The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-11-03
PEOPLE WHO PAY TO BE FLAT.
TERED,

For the temporary qualification Of
whimsical vanity and desire to shine
in some character other than their own,
many people have been known to re-
sort to strange and peculiar devices.
One eccentric Of this class whose
fond desire it was to be mistaken for
a police detective often used his spare
time in effecting bogus arrests of pre-
tended desperadoes. His habit was to-
visit: the public house bars Of particu-
lar localities, and now and again make
a capture single handed. Patrons of the
public house Of the shady class winked
at his little weakness, and were willing
for consideration to submit to occa-
sional arrest before crowd of amused
onlookers. -, :
The sham detective, selling the mo
ment favorable, would dramatically
touch a seedy. loafer. on the shoulder
and tell him in stage whisper that
1.-THE game" was ",uP,,, and he had
HIM. Would ccmpment his c sxRee' e
his cleverness, say it was "fair
cop" and go quietly enough. At the
nearest convenient corner he always
slipped his handouts and effected his
escape, pocketing as he went the piece
of silver that was invariably his re-
ward. The bogus detective's queer
hobby naturally landed him in some
curious scrapes, but he persisted in his
habit" till he became a standing joke
among the members of the local detec-
tive force. -. 49, 49,
One Of the many similar instances of
morbid vanity which from time to time
come under the notice of the police
was that Of a well-to-do young scape-
grace. whose main ambition was to be
mistaken for a clever criminal. Az an
occasional relief from the tedium of an
aimless life he masqueraded among q
set Of the light-fngered fraternity and
others of similar class as one of
themselves. r.. 49,.
His desire was to shine among them
az another George harrington and one
OF the aristocrats" of their profess
sion, and as he freq uented their haunts
only t. to boast of bis phenomenal luck
the proceeds Of. his ill-gotten gains, he
was always welcomed and fiattered to
the top Of his bent. When convinced
that he was merely a simpleton. Of a
very inferior order they plucked him
mercilessly, and the victim of q crazy
vanity was only saved from utter
degradatlon by being taken under the
paternal wing Of the police just in
The desire to appear in the character
OF hero of some sort has actuated
persons to beg, borrow or steal a mill
tary uniform Of some description and
don it with the notion of obtaining a
share sias ); Of the glory due to "Tommy At
A soldier home on furlough found
himself robbed Of his uniform by an
eccentric fellow-lodger, who evidently
thOupht nv this moo nc - IT,.
cut to military glory.
With a good sum Of money in his
possession, for week or more he mas
queraded in the borrowed plumes and
boosted everywhere Of valorous deeds,
and while his money lasted he found no
difficulty In finding all the fattery
his vanity craved for. His ridiculous
behavior caused him to be found out
AZ last, ana ne was quietly conveyed
inspired by another kind Of vanity. =
wealthy young spendthrift was some
years ago induced to pay for the privi-
lege OF claiming the authorship Of Ger
tain popular songs. ! He aspired to the
reputation Of song writer. and 1id
not hesitate to pay the real author and
composer handsomely to allow him to
pose as the writer of the verses. 81
was arranged that, In the event Of the
song oec9H1ng popular enough for the
music publishers to take up, he would
hand over to. his partner, the SONG
writer, double the amount it realized
On 9Io, ting 50 sale o Of the copyright, usually
ne. had little difficulty in getting his
published with his name, as part Az.
thor, in bold lettering on the front
page he ordered hundreds Of COMES
for distribution among his acouaint-
ances, with view to being compli-
mented on his cleverness. He never
failed to make some substantial pres
ent to the. music hall singer who had
popularized the song, and he went Wild
with delight whenever he heard one Of
ms tunes as he fondly called them,
Tdbits >.oA'