The Republican journal., 1896-01-23

ument and to make the grounds public
| ark. The petition was acted on adversely
| May IL, 1888. At that time the enterprise
was encountering hostility that later devel
| oped INTO actual warfare against all who
| had contributed time or money, or both. t(
| give Belfast a hotel second to none in the
State, credit to the place and public ben
| eft as well. 1t was made an issue in oul
city politics. No one who had anything te
do with building Crosby Inn could hole
office, and boards of assessors were chose1
| expressly to punish them for their public
| spirit and enterprise. All that was asked
or expected by the hotel company was az
| abatement of taxes ON the hotel building
and contents, the tax on the estate to re
main as before, and because of this reason
able request-which the city could we'll af
ford to grant-the stockholders have beer
| subjected to abuse and injury that seems al
most Incredible.
But for the Belfast Savings Bank and the
Belfast National Bank the building coul6
never have been completed. Both institu
tions furthered the enterprise by making
loans upon extremely liberal terms. The
Savings Bank made loan, July /, 1890
upon the building of $4,000 and Sept. 30
1891, the National Bank loaned $5 900 on the
the furniture.
Crosby Inn was opened to the public June
l, 1889 under lease for five years to Geo. II
Bemis on terms that would have paid the
interest he 1abf ,l,o
Bemis did not attend to bis business and
gave up the house Nov. l, 1891, with arrears
of rent amounting to between 500 and
$500. In order not to inconvenience the pub
lie the directors kept the hotel open in charge
of the clerk Mr.. G. H. Mitchell, until a lease
Through personal disagreement between the
partners they made failure of the business
| and the company lost between $4OO and $500
in rent, Again the hotel was kept open for d
time, at loss, in charge of Nr. F. G. White
and it was about to be closed when lease
was made to Haugh, Wright & Varney
who soon placed the hoJe on "a good footing
III all respects. The new propretors bought
the furniture ard thus relieved the hotel com.
pany OF portion of the debt, but the income
from the property was insufficient to pay in.
terest on the remaining ebt, and for $50 ,OOC
insurance, and the amount of Insurance. was
twice reduced, the last time to $4,000, So
600 having been taken off about two months
before the fire, with the belief that it would
be Impossible for the building to burn dow Il
with our water supply.
The books of the treasurer show an ex.
penditure, including interest on loans, of
about S4S,000. A large amount was expend-
ed for labor and went to our own people
The heating apparatus cost $2,24O, gas fix
lures 800, and the bills for painting amount
ed to 81 800.
Col. Chenery, the President of the Hotel
Company, gave practically his whole time to
the enterprise from the time the hotel was
started until it was opened to the public He
was determined to have everything of the
best. No native born citizen has ever mani
tested greater interest in Belfast than did
Col. Chenery during his comp paratively short
residence here. He was public-spirited and
open-hearted, and had he come here earlier
much for Belfast. Another man who has
given his time to the hotel from the start
without compensation or reward, is Calvin
Hervey, the treasurer. He has not only
kept the books and managed the finances,
but has looked afteY the leases, the repairs
and all the minor details involved. This he
has done for eight years, in addition to his
stock subscription.
The foregoing facts and figures tell why
the hotel was built, how it was built, and by
whom it was built. The larger part of the
money came from comparatively few indi-
viduals. Others gave according to their
means. The word gave is used as it was a
gift to Belfast rather than an investment.
Did not these men deserve at least fair treat
ment from their fellow citizens?
The cut used at the head of this article
was the first one made of the hotel and was
used on the bills of fare, circulars, etc. A
duplicate was made for The journal by di-
rection of Col. Chenery, and its use seems
appropriate on this occasion.