Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1900-11-01
Huge Modern Caravansnry.

"The modern hotel" said the manager
of one of Washington's big hostelries,
''has developed into a municipality in it.
self. The business has undergone a great
change within tls5 past - years, and
buildings and methods then in vogue have
been greatly enlarged and modified. With
the Waldorf-Astoria it was considered
that the limit in hotel construction and
management had been reached, and there
are now few hotel men who will venture
a prophecy that this immense structure
will ever be relegated to second place. |
have no doubt, however, that within 90
years the metropolis will have hotel as
large again. | believe that within 20
years the older hotels of Washington,
which is one of the best hotel cities in
the United States, will all be rebuilt.
Most of them have recently been i'm
proved.
Brooklyn, a city twice the size of
Washington, looks like 80 cents in com.
parison with the capital on the score Of
hotels, and for years it enjoyed the dis
tinction of having but one hotel, on the
Heights, and chat was a small affair.
Commercial travellers and others went to
New York to sleep. This sounds far
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Of modern structures have been put up,
but the City of Churches will never be a
hotel town.
"Washington has several fine shelters
for strangers and in a few years will
have a couple more big fellows. But
without jealousy hotel men all over the
country accord the palm to the Waldorf,
aud what is accomplished under that sim
gle roof every day is fairly monumental.
1T operates n postoifce, doing as much
business as an office in a good sized
town, handling about 5000 letters daily,
requiring the services of four men who
act as postal clerks exclusively. Callers
send up 5000 cards daily to guests
through pneumatic tubes to the respect
i've floors, where they are received by
the hallboys. There are GO telephones,
with switchboard requiring three OPP
orators. All communication between the
different departments, sections and hotel
employees is done by telephone. There
are enough clocks in the building to stock
a large store, the number being 1,200,
and two men are employed to keep them
in order.
"If you say n regiment Of employees
you speak the truth. as the total number
of employees on the pay roll is 1,4O0.
There are in addition about 1,50O guests
daily in the hotel during the winter sea-
son, and $500 people sit nightly at din
ner in the two restaurants, two palm
gardens, geptlemen's cafe and private
b3nqueting halls. 1t requires the serv-
ices of 96 cooks to feed these hungry
folks, and the kitchen force alone is near
ly as large as a battalion of troops, the
number being over 800. They consume
150 tons Of ice day, and no one knows
how many highballs, gin rickeys and
small and large bottles.
There are 10 elevators and $50 hall
boys and pages. A hotel which has hall
boy force of II or - is a large one. As
many as 400 guests will arrive from the
ocean steamers in one day and rs many
more will depart for Europe. From 1000
to $500 pieces Of baggage are handled
and accounted for every day. The office
clerical force consists OF 26 clerks, of
whom six are room clerks. A 5000 horse
power electric plant supplies the power
to burn every night $4,000 incandescent
lights, more than in many good sized
cities. Nine boilers for steam copsume
100 tons of coal a day and heat l,500
rooms" Washington Star