Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-06-11


And eAo Ireahle - had IA Provtdlmm 81
the REeans
Peek, of the Milwaukee Saas, writes
bis experience "a tho hotel business a
follows: Twenty-Five years ago. after
learning The printing trade. was offered
the clerkahip ia the Hyatt House, II
GAINESVILLE. Wis. The proprietor said
he wanted 3 clerk that combined ia
himself al Of the modern improvements,
goodness, gravity, go-a-headaaiveness
and gall Ny drst duty On taking my
place behind che desk, was 10 look over
the accounts of the regular boarders.
and collect enough 10 buy couple 81
bushels Of potatoes and half 8 cord Of
wood, 10 run the house for day Or two,
and then was Tree To inaugurate Inn
provements. The first guest that az.
rived under my administration was the
editor az paper as Watertown. As
soon a. ] saw the name / said 10 myself,
s'NoW Is the time to make myself and
the hotel solid with the press" knew
that the pen was mightier than the
carving knife, and that the press had In
auence that properly worked, would
make the hotel known FAR and wide.
SO gave the editor the best room, and
told the head waiter 10 Eli that man up
regardless. / have never seen q man
that seemed to enjoy a stay at hotel
rs he did. I made it one continual
round Of pleasure for him. Cigars and
liquors were els free as salvation, and
when he offered 10 pay his bill, said:
ssNo, not cent. You are welcome TO
our hospitalities. Come any time, and
stay long, and don't ever again allude
to pay Well, he acted as though he
was sorry he was going away, and the
next week his paper came out with an
item to the effect that the proprietors Of
the Hyatt House had made ten strike
securing the services Of the eentlemanly
and urbane Geo. Peck for clerk. had
never seen my name in print before as
gentlemanly and urbane, and was not
exactly clear what the word ''urbane"
meant, but It looked well, and / was
happy. After the editor went away the
proprietor Of the hotel came TO me and
wanted six dollars to buy meat, and
when / told him / couldn't let him
have any money until Chicago drum
mer paid his bill and went away, he
asked me what had become Of the money
the Watertown editor had paid.
/ had to tell him the baldheaded
truth, that / had not charged him
cent, and that it was q part Of my
scheme to work the press in that way,
and boom the hotel. The proprietor
was hot. He said that would ruin the
hotel business IN that way in about four
days, and that I could charge up the
amount Of the editors bin TO myself.
It was q cruel blow, but stood il. For
q week pondered over my scheme Of
booming the hotel by working the
press, and had figured Il out In my
mind that it was q big thing, when
the bus drove up in front Of the hotel
and the same editor got out and came In
and registered. turned pale, and the
proprietor, who stood near, looked like
q thunder cloud. at the end Of his
name the editor had written, sswife and
two children" The porter picked up
my inanimate form behind the counter
and carried me to my room, where re-
storatives were applied, and by nightfall
I was able to go out, when / resigned
my position and went out Of town on an
accommodation freight. How the editor
came out settling with the proprietor /
never knew, but always thought IL was
q mean trick for that editor to play his
wife and two children on me. While /
must admit that my attempt to cause
the press and the hotel to go hand in
hand, and each be help and boon to
each other, was q total failure, and
brought me into disrespect as hotel
clerk in that early day, / am proud to
say that the good seed sown by me az
that time has taken root, and to-day all
good hotels are solid with the press and
nothing il too good for the wielders Of
the Faber, and no words are too good in
the average newspaper for the hotel
man. Clerks that are cold and distant
to dukes and millionaires unbend and
become boon companions Of night re-
porters, while hotel proprietors are
never 90 happy Is when talking to edi-
tors ont On the road behind their trot-
ters. May the time never come when
hotel proprietors viii take as sordid
view Of editors Is did the proprietor Of
the hotel in which I was clerk twenty
i've years ago, when he yearned for six
dollars 10 buy meat, and it was not in
the cash drawer.
Tm Yosemite stage which left
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