The record-union., 1897-12-01
CHEAP, BUT CHEERFUL.
WONDERS OF THE MILLS HO.
TEL IN NEW YORK.
Clean, Delightful, Cozy Home for
Honest Men of Slender
Means.

| Mills Hotel No. / the same evening,
but they enjoyed themselves as heart
| lily and We're much more thankful for
the opening than We're those who wan
| dered among the beauties of the new
| Astoria.
| Supper, a room for the night, and
| breakfast the next morning at the As
| tonia, ordering the best the house af-
| fords, would cost, at a low estimate,
| SO. Supper, the room and the break
| fast at the Mills Hotel with the best
| the house affords, costs 90 cents. The
bill of fare is not so profuse, and one
may not obtain as many delicacies, or
! the little attentions of service which
add so much to a meal; but the food
| is as wholesome, more so, perhaps,
and everything is as clean as the finest
| hostelry in the land.
l spent Monday night at the Mills
| Hotel and l can see much more clear
! ly than a thousand columns of type
| could explain how thankful the decent
poor are for such a place. Every man
with whom / talked, with one excep-
! ton, was enthusiastic over the plan,
and they talked to me as one of them.
| The exception was a Tammany heeler
who had rented a room for the single
! purpose of being able to identify any
one of the lodgers who might attempt
| TO vote the next day, as newcomer
| in the precinct, and consequently be
| able to challenge the ballot. He was,
| strange to say, for men in his condi-
ton are not admitted to the hotel, more
| than half Intoxicated, and he rallied
at the hotel as a scheme of the anti
Tammany people to pack the polls
The last l saw of him he was asking
a late conner his name and former ad-
dress afterward surreptitiously enter
| ing them in a notebook for reference
the next day.
| PATRONS IN PLENTY.
| The management Of the hotel chose
| Monday, November 1st as the opening
| day, because it did not care TO have a
large number of lodgers until things
were running smoothly 1t was sup
| posed that, as it was the day before
| election, very few would care to move
and lose their vote; and in consequence
not more than fifty guests were ex-
| pected. When the doors were opened
at . o'clock in the morning there We're
| already fifty men awaiting a chance tC
register. and before II o'clock at night
| over 900 had engaged rooms, some for
| the night only, some for week and a
! few for a month. The result was a
great surprise, as well as a satisfaction
| to the management.
l reached the hotel shortly after 7
| in the evening, when the restauran,
was fairly Well filed. l took a seat
at table opposite man who seemed
| to be eating his supper with great
| gusto. After We had both commented
on the neatness with which everything
was served, I trying to get his
| opinion on the workings of the hotel
he told me his name. He is promi-
nent New York physician, a member
OF the Quill, Union League and Twi-
! hight Clubs, and we'll known to hun
dreds of New Workers. His view OF
| the meal can best be expressed in his
own words
| l nave had many meals in the res
taurants and clubs of this city," he
| said, and l have never had one at
which the food was better cooked than
1t is here. 1t is astonishing to me how
1t can be done. l came here tonight
because | did not believe it was possi-
bic TO do what Mr.. Mills had planned
but | am satisfied that the hotel is a
success in the best sense of the word
rms Is meal which any one. how
ever dainty, can eat with pleasure
THIS IS THE MENU.
The bill of fare for our supper, which
was served by Mattresses neatly dressed
in black and white aprons, collars and
cuffs. was as follows:
SOUPS.
/ HeSetapie .-......-..-............ 8 cents
| ROASTS.
Pot roast of beef eef...............10 10 cents
| Corned beef and cabbage 10 cents
| Lamb stew and green peas. 10 cents
VEGETABLES.
| Potatoes boiled or mashed 3 cents
Green peas Observation-Disclosures. cents
DESSERTS
| Bread pudding ............5 cents
rice puddilg Observation-Disclosures. 5 cents
Sapin5e St,ia ~ puoulns ................... cents
SteWeu pruneS OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. : cents
| Tea, coffee or milk. lk....... 5 cents
EXTRAS.
! Prime ribs of beef. Il cents
! chicken trlcaSsee ................15 cents
<hPpie Pio ...''''''''. .....-.-......... cents
The prices quoted are for those who
do not care for the regular dinner. ;,
For those who do, the price is Is cents.
with soup, choice Of the meats. two
vegetables, one of the desserts and a
cup Of either coffee or tea. This is
not an elaborate bill of fare. but il is
about O&at the average workingman
would choose from even a Delmonico
menu, and everything was good.
The restaurant. while run in connec-
ton with the hotel, is not for the lodg-
ers only, but is open to the public at
| large. This, however, is the only por-
ton of the hotel which is accessible to
those who have not a room there.
| There is no loafing in the office. as in
many more pretentious houses, nor are
| outsiders allowed the free use of the
smoking, reading or writing rooms. II
does not require much however. to gain
these privileges. Twenty cents. the fee
| for bed, gives even the casual Iodger
the use of all the building contains.
with the exception of the library. This.
which contains over a thousand vol
umes is reserved for the use OF those
who have rooms by the week or month.
CITIZEN TRAIN JUBILANT.
The first thing which caught nv eve
as l entered the reading room was a
crowd of perhaps thirty gathered
around q gray-haired man, who was
talking earnestly and holding the at
| tention of all. 1t was George Francis
| Train. who had rented a room for a
week, and who was eulogizing the hotel
and all connected with it, with a few
side remarks on politics thrown in. In
other parts of the room were smaller
groups, watching games of checkers or
| chess.