The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1913-11-28
THEFTs IN HOTELS
Traps to Catch Guests That Have
the Souvenir Fad.
DETECTIVES AND DIPLOMACY.

The Two Combine In Very Effective
Way to Foil the Efforts of Those Who
Feel 1t Duty to Help Themselves
to Fine Linen and Siverware.
The concerted action of the house de-
tectives of all the large hotels in Amer
lea has carefully extracted the points
from two erstwhile excellent stories,
the first, ascribed to Adele Ritchie,
who, when asked once if she had ever
been in Kansas City, replied, Il can't
just remember, but I will look among
my towels and see" and the second
the more pathetic narrative of the
Toung man who was obliged to break
aff his engagement because as he left
the dining room of a large hotel with
his fiancee a number of forks and
spoons fell from the sleeves of her
gown, for the house detectives have
devised a system" whereby the man
or woman who wants to take a souve-
mir from big hotel finds her path be-
set with almost insurmountable diff
culties
The matter is carried on with the
greatest artfulness. There ere no
"hurt feelings" no bones broken, no
arrests made.
The house detectives simply extract
the unrightfully attached articles as
painlessly as they extract the points
from old stories, and in the great ma
jority of cases the frustrated borrow
err never knows at all what happened
TO him.
First the detective is provided with
complete list of everything which is
owned by the hotel-every particle of
linen, silver. soap, etc. Then be dele
gates the responsibility for the care of
them TO various head walters, walters.
housekeepers and chambermaids.
Then he gets a list each day of new
arrivals and of those who. having re
mained a few days are preparing to
leave. From these lists of occupied
rooms the detective calculates the
areas where trouble might possibly
brew and into these he goes with his
subdivided lists and a checking up
book.
The chambermaid is required TO give
an exact accounting Of every piece of
linen she has supplied to the man or
woman who is about to leave. This is
In turn taken to the laundrfes. where a
balance is made of those sheets, towels,
etc. which have come out of each
room. If there is a precise balance the
matter ends there, but woe to the wo-
man who believes that the towels she
placed carefully in her locked trunk
will not be missed"
Her trunks and bags on their way
downstairs are simply carried to the
basement floor as if by chance. and
there the house detective, with the aid
of a skeleton key, goes through them
in search of lost hotel linen.
1t is very gently removed and check
ed up on the housemaid's list. and the
trunk is carefully repacked and re-
locked. Nothing is left to give warn
ing that the search has been made, |
and nothing is ever by any remotest
chance said to the departing guest.
She is sent cheerily on her way re-
joicing and is usually perplexed ont of
all reason to account for the fact that
the towels and pillow cases that she
knows well she put into her trunk |
have mysteriousIy disappeared
Do You suppose for a moment that !
this is an extreme case nor even a |
rare one? Tt happens on an average
once a day in every large hotel in !
New York and with almost as astound- !
ing frequency in Boston Philadelphia |
and Chicago
And in the case of silverware the |
matter is almost as simple. though |
remedying these thefts requires taking
into your confidence at least the man
who pays the bill for every waiter has |
had his eye trained to count up the sill |
verware while he is placing the finger
bowls. and if 50 much as one small |
spoon is not where it should be it is
unostentatiously placed upon the bill |
The hotel graciouSly leaves 1t to the |
discretion of the escort as to whether |
or not the culprit shall be told. But at
least it does not permit him TO be en-
lightened only by the belated method |
of leally sleeve
Again. the head waiter Will assure
YOU that this happens. not once or
twice, but ceaselessly.
"Many woman that thinks she's |
got away with it would be surprised to |
know that if is Down in blqciy opS |