Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1916 — INTERESTING ITEMS FROM THE CITIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

INTERESTING ITEMS FROM THE CITIES

Semiannual House Cleaning of Lobby Squatters s*?«>' ,v .’ '.' i -• ■ , ' i NEW YORK. —They held their early -winter house cleaning at the WaldorfAstoria the other day, and a particularly good time was had by House Detective Joe Smith- Twice a year, in the late spring and’early-winter, it

becomes necessary for George C. Boldt to remind undesirables that the Waldorf does not provide nice big leathei chairs exclusively for the comfort of persons with designs upon the cash of respectable beings; that Peacock alley is decidedly more than a clearing house for bunco artists, and that while the Waldorf is always hospitable it insists upon the privilege of choosing its company. It was all accomplished smoothly and quietly, with no scandal or uproar.

Perhaps some of the patrons of the hotel observed Mr. Smith about the middle of the afternoon gently ease down the corridor that leads to the men’s safe and bar Baron Heinrich Schmidt (at least that’s what the individual calls himself) the baron through the revolving-door, giving upon Astor court. Perhaps some lookers on heard the baron’s high indignation drown the mutter and hum of taxi traffic, for the baron threatened Mr. Smith with the vengeance of the kaiser and promised personally to command the firing squad that would some day back Mr. Smith up against a wall. More than half the men who were compelled to leave have pretended to be war brokers anxious to make big deals with manufacturers stopping at the hotel. Several of them displayed papers purporting to be credentials from England or France or Russia, documents that were obviously forged. Their method was to make useful acquaintanceships lead up to the topic of how quickly large fortunes were made in these days, if one were on the inside of things, and then offer to swing a big contract for war supplies or munitions. Others of the evicted ones were just cheap grafters, loafing about fn the hope that someone would buy them a drink or a meal or lend them $5, or that Mercury, god of the thieves, would send them a victim ripe for plucking.