The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-05
BIDS BY THE HANDFUL.
THE BUILDING OF THE NEW HOTEL
ASSURED.

The Directors and Building Committee
Hold Two Meetings, but are Unable
to Get through Allthe Bids-Another
Meeting to be Held To-Day-What
One of the Directors Seys-A Name
for the Hotel Discussed but Not De-
cided upon.
The talk Of the street yesterday, was the
letting of the contract for the new hotel.
Everybody appeared to have an interest in
the result which was to decide whether Sa-
vannah's much talked of grand hotel is to
materialize o. not. 1t was generally known
that there was limit to the amount to be
expended on the building, and if the bids ex-
ceeded that figure, there was chance that
the hotel project would be relocated to an
other generation.
A number OF gentlemen representing
building firms in northern and western
cities, which had submitted bids, waited
anxiously at the hotels to learn the result
of the bidding. The members Of the board
of directors, and the building committee OF
the new hotel company were quite as anxi-
GUS as outsiders TO know what would be the
result, and when they met at President
present, excepting two, one Of whom was
sick, and the other absent in Europe.
A DOUBLE HANDFUL OF BIDS.
Secretary Reitze had double handful of
letters, and on examining their contents it
was found that there were forty-two bids
for the whole or part of the work. 1t re-
quired careful figuring to tell the result,
and after talking over the matter it was de-
cided to refer all the papers to the archi-
tect, Mr.. Preston, with a request that he go
over them carefully aud report to a meet
ing to be held at Mr.. Corners residence
last night. At O'clock the board and the
committee met, and after three hours ses-
sion adjourned to meet this morning at 9
o'clock.
A member of the board stated to MORN
ING News reporter after the meeting that
a number of the bids are within the limit
fxed by the board of directors and that
there is. therefore, no doubt that the con-
tract to build the hotel will be let at an
early day, and that it will be completed in
time for dinner to be served in the grand
dining-room on Christmas, 1889.
THE HANDsoMEsT IN THE SOUTH.
He said that the hotel will
be the handsomest in the south, if not in
the Union, and that there is no reason why
it should not e, because there will be more
''hard cash" invested in it than has been
ever before put into an enterprise of the
kind south of the Potomac.
H. reply to an inquiry as to whether a
name has been selected for the hotel, it was
stated that the subject had been dis
cussed, and 1.-THE Madison and
"1'he DeSoto" were suggested, but no
action was taken. 1t is possible that some
other name may be chosen. 1t does not
make much difference, he said, what name
is selected, SO long as it is non-sectional and
euphonious. What Savannah wants is a
good hotel, and she will have one within a
year. 1t will be as beneficial to the city as
a couple of hundred miles of new railroad.
'You can say the director said, that to
all intents and purposes the new hotel is
built; all there is to do is to watch the site
for about twelve months and you will see
the omnibuses unloading tourists and
travellers at the hotel entrances"