Great Falls daily tribune., 1919-09-17

New York, Sept. IA month ago, a
well-groomed gentleman of sauve and
gracious manner registered in large
New York hotel. He occupied one of
the finest suites to be had, and imme-
diately began the distribution of large
even among hotel force that had long
since ceased to be surprised at anything
1t was soon discovered that the gentle
man was a chief stockholder in a big
mining company, after which the entire
| service Of the hotel, from cigars to taxi
cabs, was at his disposal, the vulgar
matter of charges being taken care of
BY the cashier Only one thing marred
| the enjoyment of the guest, and that
ing. valuable papers, to appear. After
q few days, this also began to trouble
the management.
Here the hotel clerk who told this
story the other morning paused to an
swer some information for waiting
guest, and when he finally got back to
| it he had lost interest in the details. He
ended abruptly by saying that before
| anything could be done the well-groomed ID
gentleman had disappeared, leaving a
worn bag. containing a few paltry arti-
cles, and bill of three thousand dol
| lars.
While the majority of New York ho-
tells would not permit the extension of
such large credit, it Is true that no
| hotel is altogether immune from the
menace Of the dead beat.
/ Every year." says Mr.. Harry ].
!! Choucherie, transportation manager of a
large and extremely popular hostelery,
'our house loses thousands of dollars
through persons who throw themselves
| on its hospitality and then suddenly dis
I lnayiuu nrsotinaf1e wort hinSs hap-
gage behind them. Just now we are
/ having more troble with soldiers than
with anybody else. and during the war
! it was much worse. ! can't tell you
how many soldiers--men with ranks as
/ high as major and captain-we have been
/ forced to treat to week in New York.
/ There are not many rrivates on our
| list"
/ But you must have some way Of
protecting yourself?' the visitor sug
gested.
! Our greatest protection declared
/ the transportation manager. is that at
/ least ninety-five per cent of the people
! are honest. And then we take various
/ precautions. Our baggage department
! and our floor clerks are instructed to
| be on the lookout for any suspicious elf
cumstances. For instance, if a guest ; ;
/ baggage is lighter than we think 1t
! ought to be. we keep careful watch on
/ him and refuse him credit. We also ar
! range so that no guest can leave the
| hotel with his baggage unless we know
! it,"
/ Naturally. however. the man who can t
/ pay his hotel bill rarely possesses any
/ thing of value in his baggage. so that the
| hotel makes scarcely enough from It's
/ sale to defray the expenses OF handing
and advertising. Occasionally, a drum
mer is discharged while on the road and
| leaves q trunkful of samples to pay for
| his hotel bill.
/ A drummer from Ireland who came 10
| this country to sell linen goods during
the war was compelled to leave trunk
full OF valuable linen in one hotel, be
| cause his firm suddenly cut off his ex-
penses, but these cases are rare.
On the other hand. baggage stored in
hotels and not claimed, can also be sold
after thirteen months, according to law.
Such baggage has greatly increased since
the war. The storerooms OF most New
York hotels are filled with trunks and
bags left by soldiers who have never
returned to claim them, and there Is also
lot Of baggage left by people who went
to Europe before the United States en-
tered the war, and who were then un-
able to get back.
From time to time the hotels turn this
baggage over to their attorneys to be
sold at public auction. MIR. Harry l.lv-
ingston. who does the auctioning, has
his storeroom back of an antique shop
on Thirty-first street. Twice month
this place is the scene of mad riot,
while spectators and dealers fight for
the goods. The interesting feature of
the sale is that the baggage is sold with
absolutely no guarantee that 1t contains
anything of value In fact, the lack of
this guarantee is expressly stated in the
ad. which the law provides must be in
serted in the newspapers before the sale
takes place.
Every piece Of baggage is supposed to
arrive at the auction room securely
fastened in the condition in which it
was found when the guest vacated. As
soon as it IS ascertained that a guest
has fled without paying his bill. a trusted
employe of the hotel is sent to the room,
who examines the contents of tho bag
especially letters, papers and even
laundry marks-wlth a view t. So
curing some trace of the missing cu-
prit Any information obtained is writ
ten out and filed with the mans account
In most cases the man has his trail so
well covered that it is impossible to
trace him, but when the time for the
sale of his property occurs notice is
sent to whatever address is found in his
effects. This seldom results in any
thing but a waste Of postage,