Los Angeles herald., 1906-02-11

| ticles of silverware disappeared from her table
in the dningroom. The waiter watched her,
but she was too clever to be caught. Still the
things were missing, one day, in her absence,
they searched her room, and her trunk brought
to light almost complete set of the hotel sill
yer. The prisoner pleaded kleptomania, and her
friends managed to hush up the matter.
If she had told the truth she would have
doubtless sad-and many souvenir crank would
have echoed the words-"The charge per day at
the best hotels is so excessive that we have
perfect right to take anything that choose, and
in such huge caravansary triie will never be
missed" 1t is the old fallacy that it is no theft
to steal from corporation.
81 can never keep a whsk in the ladies' dressing
room, one of the porters in parlor
planned, land as for the towels, couple of them
go every day. You would think that the folks
who can afford to ride with would be rich
enough to buy their own towels"
! They are rich enough, but to their perverted
taste it seems lark to get something for no.
thing and beat the corporation
SOUVENIRS FROM PRIVATE HOUSES.
The furthest stage in the souvenir dementia
is the one in which the victim, hardened by long
continued hotel and restaurant robbery, does not
scruple to take things from private houses.
New York caterer has to-day tale of woe to
tell lie had charge of the dinner given on board
the flag ship by Prince Henry of Battenburg
and, 1t IS rumored, is now bankrupt-and all
on account of the souvenir habit. Whether or
no this to be true, it Is certain that his losses
mounted far up into the thousands. He knew
that the guests would represent the cream of
metropolitan society, and he was anxious to show
what he could do He therefore supplied the
tables with solid silver and the finest of linen
glass and china. Imagine his despair when the
members Of the 400 calmly carried off everything
that took their fancy, in spite of the remon-
strances of the walters Nor could he obtain any
satisfaction from the Prince Undoubtedly the
latter was indignant at the tales brought him by
his own stewards, and found certain satisfaction
in the thought that an American had also to en-
dure the Wholesale spoliation. For the visitors
to the English ship seem to have dsmantled guns
and dsfgured woodwork and furniture in their
anxiety to obtain souvenirs. One Of the officers
stepping suddenly into one of the ship salons
found pretty and fashionably dressed girl in the
act OF wrenching off gilt lion that ornamented
the arm of davenport. Pardon me- madam"
he said, ironically, would you not prefer ships
button for a souvenir"
II would rather have this ion" the young
woman answered coolly, "but as it seems imposs-
BILE to get it off, 1 suppose I will have to be
satisfied with button" Neither her tone nor
her manner evinced the slightest shame at having
been caught in the act.
"The American souvenir craze costs the United
States Government large every year," said
one of the Congressional Library custodiams
Take this building, for instance It seems to
be adequately patroled by guards, but you have
no idea what havoc the tourists play. On the
grand marble stairway, bordered by sculptured
cherubs, we have constantly to renew their brok-
en- toes and fingers Such fragments are not in
themselves beautiful, but they are nuts to the
souvenir hunter, who forgets that he has helped
to destroy work of art"
II is a Partisan custom to the cafe as a
writing room. You can sit down at one of the
little tables, order something to drink, and stay
there for the rest of the day without annoyance
from the waiter. On request he viii bring you
ink and paper, and then leave you to your own
In the light of such evidence it may be seen
that the American lack of conscience is manifest
in many ways. If Americans are TO retain their
own respect as well as the respect of their neigh
bors, the souvenir evil will have TO be stamped
out.