The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-01-09
Suitable Accommodations May Be Secured by
Strangers at Reasonable Prices. and the
ExtOrtiOnS of Hotel Men Avoided
Judge ClaypOols Claim for Fees in the
Coy-Bernhamer Tally-Sheet Cases.
Congressman Weaver Shows How One Man Can
Block the Business of the House-John
Sherman's Bill for Regulating Elections.
THE COMING INAUGURATION.
Advice to People Who Contemplate Visiting
the Capital in March.

Advice to People Who Contemplate Visiting
the Capital in March.
Special to the indianapolis Journal
WASHINGTON, Jan. Sit is useless for
persons who expect to attend the presiden-
tial Inauguration on the 4th of March to
attempt to engage rooms at the hotels in
Washington. 1t is safe to say that the four
frst-class American hotels in the national
capital have refused eight thousand appli-
cations for rooms, and nine-tenths of the
applications come from well-known and re-
sponsible people. How many persons have
applied to the twenty or thirty second and
third class hotels, and the hundreds of land
lords who have flats, boarding-houses and
private residences to let cannot be imag-
ined, but it is safe to say that the number
will run somewhere between thirty and
forty thousand. All of the rooms engaged
at the four leading hotels will not aggre-
gate two hundred, and those engaged at the
eight or ten second-class hotels will prob
ably not exceed one thousand rooms The
capacity of these twelve or fifteen
hotels is something like five or six
thousand rooms. 1t will be seen that the
landlords are, forreasonssufficient to them
selves, unwilling to engage their rooms at
this early date. The manager of the Eb-
bitt House, which is one of the principal
hostelries of the city, tells me that he has
refused over two thousand applications
and has set aside less than dozen rooms.
In very many instances he has received
offers as high as $500 for suite of two or
three rooms for a period of a week or ten
days. In several instances he has been
offered 81, 900 for three or four rooms for the
same period. and he has refused the offers
in every instance. The reasons why the
proprietOrs of the best hotels will not en-
gage their rooms for the inaugural are man.
fold; but the principal one is this: room
engaged now for the inaugural week would
not yield the landlord. on an average, more
| than $50 or $75. Nearly every room in
| these hotels, if not engaged now, will be
occupied within the next three or four
| weeks by people who will stay until after
| the Inauguration. Thousands of persons
| will come here within the next three or
| four weeks and remain after the 4th Of
| March. for no other purpose than to have
| suitable accommodations. Thus the land
| lords will rent their rooms for a period of
| from five to eight weeks by not engaging
them, whereas if they should engage them
| now for the Inauguration they would have
l -
| There will be no trouble about accommo-
datiOns of a comfortable character for
| every person who comes here during the
| Inauguration. There need be no nervous
ness about the failure to engage rooms at
| this time. Wise people, who want good
| accommodations and do not care to pay
| fancy prices merely to have them engaged
in advance. will arrive in Washington on
| a morning train four or five, or two or three,
| days before the 4th of March. They will take
a carriage or a cab at the railroad station,
drive round the city, and secure their rooms.
| They will get just what they want and pay
legitimate price. There will be thou
| sands of rooms unOccupied on the 4th of
| March Chairman BrittOn Of the inaugu-
ration committee, is having canvas made
| of the city, and directory will be COM
| piled showing all of the rooms which can
be obtained by strangers; their location
| and the price set upon them, and those
who do not care to make q trade directly
| with the landlords can 60 to the inaugura-
tiOn headquarters in the Atlantic Building,
on f street, between Ninth and Tenth
| streets, and after an examination of this
directory will be enabled to satisfy them
| selves. There is no use trying to get rooms
at first-class hotels before the persons want
ing them are ready. to move in. They can
| not be secured for love or money, and eff
forts in that direction are simply wasted
| Only promises are given, not assurances.
Among the prominent callers at therO0ms
| of the committee on Inauguration, to-day,
was Col. John A. Bridgland, of Indiana. He
was told what would be done with the
| HOosiers, how they would head the pro-
| cessiOn, OF, rather, follow the escort guard
of the General Harrison Veterans and was
| given to understand that they would be as
signed the post of honor all around. Col.
| Bridgland has secured rooms, including o
| parlOr, at the Metropolitan Hotel, and the
headquarters of the Indiana people will be
| there. He thinks there will be thousand
| OF fifteen hundred people present from that
| State. Colonel Bridgland will meet the
| Indiana Republicans resident in this city,
at headquarters tomorrow night, for con-
| sultation.