The Portland daily press., 1867-04-19
e PRE SS.
Morning, April I9. 1857.
A cOIalhnaOdatiosas. III

furnished faultfnders with arguments which
have no foundation In facts. Is it fact that
the hotel accommodations of Portland are not
as good as business men require? III
admit that your hotels Will not compare
with st. Nicholas and 9th Avenue OF ne"
York, nor with the Revere and Parker OF DPS
ton ia point of style. L admit that the frepie
is 2 lit5le close on the ground no0r, eAcept us
dining hall hut this remark will not apply to
the public rooms of the States. Its ONCE is
spacious and its arrangements pleasant The
private rooms of the PreDie are quite modern,
pleasantly arranged and well furnished. Those
1T tbe States are not quite SO modern, but they
are LARGE pleasant, and many of them elegant
" furnished. If you doubt this, look into
the tasteful suites OF rooms which you may
find in either of these houses. do not con-
tend that these rooms come up to the views of
the fasbionables of New York or even of Bos-
ton, but do think that when you say las your
article evidently means to saw to business
men coming to Portland to buy goods, that
they cannot find comfortable quarters there
you make great mistake.
During a brief season in each year there IS
class of people who visit Portland educated to
more expensive style of hotel accomm92a 'G,
tons, whose number would be increased hau
you a hotel after the style OF the heVe,o y,
st. Nicholas. But such are not t1e iT Tai
who come to Portland to buy g9oas. IL IL
Now and then have travelled ana po. So
dom have heard solid business man oo nir
plain of want of elegance IN fortH'nti ~ 80
1t is true that during the great t tuon ho5I,,
the ruins the hotels were soneoiiI Nc o..uiy
crowded and that one night during the ume
the railroads were INSTRUCTED by the great
storm of January, gentleman anu iady came
to the States where chanced 10 DE az the Time
and were obliged to go to the Preble to find
lodging. ,..l.....
to Portland to buy goods is not that the hotels
are not sufficiently stylish and expensive
Their demand is for hotel between Middle
ID strapt whara thew find ,,lain
clean, well-ventilated rooms with comfortable
beds, with dining hall to match, well furnished
with substantial food for q moderate charge
al =
What does a merchant care whether the out
side of the hotel at which he stops, is marble
or brick provided he finds comfort and conven-
fence within? viii brick walls injure his ap-
petite, or the absence of costly frescoes disturb
his slumbers? ...
Commercial street is the business centre of
your goodly city. A hotel in its vicinity, if OF
the character required, would be well patroniz-
ed. [5.1 ..5s
Hoping these suggestions will meet with ia
vor, Iremain, .l.4.
A FRIEND OF PORTLAND.
III The writer of this communication has
not given us his real name. and, therefore, has
no claim to be heard, but as we wish this
whole question of hotel accommodations to be
properly ventilated, we waive the rule in his
case. If some of his remarks are not treated
with sufficient respect to crafty his feelings he
must bear in mind that we are dealing With
one in the dark. tHt
ri 1t is fact as the article Of April 9th
insisted that the hotel accommodations of the
city are not adequate to the deman is Of the
travelling publie-the man of business and the
pleasure-seeker. Nor are the existing hotels
SO good as they should be. That they are we'll
kept we admitted, but We have no hotel in the
city that takes rank with first class hotels in
other cities similarly situated. Before the fire
our wants in this regard were severely felt, and
now that half the accommodations we then
had are blotted out it is the merest folly to III
sist there is no pressing necessity for action to
overcome one of the most serious evils that af-
flicU US. ,..-. 80. sa4 e3 81. 4st
Isl We have not word to say against
either the "Preble" or the Estates" They are
the best we have,-wel kept, by gentlemanly
landlords-but they are not all nor so good
as we want. Why shouldn't we have hotel
that will meet the demands of "the fashiona-
bles of New York;" That kind of company
usually pays well, and if they pay their money
freely why sneer at their demands? AS well
might the friends of a one-horse village in the
backwoods insist that the "fashionables OF
Portland" had no right to expect anything but
loghouse accommodations, and that such were
sufficient for the men coming to the place to
buy pigs and poultry, as to insist that our
crowded and inconvenient accommodations are
sufficient for Portland because the Estates
and "Preble" cal furnish good tables and neat
beds. 1t is the true policy of city DESTROYS OF
growth, not simply to meet the absolute neces-
sites of the travelling and business public, but
also to attract that public by providing the lux
uries they may demand. ls ..4
AL "a Friend to Portland" it seems to our
mind, takes very narrow and low view of our
wants if he supposes all that is needed is to &C.
commodate the merchants who come to this
city to buy goods. IF this were all, possibly
we might close up what few hotels we have, for
we dare say our wholesale merchants and job
bers would, if necessary, keep open house for
the accommodation of such customers. li
[5] The "Friend of Portland" who can see
no need of new hotel accommodations except
in the vicinity of Commercial street, must
have extravagant notions of the future of the
city. The merchant who would object to a
five minutes walk up into pleasanter part Of
the town to find good accommodations, OF to
five cents invested in a street car ticket, would
doubtless be quite as we'll satisfied to get his
grub at cellar, and would be more likely still
to bring with him pocket full of doughnuts
and sausages so as to save all expense. Such
merchants generally carry their stock in cot
ton handkerchief, and make their purchases on
MI nat ba froxT Have
who build up city's interest or for whom hotels
are built. Such travellers require but little of a
hotel except the use of fire to toast their
shins while eating their cold luncheons, smok-
ing their pipes, and Batting" their horses at
the door with oats and hay brought from home.
In these remarks we would cast no refec-
tons upon the worthy class of teamsters, mar
ketmen and others who come to the city in
pursuance of their daily business. They donot
expect to patronize frst-class hotels. They
look for accommodations, usually, in the out
skirts of the city or in the suburban districts
Their business often does not afford luxu
ries; and they wisely study economy; or, the
character OF their business may be such as tc
require very coarse apparel, so that they dc
not desire to mix with the crowd that makes
up the patronage of frst-class hotels.
The old "Bite Tavern" and the Franklin
House in Boston, can no more be dispensed
with than the Revere or the American but they
could hardly fill the place Of these. So the no.
tells on Green street in this city may be as nee
essary as the "Preble" or the States" but
who will say they could take the place of the
latter? t..,I.It
All our hotels are well as far as they go; bu
we want more of them, and we want then
built with reference to the future as well al
the present. We want them SO abundant il
accommodation that the traveller shall be pro
tected by wholesome competition, and we
want them constructed with such reference to
convenience that small families, unable to find
rents or unprepared for housekeeping may be
able to find suitable accommodations within
their ample walls. Portland may be smaller
than Bottom but it is not inferior in beauty or
natural attractions; why should it be in its ho-
tel accommodations and artificial attractions?
Railroad Communications. 4
We have on hand several candid articles.
communicated by esteemed friends. on the