The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-10-21
THE PASSING THR0NG

business locations lodging houses ard
hotels In the past three months taere
has been q wonderful increase IN the de-
mand for rooms and houses OF al sor1s.
and today the demand Is greater thah
ever Business rooms which were long
unoccupied have been rented and sleep
ing rooms have become almost dimcut
20 gel: dwelling houses all over the city
have been taken az rentals which the
owners awhile back asked In vain. Ana
with this increase in the demand Tor
houses and rooms has come 8
raise in rents all aicns ths
lire. Business rooms renting for
$50 TO $40 a month sn the central part
OF the city have been advanced 70 50 and
So while those renting for higher figures
have also felt the landlords modest re-
quest for a raise. Dwelling houses have
not advanced so much In proportion. but
they have come up. too. 1t IS IN the mat
ter OF rooms furnished and nnfurntshed
that the greatest boom has been OBJ
served. Signs that used TO adorn the
windows have been reiegated to the ash
barrel. new lodging houses have been
opened and old ones have been crowded
full. while the hotels have many times
been obliged TO turn away eager patrons
II the city is approaching crowded
condition now, what VIII IL do when the
spring rush TO the gold fields. which the
most modest prediction puts at 5000 peo-
pie. commences TO pour into and through
the city2 There are fifty hotels in Seattle.
according TO the directory. But half OF
these are lodging houses. fun Of steady
roomers. Half OF the remainder are ho-
tells which do not look to the general
transient trade for support, but are filed
up by steamboat men. loggers. clerks and
about-the-Sound travellers, who are regu-
lar patrons.
The hotels which look to the general
public for support, those which send
runners to the trains and steamers and
which are regarded by travellers as the
sum total of the hotels in the city. num-
Der about an even dozen. II is this dozen
hotels which must accommodate the bulk
or the argonauts who viii visit Seattle
on their way TO the Klondike IN the
spring. Can they handle the rush7
Six OF the hotels have about 40 rooms
each. and the balance viii average half
that number This makes a total OF 1850
rooms for transients In the twelve lead
ing hotels of the city. II each room held
two persons there would be room for over
1000 at one time. But there is a local
transient trade which I'm ordinary times
more than half fills these rooms. and the
regular tourist trade must certainly be
taken into consideration in making this
calculation. A low estimate of the local
and tourist trade at the hotels would be
per day. Some Of the hotels, of course.
are practically full every night, so that
this estimate is certainly low enough.
That leaves accommodations for 1000
klondikers in the twelve leading hotels
Now crowd in cots into the rooms and
halls and ill up the lodging house rooms
vacant and perhaps room for another
1000 men to sleep can be found. The to-
tai room In the city for tra~ r'ant Klon-
dikers then, is capacity for 1000.
IL 5aVvo people come through Seattle
during January. February and March,
and each one stops here an average of
nve days, getting his outfit together and
arranging for boat. that will be $50 900
nights lodgings TO provide for in say,
100 days. This gives US an average Of
25O0 per night, or 500 over the CAPACITY
OF the hotels and lodging houses to ac-
commodate.
OF course. this is reckoning on the peo-
pie coming gradually. but the chances
are they will come in crowds, and that
instead of $500 in one night to find s,ean-
ing places for, there will be 5000 at
times
Living in an humble home on Van Buren,
street. Chicago. is woman who thinks
that she was born for the Yukon. She
wants to find philanthropic gentleman
who is w4l.lng 10 grub-stake her. She
goes not want him to run any risk OF los
ing MS money. She believes that she is
a good conservative investment and TO
prove 1t she will turn over to the man who
grub-stakes her a Ie00 life insurance
pohcy. II she e.es he Will get big re-
turns on lbs money-bigger. probably, than
IL she lives.
\ well known Juneau man who IS
now In this city has received a Litter
from this woman. There Is s9methirg OF
pathos in her story. she has a mo her
whom she supports. Money is scarce the
Few dollars she earns are hardly sufficient
TO meet her wants. and she proposes, If
possible TO surrender home civilization
all. and strike out for the gold fields She
writes:
I'm today's dailies I noticed reported in
terviews held with you by representatives
Of the Associated Press, and from these
interviews have cleaned my present fund
OF information concerning you and your
doings in the gold region. /. like thous-
ands Of others. have been and am still af-
hicted with the gold fever. but. like many
others. have not the wherewlth TO get
there. / am not lacking in energy, but
Dame Fortune has ever looked at ms
with her blind eye. bad cess
TO her. as the Irishman would
say therefore I am unable 20 do very
much travelling at present. Now what
want 10 know IS this: DO YOU know OF
any lucky. philanthropic miner who would
be willing 10 grub-stske a woman. taking
as security a life insurance poucy for 81 90
SO that in case the woman died the phil
anthropist would not be the loser? Or do
You know OF. or can you suggest a better
way out OF nv present difficulty? ! am
a widow, between 30 and 81. with no fam
lily ties save an old mother and am heart
sick OF working and striving for a pitt
tance. ] am a compositOr. but work s
scarce. and though the life OF the miner
IS hard and toIlsome. it's no worse than
trying 10 make ends meet with nothing.
Am not afraid Of pioneer life. providing
that ahead I see an aim and an objective
point. I am deeply in earnest having
nothing 20 lose and much TO g5in ~ talk
ing such a step. Friends here some 81
whom have money. fear to risk Il lest the
writer be not successful others claim that
q woman cannot endure the climate or
make a fortune and should certainly Ike
70 dispTove both theories-not only for the
purpose OF disprovlng but for my own gain.
In contemplating such a step I have 70
study two things-ruy mothers comfort
ard support while am gone and ny own
transportation and food while away As
I stated before there are but two IN my
family. and with no one 70 earn money
while I would lie away and with TO reia-
tives 10 look after mother I would be com
PEELED TO leave her some money. the
amount being dependent upon the sum ad-
vanced and NY own necessities. In case
of death she would st.n have Insurance 70
fan hack on-so that that fear could not
nor would not deter me. Can you AMI
viii you advise ne how 20 20 about this?
7 know fun well that I could Go nothing
until spring. still want 70 know Just what
20 calculate upon. I am employed BY the
\ J. Mouat Printing Company. les South
Clinton street and can give reference a.
for r~zF al p