Evening journal., 1913-05-05
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Hotter Guests Who We're
Never Asked to Pay
Their Bills
BY Holland.

At midday in the summer of 1892 /
shared in an informal luncheon with
the late Admiral Melville and his
warm personal friend the late John
Chamberlain, who was one time the
proprietor Of hotel and restaurant
at Washington. of which many of the
leading politicians and members of
Congress and cabinet officers were
very fond. II was at Mr.. Chamber
Inns restaurant that Roscoe Conkling
took his meals for several years, and
there Chester A. Arthur, when vice
president OF the United States, board
ed, although he roomed elsewhere
than in Mr.. Chamberlains hotel At
the luncheon Admiral Melville asked
Mr.. Chamberlain if he ever allowed
distinguished public men to run up
heavy bills.
"Oh, yes" replied Mr. Chamberlain,
some of them were never paid.
was asked some years ago If / would
take charge of the restaurant in the
House of Representatives. didn't
hesitate a moment. ! said no. and
gave as my reason that | was too
busy
MY real reason was that ] had
learned that some OF the stewards
OF the House restaurant had in the
past suffered heavy losses through
the delinquency of members of Con-
gress to settle their scores at the end
of the season.
But" said Admiral Melville, you
have had as a guest of your house
now for some years a very promi-
nent man who, 1t is commonly said,
has run up a heavy bill, and that
there is little or no chance that he
will ever pay It,"
Well" said Mr. Chamberlain, "he is
paying il, although he doesn't know
it. His great prominence in the civil
war and his later prominence in pub
lie life have brought to him many
valuable acquaintances. He is very
popular. ! presume II is true that he
hasn't penny in the world, but he
can live at my house just as long as
he wants TO and have the best there
Is in the house.
Il will tell you the reason If you
are careful not to let it go to his
ears. His popularity and his record
are so attractive that he brings a
great deal of business to my house.
lie doesn't realize It; he doesn't know
that | regard him as far more than
earning for his board and lodging.
lie is very sensitive man and | am
sure that IL the idea ever entered his
mead he would get angry and leave
me.
I'VE hotel proprietors," continued
Mr.. Chamberlain, have some peculiar
experiences, and that is especially
true in Washington I could write a
Of f,afA
associated with public men in Wash
ington, two of whom. at least, became
President of the United States.
There used to live at the old Ar
lington Hotel, at Washington, a gen
tleman who at one time was very
prominent in politics. He went TO
Washington to live, / think, about
1875 He invested all he had i'm
piece of unimproved land three or
four miles out from the treasury de-
partment building. Almost everybody
thought he was crazy TO do that.
This Investment made him4 land
poor. ! think he did not have a dol
lar income. The taxes on this prop
erty were unpaid and there we're
liens upon IT, I once spoke to Roes-
selle, who was for many years the
proprietor of the Arlington about this
man. There is a kind of freemasonry
among the hotel keepers, and we tell
one another things in confidence
'Roesselle said to me that he had
kept the man as a guest of his house
for some FIVE or six years and during
all that time he had never paid any
board. A very large bill had ac-
cumulated against him.
But, said Roesselle. this man is
the soul of honor He tells me that
some day his property will change to
riches because he will be able to sell
his property at an enormous advance
over what he paid on it. l have full
confidence in him. Some day / shall
get the full amount of my bill with
interest, and it will be a pretty large
sum-
81 think it was four or five years
later" Mr.. Chamherlin continued,
that Roesselle came into my place. !
He said that he wanted to remind
me of a conversation he had with me
about the guest he carried for so
many years without the payment of
a dollar on account.
Well said Roesselle. it has
turned out exactly as I told you. The |
land boom has reached through and
extended beyond his property. He
has sold his land for a very large
sum, which was paid in cash. The
first thing he did after he received
his money was to ask me to step into |
my private Office with him When !
| did so he asked me to make out
my bill for all those years that he
had boarded with me. including in !
terest | had my bookkeeper make |
out the bill While this was being
done he said to me that he was at
last rich man. as he viewed riches. |
When the bill was handed to him /
he simply looked at the amount. I'll
was we'll up in the thousands. Then
he wrote a check for the entire j
and simply said: Thank YOU.
Roesselle.'
Copyright. 1918. by e. J Edwards.
All rights reservedl.
Tomorrow VI. Edwards will tel
"Mhy Grover Cleveland Sent Sub.
stitute 10 the Civil VAR"