The Washington herald., 1914-06-21
THE ELEVATOR BOY
Some Hints to the Tenants of Office Buildings

AFFAIR is bound to reach the ears Of the
elevator boy within day or two
and he at once proceeds to take meas
ures to squash that eighth door mans
fond dreams.
There are tenants Of a slxyscraper who
think IT necessary to begin with the ele-
vator boy by saying:
NOW. then, you cub, / want you to
keep your nose out of my businessi II
I find you hanging around or, pumping
my office boy, I'll have you bounced
forthwith"
That style doesn't wash with an eleya-
tor boy who knows his salt. Inside of
week he has got things down pat and
Is carrying full loads OF creditors and
summons-sereers to make II Interesting
for the bulldozer.
Inviting an elevator boy out to lunch
In order to pump him about the blond
In the insurance once. or the brunette
in the paper-pattern agency, is bad form
He feels that an attempt Is being made
To betray his confidence through his love
for tomato soup and roast beef. and he
loses his respect for the would-be be-
trayer. It is much better to call him
into the ONCE and hand him - to play a
tip on the races and state your case
plainly.
When the elevator boy Is handed a
note and asked to deliver 1t at a certain
room the sum Of 50 cents should always
accompany IT. This Is In no sense
bribe- 1t simply saves Iong-winded sx-
PLANTATION. The boy at once recognizes
the fact that the note Is strictly a busi-
ness affair-probably relating to the In
terest on a mortgage or the purchase of
real estate-and he loses no time in plac-
ing IL in the hands Of the typewriter TO
whom ii is addressed. He also feels
ter to any other tenant
The janitor Of skyscraper has Ger
tain powers, and the agent IL a man to
be deferred to, but any tenant who leaves
the elevator boy out OF his calculations
will get badly left. It was only last
week that a young man In the woolen
goods agency planned TO get down to the
front door at u o'clock to ask the girl in
the hook-and-eye room to lunch with
him. He had not taken me into his con-
fdence. Between the seventh and the
eighth floors I stuck the elevator for
twelve minutes, and the hook -and-eye
girl walked on with the glassware man
and was lost forever.
One day I was taking up the suspender
man and the girl in the railroad supply
office. I noticed him smiling at her in a
melting way. He knew that noticed IL.
and, after she had got out he said:
CdhAhAA6s gON hAO" bhl was
an orphanT'
No. SIR
well. she is. Yes. she is all alone in
this world. and her job is paying only
seven dollars a week"
And you were smiling to encourage
herr" .. ~
Exactly, Sammis. Yes, I wanted her
to realize that although the world at
large was cold and heartless, there were
yet few people whose hearts were not
entirely frozen up"
Hadn't you better take me into your
confidence, sir?" / asked as he got out.
''I'Il take you by the hair OF the head
instead. you young reprobateT' he said
as his face got red.
The next day / went to the railroad
supply girl in a fatherly way and told
her OF the suspender mans wife and
seven children, and the next time he
smiled at her she poked him in the chin
with her umbrella and threatened to haul
him into court. SAMMIS,
The Elevator Boy.