The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-12-16

NEW YORK automobile agent now
 A boosting machines in Washington recently told some curious tales about the free-ride grafters who make a business of pretending that they are going to buy cars, says the Washington Star.
 "Women are pretty clever at that sort of thing in New York" he said. Some women of the stage-show girls, particu- larly-are genuinely scientific in the schemes they work to get free motor car rides for themselves and their pals. Their impudence when they're unmasked is as colossal as their nerve.
 Not long ago a show girl who has been exploited a lot in the picture periodicals on account of her good looks and who not more than year ago passed through the bankruptcy court with liabilities up in the tens of thousands-whch wasn't so bad. considering her $25-a-week income at the end of the chorus line-telephoned to my place in New York that she would like to try out one of our big power tour ing cars, and asked me to send one up that afternoon with an experienced chauf-> feur Now, I had this woman tabbed good and plenty. I was just waiting for her call. She'd been riding around New York and New Jersey and Connecticut and all of the purlieus and fastnasses thereof for more than a year in swell stock cars that she was always going to buy but that always failed to make hit with her after she had tried them, and had her record on free-rde grating all charted out from canape to Camembert.
 That's why I took the machine up to her apartment house myself. I desired to see her and say a few trenchant words to her. I called up the tube to her that the machine was waiting down in front, and she replied that she and her friends would be down presently Such a gay, glad lot of girls-all of the stage-they were when they finally rolicked down the hall and out to the curb where was waiting with the machine. l stepped out of the car as if to assist them in, and then I addressed the free-ridng graftiug show woman:
 .' I suppose you are meditating purchas- ing one of these machines, are you not Miss Tippietoes? said l.
 'She looked me over in a puzzled sort of way, and replied:
 Sure thing, I aml Come on and get in, girls addressing her pals.
 Just a teenchy little bit said I, bar
  heard about that new rule of the car agents with reference to all new machines that go out of stock to be tried?' 'Rule2' said the show girl with the phony purchasing habit. What new ruler Sure. no, 1 haven't heard anything about any new rule. Don't you want to sell one of your old machines? beginning to swell up into imitation huffness. !" oh. yes. I want to sell all of the ma iaa I to sell 'em before they become second ! hand The new rule that I mention is that persons trying new machines are re- aured to pay for them at the rate of $10 | an hour-to pay that rate, that is if they ! do not take the machines And deposit | for three hours is required in advance to make this rule binding
 '.Of course there never was any such rule. But I doped it out that the young woman with the gettng-herself-photo i raphed habit needed a bit of a take | down.
 | But was she taken down any? Not any. l She laughed q merry. rippling mrthful 1 laugh
 l :" Say. you behave, she said to me. gur- | slingly. You mustn't let that bug habit | grow upon you. Ten dollars an hour. and | terms in advance, you say? Please don't
 ml>Re me titter--I've got my makeup on and she staked me to some more joyous | gurgling.
 l" But. madam said to her solemnly | you don't want to buy any car you know Eve heard all about you. You just want | to ride you see"
 l" why. of course I want to ride. she
 replied with the most beauteous and en- | ga ging candor you ever saw or heard of.
 What's the answer9 Somebody must have stitched on me, And l am really go-
 ing to get car of my own some day,
 when Mir. Rockefeller, or Hinky Dink, or