Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1901-12-30
AMERICAN. HOTELS.
BY JOHN TEN PIE GRAVES.
HTCKsVILLE. -O.. .pec. q. 1eO1.

1lChoN LILLE Ott LEO ~, A5Vl. +
A casual glance at the headline will
suggest TO the reader that thia - to be
a comment upon the great American
hostelries which have made our coun-
FRY famous throughout the world.
A second and sober observation OF
the date line will more nearly indicate
the scope and nature OF this epistle.
am not TO write OF the Holland. the
Waldorf, the Auditorium, the Walton,
the New willard, the st. Nicholas,
the Planters, the Baltimore, the Pal
ace. the st. Charles, or the Ponce de
Leon.
These are the hotels in a thousand
or in a hundred thousand, and are the
exception rather than the rule-the
hotels OF the happy few who live In
the cities or DO their work exclusively
IN the great centers OF trade.
What I am thinking OF today-and
writing Otis the American inn-the
home OF the average traveler-of men
like Sam Jones, and General Gordon.
and II. w. ]. Ham, and Of the good
army OF commercial travellers, and of
the penItent sinner who pens these
, lines. = ~ a-s...-. ~ trfF-.-.I.5
OF these hotels there arc nearly, II
not quite, 10000, and they make the
cheer and comfort-sueh as, 1t is-of the
kICaN DOlY u inc NAtfNEtthE anu WIN
mercial people Of the republic. g>t
The Interior hotels. II not the crea-
lures, are at least, the absolute de-
pendents Of the commercial traveller.
Without him they could not live or
move or have their being. F5aa sra
II the spirit OF consolidation, and the
trend Of the trusts should prevail to do
away with the drummer as an agent
of commerce, we would witness the
shrinkage Of all and the collapse OF
nine-tenths OF the country hotels in the
United States.
Some substantiation of this strong
statement may be found in the sta
tistics of the 7. p. A.; There are
1900 men to travel for the regular
business houses in the state Of Iowa
alone. H. 900 In Illinois. ls.eo0 in Ohio
and a proportionate list in the other
states. ..-v H- g a-iw -.
I don't know how many in Georgia
A grand arm OF restless, moving, In
terlocking paying patrons, rarely long.
er than day at any place and each
leaving behind 81 per day as the price
of his entertainment Hr.T a1.
II you were to examine the registry
books Of the country hotels you would
find that this imam with the grip
takes up NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of every
page.
81 He makes the hotels possible and he
takes whatever the hotel give him.
with a marvellous modicum Of actual
protest. ID .'ls .-.s -r- r. ..a
oh. yes, he kicks" at times--vig-
orously and loud-but he takes II out
in a wordy kick, and in view of his
real power HIS actual patience is akin
10 that Of Job. s.sr .Ht-8 st.t d #,
A little later will show how he
a., ~ ~. It
death and revolution TO the in-keep-
en- fee s-i st Of rf #.H .n.
And In the main, the inn-keeper 3
panders to his taste and bows to his
impatience. o. r -.a -+t ra-. $50
had not long since a vivid personal
. experience OF the superior consldera-
ton which is justly shown him. b,
was booked to lecture In a town in
Nebraska and reached my destination
at 5 y. m. r -rT -r-. Raj
AS the widely advertised speaker OF
the evening--and as a STAFF editor Of
The Atlanta Journal-I was received
with quite q demonstration. A brass
band was in waiting, a handsome
coach drawn up; the president of the
college met me in person and escorted
me to the only hotel IN the town. He
introduced me with quite a flourish to
the proprietor, a middle aged and Sc 4
verely practical woman, and asked her
to give me the best room in the
house. Kills. a g.st.. ... ,- .s....., "a
L will show him to a ROOM" said
the madam with simple directpess.
The college man went with me to
see where 1 was located. .-F...
The old lady marched through two
large, airy rooms, and landed me in a
small compartment in the rear, about
as big as a closet.
But my dear Mrs -" said the
president, "this is the speaker of the
evening. why can't you give him one
OF these larger rooms?' i
"WeIl, you see, doctor" was the re-
ply, might do IT, for they are va
cant now. but how do I know but that
some travelling man might come
along this way about night ?"
And as hard as 1t was. / could not
fail to RECOGNIZES the Justice ofthe dis
crimins tion. .a~ffF r rs
Slowly ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS might
have done II rapidly and radically
the commercial traveller has imposed
and elevated the service of the small
er hotels, until II is safe to say the
average Is fully SO per cent better than
Il was ten years ago. t.t-- r7Ysr -res
There are some eKecrably tough
hotels, but the average Is steadily ris-
ing. as the travelling man runs from
tough hotel as he would from an cpl
demio. And the conception is dawning