The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-08-20
GUESTS OF THE HOTEL.
THE COUNTRY COUSIN AND TIE
FOUNDER ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
The Usual Programme OF . Visitor-Dif-
ference in City Guests-What Country
men Are Learning-TFouble
with the Kickers.
New York Sun ]


New York SUM-
"The summer visitor is beginning to fill up
the town." said the clerk of an uptown hotel
as he lie aned over the desk and twisted a lot
OF toothpicks into little frames and odd de-
signs. II notice there is a great improve
ment In the manners and appearance of the
countryman since l went into the hotel bust
ness, thirty-two years ago. We no longer
find that there is any necessity for Iutting
up signs in all the rooms warning tie guests
not to blow out the gas, and the hat boy at
the entrance Of the dining room does not
head gear since 1872. This hat boy
OF ours, by the way, is vergin.
on his 50th year, and he is as
shrewd as they make them. He is dried
up little specimen, and thinks of nothing
else but hats. He will take 1000 guests
and return each hat to its proper owner
three times day for twenty years without
making mistake Prior to 1872, he would
rush out to the desk mysteriously and call
me in to look at the collection of suburban
hats. In those days countrymen, particu-
larly southerners, felt that they would be
sacrificing their self-respect if they adopted
the custom of the town and wore garments
that accorded with the prevailing mode
They were afraid Of being considered popu-
lar swells, and preferred to be regarded as
guys.
Ali that is changed, however. The trav-
cling salesman, who is really responsible for
the advance in civilization in America has
disseminated fashionable hats well-cut gar
ments. and many of the lighter knickknacks,
and the fashions that go to make up the
dress of New York men until change has
been wrought erywhere There are no
end of good clothing houses in New York
H. -
system of establishing branch houses in
small towns These big clothing hou cs
make 10000 suits of clothes and ship them
all over the country to their agents. T e
clothes may be good, bad or Indifferent, bu5
the one unquestionable result is that the
couutrymen learn to dress. They used {
come here in the middle of summer with
black broadcloth frock coats, doeSkin trou,-
ers, heavy waistcoats and boots. Now they
dress more seasonably. 1t is very rare that
a man comes to our house who is not pre-
sentably attired Even in the streets one
seldom secs the guys who formerly came in
such vast numbers simultaneously with the
hot weather"
what is the usual programme of a
visitor?"
"WeIl, if there is burlesque show, pr
fusely advertised and holding forth a
promise of innumerable pink tights, rouged
cheeks, high-heeled slippers low necked
dresses, and the like, it will gather in TIE
countrymen with force that no power
earth can resist It does not make the
slightest difference what the other attrac-
tions in town may be- who the visitor IS
whether parson or plowman, he is sure to
go to the burlesque shows. At IL o'clock he
comes in tired out and ready for bed. AT
he is out in the corridor or in the smoking
room, picking his teeth and staring into the
street. He never thinks of eating after the
theatre is over, and eats his biggest meal in
the middle of the day. He makes the best
guest that the hotel can entertain, for he is
quiet ami unobtrusive and content with
decent treatment. He has a morbid horror
of running in debt, and is punctuality itself
in the matter Of payment. Take him all in
all, our country cousin is a pretty square
and solid sort of a man, and he always finds
a welcome at the best hotels.
"There is q good deal of difference in city
guests" the clerk continued, rolling over on
his other elbow and balancing the penholder
deftly on his first finger. "Our city guest
consist of two distinct classes, kickers and
FOUNDERS. The FOUNDERS are dear to our
hearts It is rather difficult to make them
pay up at the end of the week, but they are
liberal patrons of our house, keep the serv
ants in good humor by feeling them often
this. by the way, is thing the countryman
never does-and increase the custom OF the
bar. Two or three well-known FOUNDERS
will do mere to pull up the business of the
bar-room, if they reside in the house, than
you would imagine. We have WaI-street
operator in this house who is known
from one end of the house to the other H
tells good stories, is jolly and has grown
rather fat. We put a big armchair in the
cafe for his special benefit. After a biz
dinner every night he lights a monstrou
/ cigar, waddles through here in order to
crack some joke with the clerk, goes to the
cafe, settles himself comfortably in the chat
and remains there usually until it is time to
20 to bed His bedtime is 1 a. m. 1t i moi
a very good habit for his health, but it is
rafting good thing for the house Hi.
| friends drop in to see him during the whole
| evening, and sometimes he has eight or ten
| men around the table He stands the house
n on an average about $50 night.
Gas rule, the young men go outside for
heir fun. while the old FOUNDERS stay in
| loors They wander from the billiard
| room to the cafe, thence to the reading
| room, make call on some Of the guests i'll
1 the hotel and finally drift off to bed. As
| say. the FOUNDERS are our best customers.
| The kickers the more numerous. They are
| of every age, size, and sex, but most of
| them are of the feminine gender and about
10 years of age. Some of the women growl
| because the halls are scrubbed too early in
| inc morning, others because they are not
crubbed enough There is a continued
complaint about the heat in winter and the
| Traits in summer, and the table is subject
If merciless and endless criticism. Every
body knows that it is impossible to suit
| every body in hotel, but no one can have
any idea of the extraordinary pretexts fol
Complaints which exist. except hotel
clerk"