The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-07
LOCAL HOTELS CROWDED.
BELATED TRApELLERs CAN,f sEcUnR
ROOMS NOB.

Unusual Number of Stranger in Tovn.
Many OF Them Compelled to Put In Cot.
to Accommodate Their Guests over Night
Beginning with the first month o. tbis ann.
mer the demand for hotel Accommodations In
this city has been far above the normal for tina
summer season. ana within the last few days
It has reached point almost un precsdentedi In
the experience OF old hotel men. except wbara
n great convention or occasion has brought.
for day or two. immense crowds. But tho
present rush Is not OF that order Thsre ia
nothing in particular going on in town. In
fact this is still what the hotel people usually
regard as the slack season, though tho rseul,r
incoming tide OF fall would soon be due. Yet
In the first week OF September the condition OF
hnalrs is such that tho visitor who does not
secure accom- odations for hinss elf before even
ing is likely to have long search before he
can ind roof to cover him. and then he will
probably have 10 content himself with a nnake-
shift resting place.
Not morely in ono part Of the town does this
condition prevail. Broadway. Fifth avenue,
the smaller hotels on the side streets and
avonues. the upper West Side and even Har-
lem have all felt the rush. 1t began with the
hostelrles Ia the business districts and after
they had filed up 1t spread to the houses which
usually do semi-transient business, and
finally became practically universal. Last
week THE Sun quoted a Broadway host who
rubbed his hands in sclf-congratulation over
the good times in his business and said that he
was crowded in comparison with the normal
sum trade. butw managing to house his
patrons without putting tents up on the root
The reporter saw that same man yesterday
and he was then rubbing his head In despair
ing endeavor to solve the problem OF taking In
forty applicants when he hadn't beds for a
dozen. Most Of the other Bonifaces were
struggling with similar problems
It's the brace In business" say the hotel
men, and the fact that we haven't had much
bad weather this summer. and something else
too. What the something else IL there's no
telling, but the effects OF 1t are plain enough
There are more people in town than any ono
could reckon on. or course part OF the crowd
ing 10 due to the fact that every large store this
side OF Chicago has It's buyers hero. and they've
come flush and brought their families, but that
only accounts for part Of the crowd. There's
no accounting for the rest. They're here and
II many more Of 'em como the cty'll have to 60
into the hotel business to keep 'em of the
streets"
Ono instance OF the demand for accommo-
dations Sun reporter witnessed late Tuesday
night in Fourth avenue hotel which has 154
rooms. This hotel. by the way. took in some
thing more than four thousand persons during
the month OF August. Three men had Just
been turned away at the desk when an elderly
man came in and asked for a room.
Haven't got thing In the house. sir" said
the night clerk.
But I've got to have some place to sleep"
said the man. Il won't stick at the price"
Pm very sorry. but the highest priced
rooms are taken as well rs tho lowest
L got In here at o'clock this evening" said
the man. land found the house 1 usually stop
at overlooking. Since then I've been driving
from place to place and haven't been able to
get In anywhere. A man sent me here. saying
that it was a semi-family hotel and probably
wouldn't be crowded. II you're crowded
everything else Is probably worse. Can't you
give me oot'"
Every cot we could lay our hands on isAip
IN the parlors and taken" said tho clerk.
We'll. a sofa" said the visitor. IF can get
blanket III sleep u sofa"
L could do that, l suppose" was the reply,
but think can do better for you II you don't
mind going to Brooklyn. Sit down and III
telephone"
Ten minutes later the stranger was on his
way to one OF the largest hotels In Brooklyn.
There were Just Ave rooms loft there when tho
telephone message was received. A man who
spends a good part o! every fan at one Of tho
Fifth avenue hotels got there yesterday after
noon with his wife and daughter. and started
10 register when the clerk forestal!ed him by
saying that they had been turning away people
all tho afternoon.
But I've been coming here ever since your
hotel was built" said the man. You can surely
find some place for me and my family"
The manager was sent for and after some
confederation said that he would in some why
arrange to take in the two ladies' but that was
all. At first the guest was inclined to be indig-
nant. but was told that other hotels were Just
as crowded ltwaS not unit! he had gone to
several that he was able To got q room himself
A SUN reporter went up to the parlors OF one
OF the Broadway hotels yesterday. They looked
like hospital wards. Rows OF cots were ranged
along the walls close together
1T isn't exactly what you'd expect in the
line of accommodation from a frst-class New
York hotel" admitted the manager. "but what
are VIC to do? Men would rather sleep there
than have to go TO the Bowery or hunt half the
night before finding bed. \ dozen OF those
cots are already bespoken for to- night and tho
rsst will be taken By eight o'clock. We've had
to hire a lot OF extra help to handle our bed
linen And you should see the guests lined up
in tho morning waiting for their turn ut the
washbasins. It's all money for u.s. OF course.
but we could get along with little less of it.
1.-THE present crowd. or even small fraction
OF it, stays here over tho Dewey cre bration it
won't be any joke. There will DO some real
suffering. particularly II there should be any
bad weather"
Those days OF the Dewey celebration are
looked forward TO with apprehension by al
the hotel men. because they know that they
will have to do what every hotel man hates 10
DO turn away regular customers. Already
there has been heavy booking OF rooms.
Already many OF the hotels have begun to re-
turn tho reply "All full" The officers OF some
of tho visiting military organizations VINO have
written to reserve ten or fifteen or twenty
rooms have been refused at hotel after hotel.
Even with time for preparation the hotels can
do very little more than they are doing now.
What will become OF the vast crowds that pour
In on every train and boat remains to be seen.
Some little relief will be afforded by the big
river and sound steamboats, which lie at their
piers over alternate nights, as stateroOms and
herths in these will be rented by the night. lJ
Ia not unlikely that EeepinR-car accommoda-
tionS III the various stations Will he sOlr,
In the crowds at the city hotels now thore is
large proportion q, cergymtn. Most OF these
cerics are English. Scotch and Irish PrPsDy
terians and Ccngregat onaiists on their way to