St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-14

service. That he had inherent ability
was demonstrated by the fact
that he obtained control of the
Gilsey house Without having
scarcely dollar. He had become
room clerk In the United States hotel,
Saratoga, and while in thatpOsition had
an opportunity to pay numerous courte-
Gus attentions to William Fl. Wander
bilt. AT that time the Gilseys were
building the hotel at Broadway and
IWenty-nlnth street, and shortly be-
fore its completion BreSlin made
bold to apply for its lease. His
lack of means was known and he was
asked whom he had back of him. He
said he would furnish the list of his Sc
curitiesin the morning, That night he
visited Mr.. Vanderbilt in his residence
and told him that he did not wish one
dollar OF money, but with the use
OF the millionaire's name he could
obtain the coveted lease. The
Wnen the magic name of vanderbilt"
cldsped Breslin to their bosoms. A big
furniture firm with chattel mortgage
as security was glad to furnish the
house from top to bottom without the
payment of a penny of ready money: in
TACT most hotels are operated in that
way. Thus another bell-boy was a
winner.
ONCE = COOK.
In some cases the road to hotel man
agement has led across a lower floor
than that OIL which the Office is located
and through the kitchen. Francis Kin
ner, now one OF the managers Of the
swell Hotel Brunswick, of New York,
was a cook III the old Hoffman
house when it was a much smaller
establishment than it is now.
In the same kitchen Charles I'll. Read,
now the nominal head of the Hoffman
house. firm. WIS employed. The public
looks upon Edwin s. Stokes as the he ad
OF that management, and so he is. but
not n0hinally. its business cOgnomen be-
ing G. II. Read Il Co. Stokes, by the way,
is an illustration of the new order of
things in hotelmanagement. With him
the business is only one Of many incl
cents OF his life, one of many enter
prises in which he has capital invested.
Without any experience In the art of
feeding and lodging the public, he has
put his own money and much more of
JOhn w. Mackay's into hotel scheme
which has proven greatly profitable.
But OF course there Is no ]ule that is
int1eXible. The treating public remem-
Der how perfect was the managam ent
years of both the Grand Union at Sara
toga and the Metropolitan in New York,
when Henry Clair directed them. He
had peen i'll the employ Of A. L. Stew
art, Having Charge OF purchasing all sta
bic supplies. eff he can take such good
care of feeding and housing horses he
might be able to do the same with
men," said the clOse-hsted merchant
prince. And so Clair was placed in
charge of the two Stewart hotels, which
still belong to that estate. When Judge
Hilton bounced upon his dead friends
property Clair went to the wall. The
hotels have now decended to the second
class.
Capt. William NJ. O'Connor, of the st.
James hotel, New York. might be cited
as another exception to the rule which
what was really a practical experienced in
the line of hotel business by his serving
as a clerk on Mississippi steamboat in
tile Gays when moving palaces glided
over the breast OF the Father of Waters.
He is one Of the few hotel men who
have a evil service system in their de-
partment.
the famous Astor house was never so
prosperous financially as it is to-day,
and YET its proprietor. Frank j. Allen,
mad his trainlng'as a tioorwalker i'll Lord
u TaylOr's dry goods store.
SO IL will be seen the question as to
the evolution of the bell boy must re-
main unanswered. Probably. like
youngsters in other walks of life, his
future depends upon himself, and not
upon rule or custom.