PILFERERS IN HOTELS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 30, 4 February 1905, Page 13

PILFERERS IN HOTELS.

ItABX DETECTIVES SMART DODOES'. • ■'■ i '-•'.•• *- ■ •■"'-• "' So mndi ptlferfar now takes place ia many American hotels that lady detectives toe beea employed to watch, how their fair bat clever sisters set about their werk of liftinj all the many pretty things whiea visitors t» hotels leave about. A. room In. one of the sew hotels in New York has attracted great attention from tie fact that it" U fitted wi-cb Indian decorations, with, wigwam trophies and queer ornaments of beads, leather, and woven grasses strewn about. It was aa innovation, for withta recent years hotels have not attempted much in the way of unattached decorations wbici might be carried away. In. fact, tie service of coffee spoons, pepper and salt bottles, and other small articles of table use has been curtailed in many of tie popular restaurants for the reason thai it has beea found Impossible to prevent guests from carrying these things off a.» sowrenirs. The sonvenir taking habit has grown to be such an evil that hotels estimate the loes from this cause at thousands yearly, and nt their tables with the cheapest possible articles In the tine of small wares, so as to minimise the loss if they are stolen. The annoyance, as- well aa til* expense, of replacing articles stolea has grown to be unendurable, and measures ar* now generally resorted to to put a stop to the practice of souvenir hunting. SHOPLIFTSBS. A woman detective, who in a large department shop distinguished herself by discovering many shoplifters, is one o£ many persons now employed in one large hotel to keep track of persons secretins article* that may be on the tables. The after theatre snpper is the.time when the souvenir thief ia most active* At that time, escorted by a mau fiiend and dressed handsomely, the woman detective seat* heraelf amoay the guests and observes the virions parties at the different tables. If she sees any of the table ware appropriated she communicates the fact to the head waiter secretly, and the offending persons are politely requested to replace the articles they have taken. GIVE TJP THE BOOTY. As a general thing they at once give up the booty, explaining that it was takea as a joke. In the caae- of a refusal to return the stolen articles a search and erpuislon by the hotel detective follow. The woman detective aays that this la the first time she has been detailed for work as a restaurant detective. "J have worked principally hi divorce cases," she says, "where the obtaining of evideace is a far more difficult matter than this. Instinctively, almost, I can pick out a party that will require watching Iα regard to souvenirs. An experienced eye is necessary, for frequently the most correct looking and fashionably dressed couple, arriving and leaving in a carriage, are the worst aSCeaders. It is not always the noisy acd youthful crowd that tries to take away the tableware, nor can I say that persons who might be described as typical" New Yorkers ever appropriate the coffee spoon* and the salt cellars." NOT SO CLETE9 AS PROFESSIONALS. Hotels suffered these losses for years In. good-natured silence and kept their prices up pnrpoeeJy to-offset this item of expense. But now with the costly decorations, line linen, and cut glass used ia some restaurants the matter of souvenir hunting would be aa item of great Importance, so measures are taken to recover instantly any missing article. In the first place each waiter receives for service a eertaia amount of tableware, linen, cutlery, and gHas. Tuia is kept track of, and he is held responsible for it. Few souvenir thieves steal cleverly as professionals do—they have grown too proud of their collections, which, they display at their apartmenta, and are constantly adding to. Very often one souvenir setter will start a party of four or five, who will laughingly appropriate an article from the table, usually when the waiter has gone for change. DETECTIVE Aβ "WAITEB. "Ifcia Ja the time when I qtrickjy acquaint a detective, dressed aa a waiter, with what is joinfon. He quickly approaches the party, and quietly and in each a manner taat others in the room do not know waat he is doing, requests the retnra of the <w»res. There ia yery rarely any objection te reteaing things, although women who hare taken souvenirs are apt to be stubborn, bet the man has full authority and tells the party in uamistakeable terms what the result will be unless the articles are given up. Sometimes they fan ea the floor mysteriously at this point, but so Jong aa they are recovered the party ia allowed to leave. It ia interesting to record that the use «f women detectives has gtown anion* the large hotels withia the past few years. Women work quietly and are makiag great Headway fa» this work."