, 1865-12-04
CUR HOTEL SYSTEM,
Tie Extent Of Accommodations.
Causes..-Fsults--Necessit4 for
Boarding Houses.

IL has become a faVogite complaint With SON,
people IN Chicago that the hotel accommodation
of cur city arc detective, md they cIaIu that The
insutncency OF proEisiou for the tranAient poppls
non Of the great Western metropolis has had the
enec OF fssng prices OF the neccseartes Of life to
IN almost hou1ons amount It may not be min,
fcfest!ng TO our readers to derots totue tfne and
attention to this subject md zee what II any. nra
tbf desects Of our hotel system-what ia 1nfnenre
npou prices what 6fe the chief feoufremeuts for
INC INC 1 nonho1seholdess among our Population who
nov medication oS our present hotel fystem
Msy oe made to se1ve the tnterests Of that large
eafe; r.: 11d zno,e',a exsn , 6spens houssholden.
soee. wealth and population Of Chicago have In
cIeased. has become proyc9bial even in this land
g! epeed. eeton md Development, where the ma
nonal motto IL, ''1ts better to1 bust than crsW<+
but tn nothing has our progress been mons Iapid
and eucteeefnl than In our hotel sYsten. 10 oid
feaaente In Chicago It eeens hut few years siuce
ie on{ tsne hoase % Of fos tarees T. Tie
onfid1ng On the site of the present magnificent
sherman House It Maa little better thaa board
shany. Of moderate Dimensions and primitive style
Of accommodations. Then the Lake uouso was es.
tabhshed on the North Side, and not lonr after.
wnsd The old fremont Hotel was opened on tho kite
a present occupied hy the American Express oflee
On Lake street near Clark. The old CITY HokeI'
was bought by Mr. Sherman, one Of the early May-
orr Of Chicago, and By him remode1ed into SONS
thing Ike an npproIinaton to modern style and
2cQN
rendered necessary greater Recommendations, and
twice the huildlng WIS torn down and rebuilt On a
larger scale each tnae the last tine in 1861, In its
second to scarce my in the United States. The I'D
Lake House never wns sc1y popular iustitution
among the better claes Of travellers and gradually
sbo5 .f n'S decay 1u an ons9 %suss r + L. At
LONGER hotel F1neen years ago the present Tre-
mont Hote1xos buiit and the edince formerly bcar-
ing that name waE abandoned. In 1862 The Tn.
TyHS i<%rfn r{~ ~na
Improved 70 very considerable extent, 70 that II
now ranks with the Sherman as one Of our best
houses. Gould one Of those Cd time hotels be
world certainly be ono Of the createst cuaosItiss
We could w!sh 10 visit. They wcro part or
TIE rude times which some Of our early settlers lore
not paved street. in The citJ-when deer were O.
easiona1y chased through the streets-when
swanpt and marsh occupied all that valuable terri
a1pF 5e
lnmeer sloops wetc great thips i9 The eSes OF the
peop?e-long ere my body dreamed Of the greatness
ietS, 70 whe GesagS Tas se'Rsc o. dnea the
have been Witnessed In their rough bar-roome
where haeh{ Eastern tpeenlatoss Jostled bEawny
hunters and boatn1en, Or hob apobbed With the men
mo!s lnpassablc roads to reaeh "town" with a
load Of produce. But these things passed rapidly
4MaY. Houses were going up on every band
and additions TO the shipping lists Of tho young
N1ih The East and west. 1nonsauds Of straaaera, s
place" crowded in, and one By one new hotels
ep.ans up and old ones were enlarged. Her grain
trade soon became Immense and her importance as
From this point 1t would be dtfdcult 10 1ruce
the growth Of our botcl s5stem, We know
whst US beesnning was, and We zee what 1t how is,
n Chicago q h.s @ seatss
hotel accommodations, in proportion to The num-
ber Of inhabitants than any Other city Of The United
1ad h hes h9lels IT. taken aoehes rot
A few houses There are In the East such a Tho ST.
James IN New York: furnished in style Of prince
onlF s1ill eoataia greai deal mose ot The p1sei:
and ats intaded fos tie scoom@odaon and dea. con-:
a S nSsn FnenaSr Few S The srh
persons who can afford in Ibis bnsy age to live like
he ..hilies Of .he neld. VINO ton moi neither do
Injuries Of excellent food, good beds, pleasant
roomf. prompt attendance With at the same time
q due rrgsd for The Gsthciies OF Life "a displayed
N 9oiGf sno 'G %a3.. o. @ e1s
Until within few years. The botel business 10 CHI.
3 r. @ he made at of 9.nnsy 'ha a%s t5s
liveliest seaton has been from the flEst of March
nnlil the middle Of November. This has
s,ion sssn oa.tns to ne son, facss That nsrl
merchants have nov On hand ali their stock Of
winter goods. and buy no mora until spring opens.
4 new interest which has sprung up here v,thin
this intermediate tenn Of dnllness, and keep the
hote!s at least moderately full. We allnde 10 the
packing trade. Nearly million Of hogs are now
and thus tEode draws enough st1ancrrs to the city
TO At least keep the hotel propnctors from dying oi
1nnntnon before their busy season again opens
cdal travellers, county merchants. speculators.
fettets. etghtsecrs. and al the various casses Wnn
eome With The epEtng and summer. Il tWoQd there-
ness Of Chicago rom the prescnt lists Of a.riTal,
which chow only abont an average Of i've hu ndred
pcr diem in The len principal hoiels. This number
but not before March next will the number OF guest.
be At ali psopu. 10 the capacity OF ons hotels
for lheif accommodation. The Sherman and TFe-
iortahlY accommodating sir hundred guests esch.
The Briggs, Rercte, Adams, Richmond and Metro.
politan will bold two Thousand more. and about
ciChi hundred to three lhon .snd more This II uft
be unGcfstood Is their o71!nary capacity, but under
the pressure Of an extraordinary emergency there
are Etarccy my llmtle TO the faeihties. Thus the
Sherman has, IN ConEcntion times. accommodated
twelve hundred loagcrs, in ad6ihon TO feeding hat
% q many more. Thus u viii be seen thnt - our
we have accommodations in hotels proper for ax
thousand without taking into account the hosts Of
semi.hofets and boarding houses. the capacity OF
veg l1Epe, hut 1t should be remembered thar we
haEe m,y-nine trains per diem entering Chicago
sle lie u t1a!eI n = adais,on theTeso. chIeseo u tbe
hn+iness centre Of the Norh and naturally the
tsssel aa q ihis great section
ste1rom the East md these are The things which
keep up tLis great hotel system. The proportion
o bosdea IN he nn hos
fremont md Sherman, and the proprfetorn are not
anxious to increase The proportion, is the rates OF
permanent hosrdsss az ;enE.liy considerably
they can generally I'LL their homes. In the matter
Of prices the ralea Q! our principal housee, although
lnnc obel@ @ eies u t e. e sS,a s:n md 'ass
naomi Houtcs the terms are E: 50 per diem Al tbs
Briggs. Adams and A1ehmoud Ho1tes, $3.50, and
from lbs i To y ths smaller houses priees taper down
hs Tie s1ey pee Ct PEI ds fo which sxes
York. boaton, Philadelphia, St. Louis. Louisville
End Cincinnati; indeed, totne Eastern houses are
sshssE1ng s,s, IS Per den and sscn more, for little
be borne In mind that prices Of Ill necessa1ies
Of Life have been vastly increased and also that the
as to require 1hem to put On heavy proes. For e.
~ VI Suttgl ssen @oPfh Psh5
+ nsp pse xs;e sd q
and labor hare donhled, md gas ha. advanced my
rr cent. With all these, let the reader bear In
mind The faet that The principal hotels are IN the
CITY commando the highest market value. Tie
she1man House, with the lot On which it
ea y moi %o9 y aa,,s LIZ, 0y 2d t thaa ,hs
live n hotel with all the latest appliances for
comfort and luxury. In the heart Of The business
be intesest on Ill 1ast original COS. adea aq e III
tue increase IN the rates Of living, etc. In other
words They WHO dance. mnst paJ the fiddler" In
ths concentration m Of our hotei. n the mos. salua
the FIR, radical defect in our hotel system. The
soe oussde eS Se Init 9a III e most q 9s.sss
tectiqn, to ape the large hotels n price IT IN moth
ing eke. For this, IN no gmal measure. the t1aTel-
lnE public are retpoEsihle, a. IN his Weatera
together in spcaktng ot hotele, and stranger On
s,Sins n fhe Gty Y ssy lisely to pick out
these hotels At distance from the centre Of he
sgty should not give quite = good acoommodatIons
tos mnsh less money ihan he larger ones Of which
notwith.tandinr al the tnr1esse IN n" espeuss.. %
But The greatest want Of Chicago Il for ciazs Of
respectable boaraing hontea such as ase common
and some, at least. Of The .tcomiofts Of home"
without paying for thc expense Of keeping. up a
la,gs md eosly corps o. clerks. portes. walters,
employed each large hotel. Or paying to keep up
suits of magnificent parlors which they never
cnter,-or bearing an e1ra expense for living IN a
central part o! ths city, Of no more practical Genet
to them than It they lived two miles ont or even
more Excellent board in respectfully furnished
honse within half an hours I1de OF the Court
House, should be obtannblc for from one dollar to
one dollar and ha1fpcE diem, not including Iuel
IN thus season. and ecore Of boarding Houses
started to supply this want would meet With warm
encouragement and unqualified aueress The 30
called 'lamty hotels" arc expensive, and gtve but
little real comfort. for they strive to keep up tbe
hoel style at slightly reduced rntehy reirenehfng
IN The necessities Of life 10 The e9nenezt mn1gin.
An Attempt was made in New York,
some three or tour years since, 10
establish on Fourteenth street large
boarding house on systcm which It was
clamcd would greatly reduce the cost OF living By
making III the inmales part psop,1e1ors in lie e.
atamenL =. Pefsnssins eTey 1ss1ele Of consnmpston
name Of ibe :. unita1y Home, y and lor while WIS
to any deteet in the system but 10 want Of care In
The admission Of inmates. sneh n Institution
the best thing we could have far the relief nj rt,r