Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-08-13
GUESTS OF THE HOTEL.
THE COUNTRY COUSIN AND THE
FOUNDER ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
The Usual Programme of n Visitor-Dif
ference in City Guests-Nhat Country
men Are IearninS-Trouble
with the kickers-
New York sun

Inc summer visitor Is beginning 10 iiii u y
the town. said the clerk Of an uptown hotel
as be leaned over the desk and twisted lot
Of toothpicks into little frames and odd de-
signs Il notice there is q great improve
ment in the manners and appearance OF the
countryman since | went into the hotel busi-
ness, thirty-two years ago We NO longer
find that there is any necessity for putting
up signs in all the rooms warning the guests
not to blow out the gas, and the hat boy at
the entrance Of the dining room does not
call me over TO see queer collection Of
head gear since 1s72 This hat boy
of ours, by the way, Is versing
on his 59th year, and he is as
shrewd as they make them. He is dried
I'D little specimen, AMI thinks of nothing
else but hats He will take 900 guests,
and return each hat 70 its proper owner
three times day for twenty years without
making a mistake. Prior to ls12, lie would
rush out to the desk my seriously and call
me in TO look at the collection of suburban
hats In those days countrymen, particu-
larry 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 wens afraid of being considered popu-
lar swells, and preferred to be regarded as
guys.
All that is changed, however The trav
cling salesman, who Is really respon-ibie for
the advance in civilization in America has
disseminated ia .hionable hats. well-cut gar
ment-. and many of the iyhtsr knickknacks,
and the fashions that 90 to MAKE up the
dress of New York men until a change has
been wrought every where. There are no
end Of good clothing hon les in New York
and Philadelphia wlo have adopted the
system of establishing aranch houses in
small towns These big clothing houses
make 10, 900 suit, of clothes and ship them
all over the country to their agents. The
clothes may be go,i, bad or Indifferent, but
the one unquestionable result Is that the
countrymsn learn 10 dresS They used t.
come here in the middle of summer with
black broadcloth frock coats, doe kin trous-
ers heavy wal -tcolts and boots. Now they
dress more seasonably. 1t Is very rare that
q man comes TO our house who is not pre-
sentably attired Even in thu streets one
seldom seas the guys who formerly came in
such vast numbers simultaneously with the
hot weather"
What is the usual programme Of
visitor."
well. il there is n lurl.sque show, pre-
fusely advertised and holding forth n
promise Of innumerable pink tight, rouged
cheeks, high-iesled slippers, low neckei
dresses and the like, it will gather in the
countrymen with n force that no power on
esrth can resist 1t does not make the
slightest difference what the other attrac-
tions in town may be. wLo the visitor is.
whether parson or plowman, he is sure to
60 % the burlesque shows. At Il o'clock he
comes in tired out and ready for bel. At Q
he is out in the corridor or in the smoking-
room, picking his teeth and staring into tie
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 AMI content with
decent treatment He has a morbid horror
Of running in debt, and is purctuality itself
in the matter OF payment Take him all in
all. our country cousin is n pretty square
and solid sort of man, and he always finds
a welcome at the best hotels.
There is a good deal OF difference in city
guests" tie clerk continued, rolling over on
his other elbow and balancing the penholder
deity on his firt finger. sour city guest
consist of two distinct classes, kickers and
FOUNDERS. The FOUNDERS are dear to our
hearts. 1t is rather difficult t. make them
psy up at the end of tine week, but they are
liberal patrons of our house. keep the serv-
ants in good humor by fleeing them often
this. by the way, is a thing the country man
never does-and increase the custom of the
bar Two or three well-known FOUNDERS
will do more to pull up the business of the
bar-room, if thew reside in the house, than
you would imagine. We have a Wall-street
i
from one end of tho house to the other. He
tells good stories, Is jolly and has grown
rather fat We put a big armchair in the
cafe for his special benefit. After BIZ,
dinner every night he lights a monstrous
cigar. waddles through here in order to
crack some joke with the clerk, goes to the
cafe, settles him elf comfortably in the chair
and remains there usually until it Is time to
go to bed His bedtime is l a. IN. 1t is not
a very gooi habit for his health, but it is a
rafting good thing Cor the house His
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
in on an average about so night
"As rule, the young men go out de for
their fun, while the old FOUNDERS stav in
doors They wand r from the bill arb
room to the cafe. thence to the reG ling
room, make call on some of the guests in
the hotel, and finally DRIFT of to bea. Is |
say the rou lderi arc our best Gu TONERS.
The kickerS the more numerous They are
Of every age. siz., and sex. but most Of
them are Of the feminine gender and about
20 years OF age. Some OF the women growl
because the halls are scrubbed too early IN
the morning, Others because they are not
scrubbed enough. There Is n continued
complaint about the heat in winter and the
drafts in summer, AMI the table Is subject
of merciless and endless criticism. Every
body knows that 1t is impossible to suit
every body IN a hotel but no one can have
any idea Of the extraordinary pretsxts for
complaints which exist. except a hotel