Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-28
TO INSURE COMFORT
The Committee to Look After
Knights of Pythias Visitors.
an ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING
Persons With Accommodations
Asked to Register at Once.
FIN ANCE INIT T E E

The Pythian public comfort committee met
last night at the Hotel Johnson with goOd@
ly attendance Of members. The minutes of
the previous meeting were read by Secre-
tary Percy G. Smith. Chairman ]. II.
Nichols explained to the committee that
since its last meeting there had been to
considerable extent a reorganization Of the
committees appointed for the purpose CT
making the biennial encampment Of the
Uniform Rank knights of Pythias. TO be
held here in August, a rousng success. He
explained also the personnel OF the various
committees, but stated that the committee
Of which he had the honor to be chairman
remained intact, and that there was
no question but that the committee
which he had nominated to the central
committee at its last meeting would be
ratified. He had thought that this meeting
would be an appropriate time to appoint the
various subcommittee. but upon consulta-
ton with several members who ought to
know it had been concluded to postpone
this part of the business until the latter
part of July, as folks experienced in such
matters maintained that this would leave
ample time in which to make the requisite
arrangements. Chairman Mitchell also
stated, amid enthusiasm. that he had hal
personal conference with every gentle
man whose name appeared on the member
ship roll of his committee and they had
promised to stand by him and work Wig
orously for the accomplishment of those
designs for which the public comfort COM
mittee was intended. He had talked with
the twenty Pythians who are members of
the committee, and each one had manifest
ed an earnestness and zeal in the matter,
which to him was an augury of victory.
Secretary Smith, at this point, was called
upon to show the number of accommodI-
tons for guests which had registered, and
he read that accommodations had been
registered for total of @,Sil visitors
These were divided between the several
parts of the city follows: Southeast, .i
houses, SO rooms, 2iI people: southwest, II
houses, 81 rooms, III people; northeast IS
houses, 1J5 rooms, 55S people; northwest
$50 houses. .65I rooms, 6,614 people. max
ing total of 35S houses ], 936 rooms, with
capacity for the housing of 1886 people,
registered since the last meeting of the pub
lie comfort committee. Their registry also
contained the names of Is hotels pledging
quarters for 1895 visitors Secretary
Smith said that in the line of applicat lions
for accommodations from visitors elect, he
had received a number of communications
from various parts of the country, making
the inquiries which prospective visitors al
ways make; that is as to rates, accommo-
dations, distance of lodging from the camp
and other points of interest, etc.
Growing Interest.
Chairman Mitchell explained that as the
first circular descriptive of the merits Of
Washington and the glories of the coming
encampment had not been productive of
immense results. and as the Pythian ex-
ecutive committee had seemed disinclined
TO listen just now to a proposition for send
Ing out a new circular, he Chairman
MitchelD had had printed and circulated at
his own expense 1+.UOO circulars, telling OF
the preparations which were making for
this mighty outburst of Pythanisfn. 1t
vas stated on confident authority that
unusual interest was being felt in the COM
ing encampment in the strongholds of the
uniform ranks in Ohio, Illinois, Kansas.
kentucky, Texas. and in fact, in every
state and territory in the Union. Chair
man Mitchell expressed the fear that as
Icing as the applications for accommoda
tons are coming in more slowly than they
should, because of the very recent settle
nent of the transportation question, and
the fact that Gen. Carnahans order stat
ing rates Of fare had scarcely been received
by many or the divisions. that when the
visitors did begin TO come IL would be with
such a rush as almost to overpower the
public comfort committee. They were pre-
pared to hustle however. expected to do
it, and wanted to do il, but in order to
produce the best results and satisfy the
visitors in the highest degree possible 1t
was desirable the new comers should send
in their applications for quarters at the
earliest time possible and not defer ii till
the eleventh hour. 1t was thought that
Gen. Carnahan would take occasion, in
an order to the various commands of the
Pythian army to urge upon the soldiers of
the lily the ACCESSIBILITY of putting in their
applications at once, SO as to relieve the
public comfort committee of needless tasks
and burdens. Chairman Mitchell declares
that he had reason TO believe that his esti-
rate of 1JO,UUO visitors during encampment
week a conservative one which. IL II
erred at ALL erred in the direction of
modesty. The railroad rates had been fixed
at a satisfactory figure. and were as low as
had been granted on the occasions or the
Knights Templar conclave. the Grand Army
encampment and the inauguration. No
Pythian could reasonably ask the railroads
for lower rates than had been granted. but
they could discreetly urge that the roads
make a cash contribution.
Registration Books.
Chairman Mitchell did not think that the
register Of accommodations was UP to the
standard and he asked that every men,
Der of the committee make 1t point to
request their friends. the friends of their
friends. and everybody to whom they could
make suggestion of the kind, to put in
their addresses and the number of people
they could sleep. The registration books
are opened at headquarters, room Is, War
der building, from to t. and Secretary
Smith is deck for the purpose of well
coming guests. a motion was made by
Committeeman Bagby that an advertise
ment be placed in -FOUR Of the Washington
papers for one week, urging the boarding
house keepers and the room letters OF the
city to come to the front and let the public
comfort committee know how many Py
THAN visitors they can take care of. Com
mitteeman Pierce moved to amend this
motion SO that the notice should appear for
one week in each of the papers. thus COW
ering a period of four weeks, The motions
were carried, but as this would entail an
expenditure it will be necessary to nave the
action OF this committee Endorsed by the
executive committee Committeeman Michael
Wallace arose and wanted some informa-
ton as to how the recent reorganization
of the several committees under the citi-
zens' management had affected the public
comfort committee. Chairman Mitchell
gave him the informant which he wanted,
which was that the committee In question
was intact. There was co11oquy between
Chairman Mitchell and Committeeman Hen
~ on the subject of the registration books
which are used by the public comfort COM
mite of the inauguration, with view
to getting a great number of addresses
from them, but Secretary Smith showed
that this would be useless, because of the