The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-05-19
A Fire and Guest Escape.

The widespread unwillingness on the
part of the travelingpublic to be burned
to death has led to a general demand
that hotel landlords should provide
their guests with means of escape from
the upper rooms in case of fire. As is
we'll known, all travellers are obliged to
sleep in these upper rooms, for not with
in the memory of man has hotel clerk
had vacant room on the first or sec
ond floor to place at the disposal Of a
guest. 1t would be very interesting to
know who are the people who take pos
session of the lower rooms of every
hotel some days before it is opened,
and who never in any circumstances
leave their rooms vacant. These people
evidently constitute a distinct class.
differing widely in habits and pursuits
from the rest of mankind. In all prob
ability they spend their entire time in
their rooms, and tits for this reason that
no casual traveller, when climbing up
to his lofty room in the sixth story ever
meets them and relieves his mind with
scowl This, however, is neither the
time nor the place for an exhausting
scientific inquiry into the origin and
nature of the perpetual occupants OF
firSt-floor rooms.
With view to enabling their guests
to sleep in comparative peace, hotel
landlords especially those of the
western hotels-have latterly provided
every room with a stout rope, long
enough to reach from the window to the
ground. The guest is shown this rope
ho "a &,
posed to inspire him with the hope Of
avoidingIdeath by fire. Atfirst this plan Of
placating the occupants of upper-rooms
was eminently successful, but it now
appears that in the estimation of hotel
landlords it is a failure. Ithas occurred
to wicked and impecunious travellers
that rope which can be safely de-
scended when hotel is on fire can be
descended with at least equal success in
the quiet of the night, when there are
no persons present to witness the feat.
Accordingly, travellers of the class last
mentioned have formed the habit of
quitting their hotels by the rope, leav-
ing their bills unpaid. Any man who
watches the outside of a western hotel
from one to three O'Clock a. M, is
reasonably sure to perceive two or three
travellers cautiously descending from
the upper windows by means of ropes,
and afterward walking briskly toward
the railway station. Naturally this sort
of thing fails to meet the views of the
landlords, but they dare not deprive their
guests of ropes, for few travellers are
bold enough to risk death by burning in
room totally unprovided with any fire.
escapes.
The remedy is, however, simple
one. Let the landlords provide ropes
about twenty feet too short to reach
from a window to the ground. In case
of fire the guests can descend these
ropes and drop safely into the arms of
firemen, while the wicked traveller who
tries to use his rope for illicit purposes
will be compelled to drop twenty feet
into the open mouths of bulldogs or
upon the sidewalk-in the latter case
infallibly breaking his leg. Simple as
this plan is, it has not yet occurred to
the western landlords mind, but now
that it has been generously suggested
to him he can hardly fail to use it to
his own great profit and to the total
discontinue of the wicked.-M T.
Times