The age-herald., 1899-02-10
IS BECOMING X
 SERIOUS PROBLEM What to Do With Our Carnival
 Visitors. HOTELS ALREADY CROWDED People With Vacant Rooms Are Re quested to Notify President Lesser So That Visitors May Be Di-
 rected to Them.
HOTELS ALREADY CROWDED

It is becoming a serious question with the of the visitors who are coming to Birming- ham next week. The hotels are already over-crowded and the propretors have been forced to-put their guests on cots, and the carnival is still three or four days off. The travelling men and the regular patrons of the hotel are kicking, but it does no good. The crowds are here and are still coming.
 One of the officers of the society was in Chattanooga the other day, and he says that c. A. Benscoter, assistant general passenger agent of the Southern railroad, told him that there were more inquiries for tickets to Birmingham this year than there had been any previous Mardi Gras, both on the Southern and the Alabama Great South ern railroads Numbers of parties, he said, are being formed along these lines to visit the iron metropolis. Last year there were 25O tickets sold from Chattanooga to Bir-
 mingham, and this year. MT. Benscoter says, the sale will be greatly increased. A large party has been made up in Montgom-
 cry, so the officials of the Louisville and
 Nashville say, and two special cars have
 been reserved to bring them up to Birming-
 ham Monday morning. Other roads have
 similar encouraging reports.
 In solution of this housing problem, the
 officials of the Carnival society have been compelled to call on the householders of
 Birmingham to help them out. They argue that the people of this city should do this
 much toward helping the carnival to suc- cess; that is, when they have one or two vacant rooms, which they would be willing to rent during the carnival week, that they notify President Lesser of this fact, and
 when strangers come in they will be direct
 ed to the different homes.
 Jewels on Exhibition
 The crown jewels which are to deck the | brow of his majesty and his queen have | been received and are on exhibition at | Gluck's jewelry store. They are made of | gold and are magnifcently studded w4.n | emeralds, amathists and topazes.
 The kings wardrobe has also been re-
 ceved, and an Age-Herald reporter had
 the good fortune to catch a glimpse of it yesterday. The clothes are magnificent. There are several suits, and all of them are
 made of the most exquisite material, and are beautifully made up. One of the most | striking of the garments is a great cloak of | royal purple, trimmed in ermine. All of the | clothes seem as if made for very tall man, | six feet tall or over.
 | Speaking of costumes, Rex's subjects are | beginning to prepare for his majesty's visit | by procuring the gaudiest costumes possi- | ble. There are number Of shops in the
 city making speciality of renting costumes | for the carnival week, and they are doing a l splendid business.
 Decorators at Work
 | There are a number of professional dec | orators who are making a business of orna-
 menting the fronts of the business houses and residences or the city, and they say that Birmingham seems to have the dec | orating fever
 Replies have been received from number l of newspaper men to whom invitations have
 been sent, saying that they would be in | Birmingham next week. Their general head. l quarters so to speak, will be in the office ol
 J. A. Rountree. the general manager of the | society in the Hewlett block, corner oi First avenue and Twentieth street.