fellows being held tight
hsy asis in Ms tseya
hold me on one of 'em. and that's cinch.
When wanted to move, I'd Just move.
and that 'ud be all about 1t. or course,
| wouldn't jump right In on the agent and
tell him that intended to deliberately
bust my years lease and that was going
to move to some other fiat that suited me
eeud n Su5 there a are ways and
| -" Maybe said he. sort Of ponderingly
! NOW. how do you imagine you'd go about
+" 'Well." said I, TN tell you just how
l am going about it. I'm going to do a
bit OF personally-conducted lease-bustng in
little old Washington next week. Moved
INTO our present nat in May last and, Of
| such bad fiat. considering the big fiat
rentals In Washington. at that, but there 8
one just completed farther uptown that my
wife and like a heap better and were go
ing to take fiat In that new apartment
house. And I'm going to make the move
| all right. in spite OF the fact that there'll
be seven months yet to run on the lease
OF the fiat I'm occupying now. for we're
going to move In October. Now, therell
be some extra difficulty in doing this;-but
IN overcome the difficulties. II the fiat
mousse that am in now were one Of the
kind where the furniture could be removed
right down the stairs. 1t would be easy. and
ID only have to tell the agent that I was
going to move; and then move. But It's
one OF the big fathouses, and our apartment
! Ii on the sixth floor, and the furniture can
only be removed by way of the freight
elevator in the rear. Now. two or three
other fellows that have tried to bust their
leases In that apartment house have been
up against 1t just for that reason On the
days when they wanted to move out. why,
the freight elevator happened" to be out
OF order and not working. 1t kept on "hap-
pening" to be out Of order and not working
just as long as these lease-busters had it
IN mind to move, and it didn't get in order
again till they'd finally made up their minds
that they wouldn't be able to get their fur
niture and gear out and had notified the
agent that they had concluded to stick to
their flats till the expiration Of their leases.
Ing right smack to the agent with q ionx
face and a poor mouth, sort O., and I'm
going to tell him that owing to reverses,
or speculating, or something. I'm down and
out financially: that I'm all In; that I
| haven't the price Of another months rent
| IN my jeans and no way of getting it; that
III have to be getting out of Washington
to some other town to get going again, and
so on. That'll be drawing the long bow,
| OF course. and it won't be what you could
call strictly, ethical. but ethics be bowed
in case where bloated landlord has the
gall to force me to put my name to a paper
STIMULATING that I'll go on living in his
plant for whole year whether like 1t or
not That's the way I'm going to do it.
| II, too. They're not going to hold a man
that hasn't got anything with which to dig
up his fiat rent are they? They're not go
Ing to hang on to his furniture and keep
1t in his fiat. letting the fiat remain unten-
anted, II it's put to them that no more
rsnt'l be forthcoming from the present
Incumbent mos are they7 I guess not"
mate snaw,n eu rssct replied my my travelling
| and presently we changed the subject. and
after bit the train pulled into Washington
i II should have said before that we ne
elected to exchange cards.
| HIM. Ye-eh. Well yesterday afternoon
I swung into the Office Of the agent of my
fiat. all prepared and rehearsed to give him
my tale of woe, looking to the busting Of
my fiat lease.
| my travelling mate Of ten days ago was
sitting in the big chair In front of the big
desk OF the agent He was the new agent
He'd taken the old agents job a few days
after I'd paid my last months rent. and
| l hadn't happened to run across him in the
nat building before yesterday.
| "And as soon as he wheeled in the big
| chair and recognized me. large, fat, oily
| smile appeared on his map. grinned back
| at him, looking. no doubt, like an even
| worse fool than I am.
But I wasn't saying word I lust
nodded him in the direction of the bar at
| the corner, and took him there and pur-
chased for him some drinks. And I'm
| going to keep right on living In my present
| fiat till my lease runs out next May.
This conversational habit never did get
me anything. durn the luck. but 1 spose
I'm getting too blamed old to learn now"
Charles Lever.
From the Fortnightly Review.