Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-05-22
THE HOTEL MANAGER.
he signs for the Good Old Tlmes-Ais
bill OF COMPLAINTS

nc signs Tor the GOOD Old limeS-Ais
Bill OF Complaints.
20 10 have been an innkoeper in
those days" \ Chicago hotclman
stood back of the railing at Powers
last week and mourned because he had
not lived 200 years ago, lie had drop.
ped into the playhouse just In time
To SEQ the act In which the honirace
was host to crowd of cavaliers and
the sight made him feel bad,
Look at that" he exclaimed, as a
fellow in boots and spurs tossed his
purse to tho inukeoper. why. they
didn't even have to mako out bills
then, When man got ready to leave,
he threw n bag Of gold at the host and
let him count out what was due No
clerks, no cashiers, no hellboys. Moth.
ing but money!"
Now TO many people the life Ot a
hotel proprietor Is pretty nearly ideat
He has n fine suite Of rooms, he lives
ON the best the chef knows how To pro.
pare, he has small army OF scryants
nj his call, the livery company which
furnishes his guests with carriages Of
iers him the tlnost IN tho stable with.
out Cost-what moro could n man do.
siro2 Yet hotolmen complain of their
lot Not as most people complain gen.
orally, but with bin of particulars.
"l'ool, at met" said the hotclman In
an injured tone, Last spring | took
charge of the hotel because the man
who had purchased the lease thought |
could make II go. 1t had gone before
that-gono to the devil--but he want.
ed II to be n nrst-class hostolry. You
have no idea what | have had TO con.
tend with, In tho first place | had to
got rid of n certain class Of patronage.
That isn't as easy as you may think.
hut II was II CinCh compared 10 othe,
things had To accomplish.
"Wcll, you've succeeded" suggested
friend
mot by n joyful Why, look at last
week, First there was man hurt in
the Office building which bears the
Same name as tho hotel. Some of tho
newspapers had II happening In the
hotel Then guest was sick, and he
cause he was vaccinatod the story
spread that he had smallpox. Next
day fellow liz taken from the Turkish
baths next door with his skull frac-
tnr"d and dies at the hospital. Agaln
the hotel Ia mentioned and lots of PEG.
pie think the affair happened In the
hotel.
That's one week only, Tho fact
that the hotel was mentioned In the
newspapers was no fault of mine, but
II hurt rs just the same. We take ev.
cry procaulion. yet sometimes a man
VIII slip In here and commit suicide.
If man who registers looks wild he ia
watchcd--if he is very bad the clerk
tells him we have no rooms. But oc.
casionally they get past us The next
day the people read that John Smith
shot himself while in his room at our
hotel. Men who intended to come TO
our house VIII go to another when they
read that In the paper coming In on
the train. II n man is from out OF
town, Oshkosh, for instance. the whole
town talks about this hotel. and we get
no business from there for n year. or
until the affair IL forgotten.
Then we are troubled with certain
men who celebrate with too much en-.
thnsiasm when they reach Chicago.
Some Of them use n couple of rooms
for two or three months every year.
end we don't like to lose their patron
age, so we have TO handle them with
diplomacy. A little poker party in
one Of the rooms sometimes costs us
as much as the money that changes
hands 10 times over. The drummers
make too much noise. we demonstrate
when other guests complain at the
Office. and they may leave us entirely.
Yet we nave to protect the other
guests.
II read In the papers about the worry
hotel men have over the loss OF linens
and siyerware and china taken as SOU
yenirs, but these troubles are petty
alongside some of the others. A hotel
man must guard his house as n father
does his home. but he's at a big dIsad,
vantage, because his Is public place
We keep a couple OF detectives, be-
sides our watchmen. porters and bell.
boys, yet II seems that every week
something must turn up to hurt us.
Hard luck story7 Well, | suppose II
Is. But every time see one OF these
plays 1t makes me sad. Those fellows
IN the olden time certainly had us beat.
en- when II came 10 running a hotel
and living asy."-Chicago Tribune.