The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1878-05-23
WHAT COLUMBUS THINKS OF
NHEELING.
The Views OF Correspondent OF a.
Dispatch.

Correspondence Columb bus Dispatch
WHEELING, W. VA, May, l8.
In two respects, at lea t, this city OF
mails aud SCOT stands pre-emlnent, to Wit;
In the generous, open-hanted, whole
soLled hospitality of It's people and the
unspproschabe badness Cf its bOtels
These are two widely different charac-
terlstcs, know; but in speaking OF them
| | speak whereof | know from q very COT
| siderable experience OF both, AM | speak
! gratefully concerning the one, though
feeHngly, nay painfully, Us it were, OF the
other. Any person, care not VINO, VINO
! enjoys an acquaintance In wheeling,
/ however limited, will b5ar me out IN all
l have had to say, either in this or
! former letters from here, concerning Its
hospitality. The Oaio River seems to be
a mystic line OF demsrcsliOn which ex
erts some subtle, though potent, influence
! on the people which 1t separates, so di!-
! ferent are their characteristics. The
| generous hospitality OF the people be-
| yond the line has DO more SEM
blance TO the cold, cautious calcu-
! lsting Indifference OF the people on
! the hlther side than the warmth Of tho
MONDAY sun to the cold beams OF the
Queen OF Night. But coming down
! from the realm Of fancy to the world OF
fact, and dispensing with all similes, the
whole difference Of local traits may be
described concisely: South of the river
the people can always ind time to wei
| come the stranger within their gates and
make him feel ut home trait indigen-
Gus to the soil and Inherited from their
| ancestors; while north o! the river the
! people, while, perhaps, not less hosplts-
| bic ut heart, from all-AbsOrbing devotion
to business have grown Indifferent to the
demands of hospitality and the social
amenities Of life, and this indifference
has come to be regarded as inhospitality
l do not speak from the preiudiced
standpoint of son of the "Sacred Soil,
for l am Buckeye and "to the manner
born" My utteranCos are simply the
result of observation and experience
among the good people Of Wheeling,
whose kindness l, in common with
countless others who have experienced 1t,
hold in grateful remembrance,
Bat in my enthusiasm over one of
Wheelings many good points, 1 have
lost sight Of the one bad one-!ts hotels,
Concerning the hostelries, though, the
less SAID the better-'Or them. They are
simply execrable. Each unhappy guest
is q modern Tantslus, chained to the
table with all the good things OF life
within sight ION the menu though unat-
lapuablo, while hunger gnaws at hls vitsls
like ten thousand devils. Let net the
reader suppose that this grstultous adver-
Lisemeut is in retaliation for any lack OF
attention OF courtesy, for such Is not the
case. | have tried them all, endured
with smiling front the patronlzIDg OF the
conventional bo.el clerk, paid my bill
and came away, times repeatedly, each
lime vowiug never to return, but always
returning u experience in turn the
mi8eres above complained OF, until tor
bearance has ceased longer TO be virtue
and l now cry out in tie interest OF hu-
mauity and the travelling public.
1t was not, however, of Wheeling PEG.
pie, Wheeling traits or Wheeling hotels
that l came here to write. On the con-
trary, it was of things far away from the
Nsi! City, although associated, perforce,
with its people. Wherefore, nos m0w-
| tons. One week ago TODAY 1 WAS landed
IN Wheeling in the grey Of the early
morning, after a long all-nIght ride over
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad from
Columbus, q sleepy and weary traveller.
Too late 10 90 to bed, vet too early to
seek compsnionship, after removing the
:tains of travel | wandered around the
soo.-begrimed city Of hills for an hour or
more, and, startling AS may appear the
story, saw the sun rise. The objec. OF
my presence in Wheeling is soon told. !
was here to Join party en- route TO Gin
cinnatis great Musical Feast Uia la beiLe
RiUiere With the recollections of former
similar trips still in mind, anticipation
was at its highest and now that the
Journey is ended, IL gives me pleasure TO
record that these anticIpstions we're
more far more, than realized, not alone
by me, but by all who had the good Tor.
tune to be one Of the party. But OF the
trip, its pleasures and Incidents more in
detail
\ Columbus man in Wheeling need
not feel alone, for occasionally one meets
familiar face Among others l met
DR.. II. o. Edwards, who although never
a resident Of Columbus is not 8 stranger
there, especially to the profession Of
which he is an ornament. He has al
ready built up q handsome practice in
Wheeling, : fact which many of his Co
lumbus, Lancaster and Cincinnati friends
Will be rejoiced to learn.
The local press Is deserving, too, OF
more mention than | now have space to
give it. The Sunday Leader, in the
hands of Messrs. Johnson and Lenkard,
has continued to grow apaco with the
growth Of Wheeling until it has attained
large proportions, both as respects size
and circulation, and the best l can say
for It, looking at it from newspaper
mans standpoint, Is that it deserves all
success. The REGISTER and htelIjgsnrer
both morning dailies, are good specimens
of newspapers, and are credit to the
city which supports them.
But | am warned to desist, although l
feel very much like brook and could
run on forever. In the hope of repeating
Journey of such pleasant recollecucns
next year, l now regretfully write al re-
roir. FLAMEN.