The record-union., 1897-12-01


T found said he. that it was alb
solutely necessary for me to live on S5
week. l knew, of course, that there
are thousands in New York who do
it, and 1 thought / could, too, but l
soon saw that I simply could not live
on such sum and have all the nee
essaries, much less the comforts, which
I feel 1 need more as l grow older. The
| least / could rent a decent room for
was 50 80 week, and then It was so
far up town that it was necessary for
me to pay car fare in order to look for
work. My meals, unless l ate them
| in a dirty Bowery restaurant, cost me
much more than l could afford. AS
| soon as 1 heard of this hotel / made
up my mind it was the place for me,
and l have had AN application in for a
room for some time for l was afraid /
would be unable to get one II L waited
! too long l find that now l can de-
Gently eat three good meals a day, and
have the companionship of intelligent
men, for about one-half of the sum [
| formerly paid. | have books to read, a
| cheerful place to sit in, and a feeling
of freedom from pecuniary disaster,
which / have not felt for many months.
l tell you, this place is haven of rest
for me, and wifi be to many others who
are similarly situated.
| NO PLACE FOR TRAMPS.
! The type of men who are occupying
rooms at the Mills Hotel is not what
| one expects to find in a cheap lodging
| house. The hotel was not built for
tramps or their ilk, as seems to be the
! hl1t f1o
artisans and mechanics who earn small
wages and wish to save money, and
at the same time live we'll. This is
| just the class which has already en-
| gagged rooms. On the opening night
there was not the slightest trouble of
any kind; no disturbance was created
| by any would-be lodger, and the place
had the aspect which any first-class
hotel would bear. In fact, it was much
more orderly and quiet than many a
hotel which would cost in a day the
| price of a months board and lodging
at the Mills.
OF all the surprises of this wonderful
| building, the beds are the greatest. L
| once had the misfortune to be at such
a low ebb financially. as to be COM
! PEELED to seek shelter of a Bowery ho-
tel which advertised beds at 80, - and
| ID cents for the night. l eXtravagantly
| chose Il 80 cent one, and was given a
| bed 70 which the soft side of pine
board would have been luxury, for it,
| at least, would have been smooth and
clean. The atmosphere was such as
to be almost unbearable, and | would
much prefer walking the streets all
night to repeating the experience. So,
| in spite of all / had heard and seen
about the Mills Hotel, it was with a
slight feeling of trepidation that made
my way to the sixth floor, where my
room vas located
| The rooms of the Mills Hotel are not
| large. There is room only for the bed,
which is very nearly as long as the
| room, with a space perhaps three feet
| wide at the side. The bed was a single
| one, with a snow white spread" on it,
| felt it and it seemed all right. When
| l got in it I was delightfully."- disap-
pointed. 1t was as comfortable as any
| bed could be, with a strong spring, a
hair mattress, sheets and blankets ga
lore. No more delightful couch could
tired man desire
ROOMS SMALL. BUT CLEAN.
AS l said before, the rooms are very
small, but, as they are intended only
for sleeping purposes, this is no draw
| back, During the day, the rooms
cannot be used by the occupants, who
are required, if they spend any of
| their spare time in, the hotel, to use
the oublic rooms. From ) in the even
| ing until $3.50 the. next morning the
rooms are at the disposal of their own
ers. AT other times they are vacated
Tor cleaning purposes. Each room has
window, opening either on the street
or on one of the immense courts. and
| there is plenty of fresh air There are
l,o6o Of these rooms on the eight floors
of the building. sils@
j. L. Thomas is the manager
OF the hotel, and he worked night and
day for the past few weeks superin-
| tending the preparations for the open
ing night.
| i am glad to say that the hotel is
| perfect success" said he Every
thlng IS running as smoothly as could
| be expected on the first night, and it
VIII be only few days before we will
settle into the groove which / hope
will be followed for years.
IT DESERVES SUCCESS.
We have had several applications for
| rooms from people who We're willing to
Pay little more than we charge, but
wanted a larger room. There are no lar
| ger rooms, and that kind of people are
not those whom we wish to accommo-
date. All the rooms are alike and
every one is treated alike, whether rich
or poor.
E,oI IO@ l., H.. L
we expect to make it pay a fair inter
est on the capital invested. But we are
| not so keen to make money that we will
admit disreDutable or drunken men-or
rather, we wish to much to make money
that we will not have them here. and
keep the respectable element away.
Any complaint" he continued, will
| be dealt with as it would be in any no.
tel. 1t will be fully investigated and, if
| just, will be corrected. Our servants
will treat our guests as well and as cour-
teously as is possible.
Our regular boarders do not pay any
| less for their rooms because they hire
them by the week or month. The price
| is 20 cents night; S6 for the month of
November and Sc 20 for December. The
payment of 20 cents entities the lodger,
| among other things, to bath and the
| privilege of using tubs to wash their
clothes. if they wish. If they do not care
| to do the latter, there is laundry in
| connection with the hotel, with rates in
| proportion to our other charSes."
The breakfast served was as we'll
cooked as the dinner had had the night
| before. l enjoyed thick surloin steak,
a baked potato and a cup of coffee, all
| of which cost % cents. and was much
| better than that would have obtained