The San Francisco call. [volume], June 30, 1907, Page 3, Image 3

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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The San Francisco Sunday Call.
CERTAIN
SAN FRANCISCANS
FAMOUS
FOR THEIR
HATS
M. D. Oriole
WHAT'S in a hat?
Many things. _ Sometimes a
memory; sometimes a vanity:
sometimes an idiosyncrasy that
Is ak!n to genius.
In £an Francisco^ some men are
known by their -works or the company
they keep, and others by their hats.
The last are by far the- most interest
ing.
These men are all "characters" in
the best and broadest meaning of that
term. Each one is "different.*' aud be
tween them they play many parts.
Perhaps the dean of these Men of the
Hat was John Perry Jr., who. until his
recent taking off, was a very familiar
figure on the streets of San Francisco.
Tall, smooth shaven, frock coated,
with the regulation stock, antebellum
top hat and manners of the Clay and
Webster era, be nevertheless was very
modern In financial ways, and the local
stock exchange knew few shrewder,
Quicker minds than his.
John Perry Jr.'s hat was as much a
part of him as his goodly reputation —
as his very name- itself, one- might
almost say; but, when, after the fire of
How Some of the Big New York Hotels Protect Their Patrons
NO ONE can study the crowds that from dining room to cafe, from news
throng a New Tork hotel all day stand to the ladies' drawing room, is*
and all n!gnt without wondering not a Wall street broker or a London*"
bow order is so wonderftilly pre- millionaire, but Joseph E. Smith, .the
eerved and the patrons protected from Waldorf detective, who has modjuja
the thousands of well dr«ssed rascals, study of the criminals haunting* Xcw
expert confidence men and Tromcru the York places of business and resorts,
•unknown ones fre«h from other coun- To aid him in his work he has adopted
tries and those of the skillful Amerl- many new devices. He has copies of
can' type for which this country is the photographs of the. criminals and
famous. It is an interesting subject, suspects placed on file daily In the
A big up to date Xew Tork hotel rogues* gallery at police headquarters.
.Is a miniature world. It does more Witb/'these means' of identlncation at
business and has more persons within hand he. flits about the hotel. .From
its walls Oally than many* a thriving morning- until late at night he is on the
western; town. A hotel with a thou- lookout for well dressed individuals iii
etnd rooms means a capacity for en- sihustjng- tbemselvec among the crowds
tertaining the population of Denver of men and women of the"busy hotel,
when It had 2,500 inhabitants and The moment a known suspicious-,
was known as Denver City from Paris character appears he is quictjv hustled
to Honolulu. Besides the thousand or out of the place. In the case of a newly
more regular patrons and the crowds arrived crook and .there Js any doubt
of transients patronising hotel ' restau- of his identity, the rogues' gallery pho
rants, bar and cafe, add the eroTrcJe of to graphs are consulted. "Xew fac**,"
visitors thronging main floor*, parlors raea or women,; caught trying "to # 'fl!m
and corridors day and nlsht, and you flam" strangers in the hotel r are turned
have tb« greatest assemblage of a over to the police.
cosmopolitan population to be found Mr. Smith says ; h« has invented a
under any roof — -representing all system- whereby he keeps* a diary and
classes, from' distinguished foreigners, photographic record of the -bad charac
society women, millionaires, captains ters haunting, hotels for victim*." It is
of industry, to vrestern cattlemen, said that he has "a wonderful little
and politicians from every cor- French pocket camera and in case ot
ncr of the continent. emergency Is, able to -lake a suspicious
> To please all, to make the esUb- character without -his knowledge.'" if
lisbment popular and a success, is an the man proves guilty of trying to pass
achievement. But a problem of equal bad checkV, s drafts- or-'dupV any- of (the.
Importance isprotecting the hotel and patrons a note of it is made oh the pho-.
its patrons against the cleverest crim- tograph, which is filed away for future
Jnala, the ge^tlenianly, and ladylike use. :':*• .
rascals attracted to Xcw York from One <3ay a. wellisreomed.EnsllshiEan
th« srreat caoitals of Europe, 6aying with his chin aloft? and posing. as. an
nothlnjr of oar oirn gifted swindlers aristocrat _ of -noble; famUy. was* found,
\u25a0n-ith native'talent educated among- sauntcrlhß: ; through -the hallways of
the masters of crime In Chicago, San one of .the upper floors of the big hotel.
I Francisco and thef cities of the east.; Mr. ; Smith; spotted; him at .once,; con-
Then there, is the hotel Itself to be suited oae of his .photographs \ftnd
coneldered: It is to be. protected from found It was' that of t^e/m*n befor*
the experts poelng: as men of bUßlne»« him. -So the distinguished^ English lord
and millionaires from the west who .found himself^ capturled in^ ab>ut^two
pass bogrus checks. In "%'lcw of all minutes, otherwise mighty bavi:
this the hotel . has" established a"; sys- robbed : a; room ; of rich- Jewelry! Copies
• tern of-iits own with; a 'skilled de- of such:phot6graphs;are?also:giverto
- *^i«Mn ; chir«- v - \u25a0*\u25a0-'"\u25a0•'\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 - variousemployesiwhenTlt'ls^neceMary
tecuve in cnarge. to .shadowy •ufpicious 3 characters and*
That quiet, gentlemanly •looking - roan- inakeßure , OO f /tne j r ;j ae^
who moves . up and dciro . the corridors ' " Some a of "\u25a0 the crooks -"of tte'taUioi
April, 1906, the block from which bts
hats had been made _ for many years
was destroyed, lie was compelled to
wear a more or less modern shape. V
This he did, but not without a per
ceptible dejection which was midway.
between - sadness and humiliation.
Those who knew him. best declare that:
the , U>ss of hia \u25a0 distinctive headgear./
haetenedHiis demisel- Who. knows?
If 1 John Perry Jr. .was dean' o* this
brotherhood. White Hat (Dan) Mc-
Carthy is doubtless now its foremost .
member. Description of the McCarthy
tile were like sending coals to Newtas- |
tie. It speaks for itself. McCarthy, dis
tinguished also~"asr^. ,jaxlnß man an-i
horse trainer of parts, owes much of his
wide renown to the rough beaver "plucr"
which nearly always crowns his smil
ing Celtic face, set at a rakish angle,
redolent ot Donnybrook fair and the
"Bhillelah."
The story goes that '•White Hat" re
cently presented a *check at a bank
where he has been: doing business foi'
40 years. He was without the beaver.
and was asked for identification. Maybe
this is exaggeration, but those who.
have seen him without the hat that
gave him his nickname would hestitate
to pronounce it such. The fire played
havoc with McCarthy, too, for. though
he saved his priceless tile, the block
was destroyed and he now hae but one,
whero" lie oncc'htd several atways 6i*.
hand. .^Kugene ' Kprn, '\u25a0\u25a0 who has .mad*
McCarthy's, hats ; for more' than-' a^dec^
European type are not r so easily han
dled. • The man Aoraham Kahaqe, who
said he lived fnDelancey street," caused
a: great- disturbance In* the'main corri
dor e of .the Waldorf at- 1 11 /o'clock one
plgrh't,' by k nockingr down 1 Detective \u25a0 Mc-
Donald;;; and i : ordering one" of the', pa
trons\ out* of the hotel. /Mr.. Smith was
ion hand- and handcuffed Hhef stranger
end turned, him over to the -police. 1 At
the Tenderloin* station • two tallow can
dles and • nearly ; : - 1,000 'matches y>tr&
found on hl9'pers6n^andfinallr^on y the
insanity, dodge, he managed to get free
in.,the. courts. >\u0084<\u25a0*\u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0'-'.-' -
•-. .» --\u25a0:.• .;-\u25a0-- :. \u25a0: . • :...\u25a0:.. ' . ' .. . -~-- - • . \u25a0 ••
: c Onv^ another * occasion^ as man ;; who r
iooked' Hk« *a .reforrnedipolitician "was
• overhead talking persuasively'- with a
patron.", -The '} «tranger£was ; . trying fto
I »eli;htm4 a* ; bond, said it jwas :'all|ri«ht j
\u25a0.nflHhtt l there j «. r chanc«\to (m&ke *
. come I money. ,";Wheh I put sunder j; arrest ;
the imanjßbowed; fight s and Jit took; four
•'policemen 'and" a couple of porters to
"fcubdaeihlm.,^;^ - ' '.',..,:..,\u25a0\u25a0 \u25a0.•\u25a0". \u25a0•\u25a0..-.;.
t r-Wheni Jamea ;P. ScottSqfi'Pliiladel
pMa. who said he. was a soh^of. the; late :
.-, jrhomaa"Ar : iScott^of V the Pennsylvania
. fallroad.swas^victimized >ibyi.the {jpro-^
i,fcoter , «f fa i racetrack ! - swindle ?the f de-;
OiectlTe; arrested '\u25a0; him 1 : and ir in formed « the ;
i »«llc«. '\u25a0\u25a0'\u25a0?. Altheurh ' the :*detectiTe^carfied '
-fcUl rijfht hand in a sling for a ft-w days
t •f-'tHe* result ' of ,6lsr»oodsWorkMn b<^^
half «f ;the:hctel, : the- Philadelphia man
; .wa» I «ave<l %k'l Zot^ of I moneys and .-.
i Yratolations : were ' much* in : order. -
;V? .With ;> ; westernr.;: patrons *J came > Mr.
of '\u25a0 Denver, 't a '" mme ';. owner,! in f •
\u25a0 in l<>loradoy enterprises. v^Two
f ; li^o9pi| L UlWn^iyelv«ty,Ctpn»uedj,filmv
|(l»mro«ri ?:yof|into converiation fvwltb ;
; i the ; jrent Jeman; fd ricks {followed £ and '\u25a0] a;
:* tune &of * bunko waa i proceeding j a
- terioui I pelnt when j the [dtteetive|came '
Henitbes B«ene.^Resalt,^th^n6toriousi
Mike ' Cohen Jand* Jim - Parker; i*efe;hus-;
'.'tied rout fof t the *ho tel T and * turned • over
:>'to : - the ; pelice.^}- \u25a0'->\u25a0>' *T«~- r V{ *^.^t- '' -'\u25a0 *: .•'\u25a0-:.'\u25a0
-,•, • : =Tt was cuite \u25a0 al sensation i at^ the, time .
\u25a0When; J* f?H- ™ Jonei iit ; Buffalo^ cam©- to
- \u25a0 \u25a0 . - .\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0-' \u25a0 - ' , \u25a0 :-5--- \u25a0--\u25a0•
.buy;thft,old*Sturievant uotel ; and tried
to pay., his i bill , at ; the Waldorf-Astoria
with ' a^ bad • check^-a check : /or;? 150 pn
"the ~i Merchants' :. and '.Traders' - bank ~6t
,'Bufifalo} • 'It-: turned T out"i4hat; the • same
rliind 'of '.paper./ had been offered other"
ih6tels.ivu*.".-y."\^"." ? V>*'; Sy-yyv:?* \u25a0 '. :.:",•'
, VOne of Its e most, serious things ,we
liave ,'to lock "out^ for,"' said ' Mr. Smith,
\"i s ; th e * maii "i who^ pos ea' as ' a ? merchant
ifrom" some pother' city.^ He : says he ,!\u25a0
\u25a0here t t6 • transact ;bßSinesB,; and> on pay
:,lng^his ibillolfera. what 'seems "a; grood*
.cheek." / It ' is (all yep'^-well i to " imagine
. ivhat . a " man : would ?db If; he ".were ' of- "
>fered-afbogusrdra£t'or;check.-ibutthow7
.!sj a j hotel * clerk tin -ibn?y ; hours,"; with"' «.
; }iaifrdozen -people :waitlns: their /turn,
*to(tellfonfthe"instant whether a T check ;
fisJKbod'or.bad?' j . - : . '•*.
\u25a0t"lt;is:a."part;of,'tny duty. ; to / prevent :.
•crime«iof this' character.'^' l, have foun-3
: that i bad 'j men s have 'j certain . 4 character
; istics.L'wblchf after long 'experience \ you ;
* canVdistihsutehy. theTmoraent - you "clap j
j your^eyes -;oa i them."^>" Now, \ to • protect :
\u25a0 ; the hotel I thoroughly, 1 1 ' is ; necessary; toj:
cap Cure ;tfaes«7Bien =? iad Iraake - an '\u25a0 ex- ;
.?ampleXofl"tKem.'/?-Whenv it t becomes
\ known • that ; .bogus check passers aro
dealt with seriously there ls an.amax- :
'ing ;falllng3 ? ofr*.'Ma; their
'arbund^the.vWaldorf."- "•• * «5: " ''^^"\u25a0y:-"!-'
? : f ,Vl ' can generally; s ize tip- a iaan • by nla
appearance. " The counterfeiter has his
"* trademark l'on^his --face.*!. The" • ba'nko
'--!"'./\u25a0•.\u25a0'-• y•\u25a0•'\u25a0\u25a0-'.y •\u25a0•'\u25a0\u25a0-'. ; a- .v «, \u25a0'\u25a0'.-* >.-?\u25a0' ..,'\u25a0-•*-•-\u25a0•
ad?, no v? has the only "White Hzx" in
existence and i 3 engaged in a pains
taking effort to duplicate if. Mean
while McCarthy wear 3 a sreat. soft hat
of the campaign variety, but he doesn't
look, natural or: feel as confident, of
himself as he does in the beaver which
has been his coronet and mascot
through many adventurous. years.
The youngest menber o! the broth
erhood ia Frank Marston Jr., capitalist
and owner of the Marston building.
Hats of all kinds — not merely coHect
3nj:..but wearing theia — had.lous been
Marston's hobby. They, too. were de
stroyed in the fire. Sines then he has
rcj.n has l\ls. t-e bad ch«^k chap looks
like ail the xest of his kind, aad catch
ing: sight of*, him at onoe awakens sus
picion, and then it is easy to watch
for him when he attempts to pay hi-s
bill - with a bad check. Of course. !f
the clerk has no tip given him as to
the man's Cuaracter then it is difficult
to tell at the; moment as to whether a
checks i3 genuine."
• Among the. cases -which have been
handled at the Waldorf was that of a
Philadelphia woman who tried to' kill
the house detective.- • Gbg -had ordered
"?100,000 worth of jewelry, and tiro re-
t»«a wesrlai far tt* most part a very
fcan2son:a Mexlcaa hat. made for Gen
2ral" Barillas oZ i?oc;h ' America, by
Fisher. :i:e 'matter of th!» city. It fs
a beautifully/, finished hat of expen
sive felt ana unique des',g:>. having an
extremely vrl£e brim. 4«*p bend and
nnswrocs perforations at the top and
sides. Barillas, who was - aotaeiixls,e
of a dandy and a fcslxlca leader of hl.«
country's cayitel. desisted this hat
after tnuoh thought, but never wor*
one of tier: because financial reverse*
overtook Inm and so Marstoa profited
by the warriors loss.
The White Stovepipe
H. M. Levy is ar.otlier memb«r of
this unorganised fraternity. L«vy in
sists that he Is not a pioneer because
he carao to San. Francisco as lata a*
ISSI. but admits that hi* is the only
man on the Pacific coast who has worn
a white stovepipe for the last quarter
of a century. At the time of the
Cleveland-Blain* campaign Mr. l«vy
adopted the whit*; plug: to evince bis
peiitleal preference and foend it so
well suited to his style of beauty that
he he* adhered to it ever since.
.As tmposinx. Spur* in the sam- cate
gory is J>r. W. F. llcXutt. proprietor
of the McNutt hospital In this city. Dr.
McNatt's headgear, before the fire, was
an extrexaelj- tall tcp hat, "straight up
and down."* and with a very flat brim.
In fact., the venerable physician wa«
often pointed out as the beau idea! of
the "old schoo! gentleman.** Always
immaculate in dress, with the nunaer"
of th« "grand seigneur" and the fine
"upstanding** carriage or a grenadier,
he 'has been for many years a. notable
figure la San Francisco'a streets. Sine*
the fire he has been unable to secure
the block "which for long: has been an
Integra! part of hl3 sartorls! makeup,
and. scornin*? the hats of modern
fashion, he has adopted a large soft
hat of picturesque design. At present
he is m New York «-tty on business, a
part of which is to dapHcats the head
sear of his antefira day 3.
An Overgrown Derby
Toia Sraitli is another o? tfci hat
people. Smith Is well kaown to Sw
Franciscans, especially newspaper
irea. physicians ami the- police, for his
1 4 years' service as custodian of th»
morgue, where, it Is said, he couM
trace the course of bullet wounds bet
ter tfian any other man. In a number
of famous murder cases his decision
was the court of final appeal on the
subject of bullet wounds— often a rery
important factor in criminal prosecu
tions or mysteries. "Tom." as he is
universally called. Is now pursuing the
life of- a peaceful undertaker la the
Mission.; Hr* hat-Is believed to be the
largest worn by any one in San Fran
cisco, v»»i=s about eight and a half In
size. It is a special make, of dark.
v»ry soft felt, and ha* an extremely
high crown. At a distance It looks like
an immense overgrown derby, aad It
fits Tom's physical charms as no other
til* po3siblr could.
The mantle of deanery wh!eb Vu
forfaited by the death of John Terry
Jr.. might well descend, upoa th«
shoulders of Captain Watson of th*
.Michigan steamship company, who is
•one of the b«t known s»afarin<r pio
neers on the coast. Captain "Watson
wears a straight, usglazed. black top
hat of the early fifties fashion, with a
perfectly flat brim. Captain Watson
made a record trip of which marta»rs
still taTfc. la ISS2. when he beat the
fast mail across the ocean la a mer
chantman and was 'wrecked on Arch
rock, so long a menace to the sailors
of San Francisco bay.
There are others, necessarily, who
wear "freak hats." including a number
of youngrer folk: but the above are
the grand old men of hatdom and they
demonstrate what aa Index to char
acter the head covering 1 roay become.
volvers were found in ?jer b&£ wht-n
removed from the hotel. *
A patent right crank popped la on*
day aad annoyed Mr. Carnegie whiia
at dinner by oCertng to seH him a waa
derfcl machiae for *a,000.00&.
Herman cordes «f Chestnut street.
Philadelphia, was captured at the Wal
dorf and turned over to the police, who.
by the way. found oa him * two ounce
bottle of, chloroform and a pair of
pliers, with an assortment ot sere;*
drivers aad other tools In his pockets
for getting Into rooms and chloroform
ing Inmates. He was said to represent
a baad of hotel plunderers.
One windy day la December a man
ru*h«»d into the Waldorf caf« aad or
dered a Christmas dinner. He saM b*
was a friend of ilr. Vanderbllt and
had millions. "When he- shouted for
every man in his presence to take. off
his hat he was arrestsd and seat to
Bellerwew .
A robber was overhauled and a lot of
stolen property found on him. tosretatsr
rrtth pawn tickets aad other evidences
cf.his guilt. He was a fascinating. '
.Trell -brtd geatleman, highly educated,
Tlth a'fltie baritone voice.
A wealthy man, a Mr. t>avis. of Eu
clid evenae. Clevelacfi. was called by
his first name aad warmly greeted by
a man who claimed to have attended
•chool with him when he was a boy.
So many things were mentioned th4t
the Cleveland man remembered of his
youth that he took to the stranger and
sr.fi ted him to a banquet which ended
In the passing ot a check for {20,043.
-But forihe. detectives tnt»rfsren<-«»
-the. loss ;. -would bave beea serious for
_tlxe man from Clcvelaiid.
It will be seen that a great New !
Tork hots! U like a small city. All
kinds of business schemes are dfs
cussed there and .often consumaiated
'over^ a* sumptuous prrrat* dianef. Th»
aan^who waats to sell » Elm> a?n<
. the. ~ ; man./ who wants to boy.lt;:tft*.
_.Flti*trars '-, maauractarlag ~ r=a^nat»
- raeets wealthy X*t York aien at . th* '
•Waldorf- th» Xetr ttstor. tha Gllsey or
'th<»:B*laaoni.
Millions of dollars change bands: ln
l»arittaat« . business as the result \u25a0« «r
these conferences in th- hotel. A Wash
ington general m««u his friends there;
.members of 'the cabinet make appoint
• meats ' there, and now and then, soma
naa of catioaal fame.' a good msn."
. fcl» > frieads ; say. unloads ;»:. doubtful
sains on a syndicate, aad in a y-ar or
' two somebody Is footing the bills or
testlaieay is being taksn hefof- a ref-.
* are*' laoklag to th« appointment ; of a
- rec«tvtr aad ; a final "division of -what
is ; l*ft of the spoils. Libraries ; mlg!:t
•fc*^ filled with the narrative of tha
5 buvtaesa a.-.d social roxaancea that havr>
; b««a : dsvalo^ad .in th« hotels ot >.**•*•
.•Tork .within the last 20 years.