Morris tribune., 1914-01-09
TntFTS IN HUTELS.
Traps to Catch Guests That Have
the Souvenir Fad.
DETECTIVES AND DIPLOMACY.

The Two Combine In Very Effective
Nay to Foil the Efforts of Those Who
Feel It a Duty to Help Themselves
to Fine Linen and SiIverware.
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 Richie,
who, when asked once if she had ever
been in Kansas City, replied, 81 can't
just remember, but will look among
my towels and see," and the second
the more pathetic narrative of the
young man who was obliged to break
of his engagement because as be left
The dining room of a large hotel with
his fancee 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 are 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,
er" 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 he dele
gates the responsibility for the care of
them to various head walters, walters,
housekeepers and chambermaids.
Then he gets list each day of new
arrivals and Of those who having re-
NAMED 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 OF
woman who is about to leave. This is
in turn taken to the laundries, 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 aiG
of skeleton key, goes through then
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 remotes
chance said to the departing guest.
She is sent cheerfly on her way re
joicing and is usually perplexed out O.
all reason to account for the fact tina
the towels and pillow cases that sh,
knows well she put into her trunl
have mysteriously disappeared.
Do you suppose for moment tina
this is an extreme case nor even
rare one? It happens on an averag
once day in every large hotel i
New York and with almost as astound
ing frequency in Boston. Philadelphia
and Chicago.
And in the case of silverware tn
matter is almost as simple, though
remedying these thefts requires takinI
into your confidence at least the mai
} who pays the bill, for every waiter ha
had his eye trained to count up the sill
verware while he is placing the 1nge
bowls, and if so much as one small
spoon is not where it should be it /
unostentatiously placed upon the bill
The hotel graciously leaves it to tn
discretion Of the escort as to whethe
! or not the culprit shall be told But a
; least 1t does not permit him to be eI
1iOhfnnnd Onlv hv fho hnIofod Y1nofh0