The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-06-19
HOTEL MEN WORRIED.
To Refuse Negro Custom Means a
Big Fine.
AND TO ACCEPT IL IS TO RUIN
THEIR BUSINESS.


for Equal Rights to the Colored Man
Evidence Being Collected for Test Cases
"A Good Opportunity for Blackmai1.
New York, June 1S-Hotel men are in
CONSERVATION at the action of the three
negroes who went from place to place on
Sunday night and ordered refreshments
rtaccomdations for themselves. By
the provisions of the bill signed by Gov.
Morton on Saturday, entitled, can act to
protect all citizens in their civil and
legal rights, the discrimination against
any person in the matter of service at a
hotel, restaurant, theatre, barber shop,
or Turkish bath renders the waiter or at
tendant guilty of a misdemeanor, and the
proprietor also, if he can be proved to be
responsible for the discrimination. This
IS the law which Charles W. Anderson,
ii. Il. Burleigh, and Richard Il. Stovall
set out to make trial Of
All the men were good looking we'll
dressed, gentlemanly and reputable citi-
zens, and at most OF the places VIII ere
they went they were treated after the
surprise at their arrival had subsidized, in
the same manner as three similarly we'll
apparelled and well-behaved Caucasians
would have been. Delmonicos, the
Bartholdi, and other first class hotels
were not to good to obey the law, and
the men got what they ordered, we'll
cooked and well-served Shanley's and
O'Nelll's restaurants were more particu-
lar, and refused to serve the cololed
Visitors and if Mr.. Anderson and his
friends choose to push the matter, this
policy may prove costly one to them.
At the Turkish baths there was woe
when the three arrived.
I" All full was the word passed out at
Eyerard' S baths and at the Murray Hill
baths after consultation. At another
bath further down town, however, the
proprietor himself appeared and put in
plea for mercy
IF you insist I've got to let you in,
gentlemen" said he "Of course /
understand that it's the law and I'm not
going to get myself into hot water by dis
regarding it. Personally should be glad
TO see you regular customers of mine, but
you know just as well as l do that it
would ruin my business, and if you in
slst on coming in tonight it will injure
my business very much.
Very well, said Mr.. Anderson, 1--WE
are merely making test We have no
desire to injure you or anybody else.
Good night;' and the three went away
1t has been the custom in the past for
certain hotels either to refuse point blank
| to serve colOred men or to make the SER
vice SO bad as to be unbearable, but this
latter method will not do under the new
law. AS for refusal to serve damages
have been recovered a number of times
for that. Mr.. Anderson says in reference
to his rebuff of Sunday night.at certain
places:
This matter will be pressed. and i
will have plenty of backing, financial
and otherwise, to press it, I shall employ
the best counsel that can be had, and the
restaurant men and Turkish bath
proprietors who declined to serve us will
be proceeded against ciyilly and criminal
ly."
Mr.. Anderson went to Albany yester-
day morning The hotel men are very
reluctant to discuss the matter, fearing
on the one hand to offer open house to
colored people in their places and on the
other to bring down upon themselves
Visitation by announcing their aversion
to colored custom. The manager of one
OF the largest hotels in town voiced
general sentiments when asked yesterday
ii the tr 10 had visited the hotel
NO." he said, ''they havn't been here
yet, and then added under his breath,
.'Thank God
One of the provisions of the bill permits
the complainant to collect damages from
SlO0 to $500 from the offender if con-
yicted, and this is regarded as danger
Gus provision by the hotel men. Said one
of them:
Whether or not colored people are
desirable customers the fact remains that
a high-class house where they came
habitually would soon lose it's business
1t will be undemocratic and snobbish,
very likely, for people to feel so in land
where all are politically equal, but they
do feel SO and you can't get around that
fact Now under the law any unscruprl-
lous negro of slouchy appearance could
come to my place and practically black
mail me. I'd rather pay a small sum Of
money to him to stay away than serve
vantage will be taken of that part of the
law, for if I refuse to serve then he
prosecutes, and if he wins collects enough
money to live on for some months. -
Another hotel man denounces the law
as political move and predicts that it
will lose the whole of the hotel vote and
the vote of patrons of hotels to the Re
publican party.
You'll see," said he, 'that the Repub-
licans will find they We made big mis-
take in passing that law. 1t will take
thousands of votes away from them. I'm
a Republican, but I'll never vote for any
man that voted for that bill or had any
thing to do with passing it,: To win a
few votes by it the party will lose many -
What is interesting the walters in re-
gard to the new bills is whether the law
making discrimination against person
can be construed to protect a man who
doesn't give tips, and who consequently
has been doing quite as much waiting
as his waiter.
Just at present the negroes who are
testing" the law are hired to do it,
When they take it upon their own hook
the real trouble will begin. Last night
just before the curtain rose at the Broad
way theatre, tall, neatly dressed, good
looking colored man, who is said to be a
Pullman palace car porter, stepped up to
the box office and asked Treasurer Ed
Fletcher forIa seat.
What price," asked Mr. Fletcher
"Dollah'n half, please said the
purchaser.
The seat was given him, all aisle seat
on the left we'll toward the rear, and
there he sat.
Later, Mr.. A. a. Mccormick, the
manager of the theatre, was asked his
opinion about the new law
Il don't caro- to say anything yet,
said Mr.. Mccormick 81 want 10 see the
law thoroughly tested and see what the
people think about it, -
Two negroes went through the Tender
loin district last night trying to get hotel
keepers to refuse to serve them