The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1893-05-13
WORLDS FAIR MELANGE.
The Problem of Living o. Fhree
Dollars a Day in Chicago.
City of Hoteis-Dang~rs of Premature
Contracts Black Flags on Board
Ing Houses The White
Horse Ian. Ete.

Sidt >Sptclal correspondence from hlca-
oglres the following interesting gossip
tor the benefit of intending Worlds fair
visitors:
What viii il COST truthful answer
!e"uif b.. Whd. ssu please" Il is possible
10 spend a great deal OF money IL seeing The
world fair II is also possible to save co.i-
siderable II one knows hOx BEFORE beginning to
pay FOR experience. Those who desire TO
manage" can find a line for effort here.
The first problem that confronts the intend
ing visitor is the place to stop. The general
impression outside OF Chicago seems to be that
shelter must lie ENGAGED now or never There
Is no doait this impression is heinz foStered
induStrioasly ty interested parties in Chicago
Efery hotelkeeper is reaching out for con
tracts with all his might. and at the same time
Is conveying the idea that there is hound to be
dearth Of accommodations. This will rroba-
bly, result in the American public paying some
hundreds Of thousands of dollars more than is
necessary. Contracts made now are 4 snare
and will prove delusioa nine times out OF ten.
Hetier arcnmuo1ations ard etter rates will
6e obtained hy those who do NOT make engage
mentS before coming here. There wifi b ho
crush This is the best Judgment OF those who
have no personal interest in high prices.
III" wise fair visitor will give himself little
or no concern about his stopping place until he
The parcclroom at the depot. He win set out
for that part Of the city which he prefers. and
in couple OF hours he will md something to
suit his t1ste and his purse. He need not take
the first OF the second or the third thing shown
him There will be vast opportunity for se!ec-
tiOn. and there will be wide range OF prices.
The eaSewith whi~h this can be done will sur
prise everyl Ody
Chicago aiwlvs was city OF hotels. 1t is
to-day city OF almost rothing but hotels.
Chicago has cen building hotels for two years
In anticipation of this Worlds fair. In the
past six months the hotel mania has assumed
additional phases. II has prompted the hasty
transformation OF stores and Of manufactures
into hotels. Groups Of residences and rows OF
flats hay" reen erected on plans which will
permit their use for hotel purposes while the
fair lasts. The exaggerated development Of
the caraVanSary idea Is one of the things worth
seeing 1t is Chicago's exhibit for the Worlds
fair. Most Of this hotel building and trans
forming is Of such u character that no onc
need have any fear OF safety.
The rapcrs have sounded some warnings
al out mushroom structures Down near the
grounds there hav" rCc1 erected mammoth
buildings OF which little more is expected than
that they shall stand till tho end Of October.
but in the city the new hotels are well built
md well supplied with modern ConvenicnceS.
As rule IL will tr well for the visitor to think
twice lrfurr deciding that the best stopping
place IS that which adver,iSes daily aS in
close proximity to the grounds" All Of the
hotels nc9r Jackson park arc new. Some are
sui ulStautial enough Some are not, There is
no particular ad,nnta ~ In lbcatiug within
walking, distance Of the gates. The trlnsportl
tiun problem NO longer exists For ten cents
one can "a hy steam cars from tn" heart of the
city In fifteen minutes to tn gates a; tho fair.
For u nickel the trip can br made hy cable or
nculty in reaching the fair from up town
The opening day with its sepU0 visitors settled
that.
Another point may lie worth considering. !
The visitor who locates mp town will have a |
Larger field In which to exercise selection Of an
eating place. II there Is any extortion in res.
taurant charges. and any iiminuitinn Of the |
diameter of pie. II will he found ia the vicinity !
nt IN" fair grounds. Up town the stranger will /
eat with the Chicago people. u" Will fare ~
well ana ~ cheaply as they 1n. Down near the |
grounds. II anywhere. the transient iS in dan |
ger Of h"in: marked for special victim.
The European plan prevails in Worlds fair /
hotel mana cement. Nine out of ten of thu Chi /
caru hotels keep tn ronming and the feeding |
separate. The contract applies only to the |
room. The guests eats where. when and at |
what price he chooses. This IL the plan Of |
living which four .hfihs Of the people who |
conr TO the fair will find it hest TO adopt. II |
may not seem the most economical nj the first |
calculation. but IL means no meals paid for and |
missed Il means greater freedom Of action. |
Thor are - and - n day hotels. including !
beard and room. but the Worh's fair visitor |
who tries the American plan will miss the chief |
meal of the day and h" will flnd his expense
account funnirg higher than that Of the one |
who lives just aS well on the European plan.
As to prices. The charge for a room in Chi |
caro-hoicl or toardinehousc- ranges from d
to - u day. The average price for an aver |
age room i now = u DAY. Some hoielkcepers |
are willing to contract to give their two |
dollar rooms at any time during the fair |
Most Of them. however, expect TO advance two |
dollar rooms TO 81 and ~ in June. and II
they make contracts now they insist on such |
rates. The chances arc that the two-dollar |
ing the fair and II is more probable that they /
will so down 10 II and Il 20 than thnt they will
advance t. - and a.. Put down, therefore. s. |
"a tlay for your room and exercise the privilege |
Of selection after your come. The chances are |
strongly that you will do even letter than this |
II the money Is an object. II you do not come /
until after June these chances amount to almost /
n certainty.
For two people In n room the Chicago land
lords do not intend to double charges. The two
dollar room EccOmeS 4 thTec-dOllar room when |
two occupy IL. And wher' four people are will |
ing 10 crowi in together the per capita will Re |
reduced still more.
That" said a typical landlord who Is just |
opening n house with 30 rooms. is the way We /
expect to make money. These Worlds fair /
visitors will want the rooms only for sleeping /
They will lie out all day. They will |
submit TO little crowding Mt night to reduce
the expenses. They will coma in parties. and /
will not mind doul ling up. As for me. / would |
rather put four into one room at si than two In /
two rooms at r apiece. II means only little /
extra for towels and service. So you see we l
can all be suited. and the expense will not be so
great after all
1t is well to beware Of the average boarding |
house as distinguished from the hotel The fol-
lowing is from a reputable Chicago newspaper:
IT may he unwittingly or 1t may he with q |
mean malice. hut whichever Is the inspiration.
the fact remains that boarding house keepers
are throwing unenyiahle discredit upon Chica-
go in the cXor5itant prices they ask for hoard
or lodging
Rates of living for visitors TO the city are /
double and in some places just three times |
what they were at the same time last year. No |
mercy whatever is shown, and the unfortunate |
who does not care TO 90 TO the hotels l. Obliged |
to see himself ruthlessly robbed. Private land |
lords Sc m 10 have lost all municipal patriotism
in their a normal craving for money. and DIS l
regard entirely the promise made to the people |
Of the world by the Worlds fair oficials that |
strangers would not Re robbed during their stay |
in the city.
A slight rise in prices might have been eI-
re ted. as rents and provisions are somewhat /
hi.her. hut not even in aggravated cases does |
this rise exceed 10 per cent. while the board |
inshousc keepers show no hesitation whatever |
in demanding from 30 to 3eD per cent more than |
they formerly did.
Investigation bears out all that the Chicago |
newspaper alleges. A couple OF hours spent !
in a tour of several fashionable boarding |
house districts showed that the extortionate |
ideas are general. Houses where the usual |
rates are $40 to sIi week for hoard and |
room expect 10 charge from $40 to $40 a week |
for the same accommodations. The private |
room renting houses. not hotels. entertain 4 |
similar impression Of the harvest before them. |
A room which month ago brought from SIS to |
$50 a month rent is now expected to yield from |
so 10 s6O One room-renter who came up here |
from Missouri and who formerly kept q hotel
in one OF the river towns. is authority for the |
statement that there Is 4 general understand |
ing in his fraternity that rooms shall not go for
less than e night for one person. or for g |
night when two occupyit This applies to back |
rooms. It is the minimum rate. The better |
class OF rooms is held a. correspondingly higher
prices. What was a $50 room = month ago Is |
now s7s room A suite of three rooms. only |
fairly furnished. which rented at $40 Is now
held at $50.
canvass OF oae district on the North side /
failed TO show . good boarding house where 1
food and shelter could lie contracted for at 7
less than SO week. Among the West side /
boarding houses the same condition prevails |
nr ,ha So..rh aida xrhfch "a mora coryenfant I