Show DEBT DODGING devices and schemes of debtors to avoid collectors cumor of a peculiar of life in tb city swell who pat on a fir appearance at the expense of tailors there is now and then a margin of real humor if of a doubtful description edged about the shifts and devices used by persons to avoid paying their debts no doubt such debtors might be distinguished roughly those who through misfortune cannot cope with their liabilities and those who systematically mati cally dodge their creditors because it is not in them to do the other thing pay but says the boston traveler they are identical in the sense that both try to escape consequences by the exercise of a curious kind of wit an indignant furniture dealer recently tickled the risible faculties in a police court by his statement of how incredibly he had been tricked by a debtor of long standing having obtained a writ for distraint upon the goods supplied and not paid for he and his legal agent reached the debtors house to find it apparently abandoned the lower windows were blotched with whitewash and upon one of them was traced the legend to let naturally concluding that his bird biad flown the neighborhood to avoid him he promptly expended quite a considerable sum in fruitlessly trying to trace the delinquents whereabouts finally it occurred to him that his debtors late landlord might be able to supply a hint and to him he went imagine his amazement when he was coolly informed that the house in question had never been to let and that the debtor was certainly still within it as his the landlords agent had called for and received his rent only a few days previously they went at once to solve the problem and then the element of mystery dispersed it appeared that the wily occupant having timely warning of his creditors coming had his family and his goods to alie i top rooms smudged the windows and imparted a general air of emptiness to the house and remained snugly aloft until as he imagined his creditor would give up the debt as a bad one being cornered he had to pay and was now sued for the costs of the hunt which as no attempt at fraud in a legal sense could he proved he managed to escape rather neat too was a trick of a different kind played recently by a swell who was wanted in the matter of an outstanding tailors debt tapped on the shoulder as he went to enter a city restaurant with a party of friends he was informed that a vehicle waited at hand for his safe conduct to durance vile the situation was awkward but liis wit and experience made him equal to it he left his friends with a cool aside to the effect that he would return and dine with them in a few minutes ard was as good as his word he simply requested his captor to drive to his fathers office where hf loftily said the trumpery debt would be settled to full satisfaction accordingly aliey drove to the office indicated the officer entered with the warrant and his myrmidon remained at the entrance to guard against surprises but the debt was not on that occasion the defaulter coolly opened the door of the first room he came to ushered the other in whipped out the key from the inside out locked the door quitted the building by another exit and drove off to keep his appointment the rooted objection to put it mildly that some people evince to squaring pecuniary accounts until the law steps in and compels them is sometimes incomprehensible one man of this class well known to the writer as a person able to pay for his extravagances spent liala his time in dodging and balking creditors to whom he owed comparatively trifling sums purely it seemed for the love of such dodging some time back several writs were out for alie arrest of this person but for weeks he succeeded in eluding the holders by all manner of unexpected tricks it so happened that one day however while leading one warrant officer a dance in the network of streets lie ran into the arms of another and was immediately chapped aiuto a cab and driven to jail on the way thither he begged to be allowed to get some light refreshment before tasting prison fare and as lie himself sug that his coat sleeve should b securely fastened to that of thu office the latter consented and into a hotel for that purpose the sequel in some respects was i highly farcical oie one glasa op patently parent ly design led to another and the defaulter spent almost as mud money in makings both cabdriver cab driver and intoxicated upon whisky as would have enabled him to bettle the debt in the first place that done he cut the fastenings and quietly walked off |