Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-02-25
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
4 orcat Hotel and Tia Proposed Rival.
People Who Patronize Such Hos -
e. talrieS-Cooke's Grave. U
Especial Correspondence.]

3D.. I tolfte0-Cooke0 Grave. &5"
s@ Especial Correspondence.1
II there is any one thing with which
New York city is we'll supplied, 1t
would seem to- be hotels. Still. if one
ID to put any value upon the opinions
Of those PERSONS who have money to
invest and have more Of it after each
investment, there is room here for more
palatial hostelries. When the gorgeous
Waldorf was built and the public heard
Of the heavy charges made for accom-.
modations there, it was freely predicted
that either the prices would have to be
reduced or the proprietor would be
ruined. The prices were not lowered,
and the proprietor made money. In fact
the Waldorf was such success and
here was such q constant demand fer
looms which it was impossible to meet
hat it was decided to enlarge the build
Ing. This was done by building tho AS
toria and consolidating the two under the
hyphenated title Waldorf-Astoria, in
honor of the Aston family, who own
the property. The Astoria is really about
twice the size of the Waldorf and q
dozen times as elegant. The walls be-
tween the buildings were broken down
sufficiently to admit of free. access be-
tween them, and it is in fact as we'll 40
in name one establishment now.
Built to Make Money.
This was the acme of imbecility to
the people who have no money end are
yet good enough to instruct those Who
have earned millions how to acquire
few more. Mr.. Boldt, the proprietor,
these compassionate folks declared, was
the victim, and an unwilling one at
that, Of the Astor greed. If he had not
taken the lease Of the Astoria, the multi
millionaires would have run It in oppo-
sition to the Waldorf and thereby killed
his business, when the way would have
been open for q consolidation Of the in.
terests and the successful bulldozing OF
some weakkneed manager into taking
the two places and going resignedly on
to his ruin. OF course all this was the
most inane rot. The Astoria was built
because Mr.. Boldt thought he could
make money with it and asked that be
be given tho opportunity to try. That
he was right is amply attested by the
fact that the Astoria has been practical.
ly full ever since the day it was thrown
open to the public.
Where Do They Get 1tP
Now it is said that syndicate ia to
build hotel here which shall eclipse
the much Wanted splendor Of the
Waldorf. Astoria. The rumor may have
no foundation in fact, but then, again,
there is no more reason to doubt it than
scores Of other hotel rumors nearly every
one of which has proved to have been
based Oh reality aud to have been backed
by the cold cash. But here is where
the wonderful and inexplicable part Of
the thing comes in. Where do the PEG.
pie come from who fill these ultra OK
pensive and superfasbionable hotels?
Where did they live before these palaces
were built? How many more of them
aro there, and, to sum it all up, when
is the limit to be reached in this city?
The new ones do not seem to injure the
patronage Of the others either. One pro-
prietor told me the other day that he
welcomed the announcement that more
hotels were to be built. His idea is that
80 many persons inspect what he calls
these "show Places that their minds
are unavoidably directed toward hotel
life. and as they cannot afford to try 1t
in establishments like the Waldorf-As.
toria they are obliged to 60 to the less
expensive houses. These latter have i'm
itated their colossal rivals in the matter
Of providing apartments en- suite and
60 arranged that one can have all Of the
comforts of housekeeping without the
annoyances. This has induced many
elderly couples whose children have
grown up and married to adopt hotel
life, and q surprisingly large percentage
Of the patrons If the most popular and
respectable hostelries outside of tho
"show places" will be found to be per.
sons who live in this city aud have be-
come tired of housekeeping.
Tho Grave Of Tragedian Cooke.
The attention of Beerbohm Tree, E.
s. Willard, Henry Irving or any other
English star is called to the condition
Of the grave OF George Frederick Cooke
in st. Paul's churchyard. The last rest
ing place Of the once famous English
tragedian shows signs of neglect. When
Edmund Kean visited this country in
1924, be visited the grave of Cooke and
found it mar..ed by wooden slab bear
ing the name aud age Of the tragedian.
Kean at once ordered the pillar and on
the south side had the following in.
scription carved: Erected to the men,
DRY Of George Frederick Cooke by Ed.
mund Kean Of the Theater Royal, Dru.
ry lane, 1924" Then followed this
oouplet: