1020 ARTICLE 27.

Fraud—Boarding House, Hotel and Livery Stable Keepers.

An. Code, sec. 133. 1904, sec. 120. 1892, ch...42. 1894, ch. 418. 1898, ch. 287, sec. 84A.

154. Every person who shall by any false or fraudulent representa-
tions, or by any false show of baggage, goods or chattels, which are calcu-
lated to deceive any hotel proprietor, keeper or manager, obtain lodging
or credit, or the use of any horse or vehicle, or food or stabling for a horse
or horses in any hotel in this State, or from the keeper of any livery stable,
and shall subsequently refuse, decline or fail to pay for his credit, board
or lodging, or use of horse or food or stabling for horse furnished him,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be pun-
ished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment
in jail for a term of not less than one month nor more than six months,
or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.

An. Code, see. 134. 1904, sec. 121. 1894, ch. 418. 1898, ch. 287, sec. 84B. 1912, ch. 687.

1918, ch. 279. 1924, ch. 447.

155. Every person who shall at any hotel, inn, boarding house, hos-
pital, sanitarium or livery stable receive or cause to be furnished any food,
or accommodation for man or beast, and shall fraudulently fail to pay for
same, and every person who shall obtain credit at any hotel, inn, boarding
house, hospital or sanitarium by the use of any false pretense or device,
or by fraudulently depositing at such hotel, inn, boarding house, hospital
or sanitarium any baggage or property of value less than the amount of
such credit or of the bill by such person incurred; and every person who,
after obtaining credit or accommodation at any hotel, inn, boarding house,
hospital or sanitarium shall abscond or fraudulently depart or remove his
baggage therefrom without discharging the debts as aforesaid incurred,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be
punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprison-
ment in jail for a term of not less than one month nor more than six
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the
Court. And in determination of any question arising under this section
the fact that any such person so obtaining food, accommodation or credit,
upon request or demand for payment of any amount then due therefor
failed or neglected to comply with such demand shall be treated as pre-
sumptive evidence that such failure or neglect to make such payment was
fraudulent and similarly the fact that the departure of any such person
or removal of his baggage without first paying or discharging his debt as
aforesaid was without the knowledge or consent of the proprietor or man-
ager of such hotel, inn, boarding house, hospital or sanitarium, or the
representative or agent of such proprietor or manager, shall be treated as
presumptive evidence that such departure or removal was fraudulent.
Nothing in this Section shall apply to or affect the prosecution of any
offense which may have been committed prior to June 1, 1924, or the
punishment provided for such offense.1

1 See sec. 155A.