The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-03-08

ing quietly out Of sigh; breaas .ato flame
and you have your hands full OF trouble
| There are spells of active times when tn,
! lobby is full OF people wanting rooms. 81
| that you cannot accommodate them all. ant
| shortly thereafter the tide turns. and The
showing is long way from satisfactory,
| THE travelling public Is peculiar in 1t.
movements. and 1t requires close study t.
forecast how 1t is going to move. A few
| years In the hotel business will furnish yor
| with this knowledge, but when you have il
! there is little good accomplished. because
| You cannot distribute your arrivals through
| the months so as to make things satisfac
the house is crowded full and you are un.
able to room him: On his next visit to the
city things may be quiet but he does not
Another cause for loss of sleep is the
| help question. Housewives talk much abou,
the servant question. and wonder what they
trouble, I am free to admit. They have.
some of them, from one to three or four
servants. What would they do If they had
has" '' '' 49, ''---''
FASCINATION ABOUT BUSINESS.
SAYS MANAGER ECKLES.
Walter Eckles. manager of the Lndell
Hotel, ia also believer in the materially
all the men in the business he has known
are exceedingly fond OF 1t. and when they
leave 1t for a while. usually drift back.
There are Variety and interest in 1t, he says,
which is fascinating. just are the stage
and Journalism One meets all kinds and
classes Of people. and the unpleasant ones
In these days" says Mr.. Eckles "af-
liability and politeness count almost as
much as brains All persons. but especially
hotel guests. like to be treated with con-
stderation and pleasantness. A surly man
back OF hotel counter is about as good an
attraction for the trade as mean bulldog
chained at the door Of a saloon. No hotel
proprietor no matter how popular his house
may be, can afford to retain disagreeable
Of hotel clerks. The day Of the fashy in
dividual with big. diamond in his shirt
front has passed. Now clerk must be
much Ike other men, except shade more
civil Much trade is held or lost by hotels
through the conduct Of clerks There is
no getting around it that clerk is often
soreiy tried There are persons who are
constitutional kickers. and they select the
clerk as subject on which to vent ILL.,
The rules of hotel arc largely enforced
by the clerks. They keep order among the
bellboys, and look after the care OF the
Of the hotel. 1t is the clerk who says to
the man or woman with a pet dog: The an
imal may not lodge within these walls 1t
is easy to imagine how this sentence falls
upon the ear of an ardent lover of pets. 1t
is always followed by an argument; and
usually by the prospective guest seeking
GUEST WHO REGISTERS
WITH A PET DOG.
. Recently We had a young woman from
New York come and register Miss j. Jones
and dog. She insisted on having the dog.
a homely yellow variety of canine. in her
room This was not permitted and Miss
J. Jones departed. pronouncing the entire
outfit 'disagreeabie. ignorant lot of fell
lows. Even at the risk of being thought
Of the hotel.
thetic and even tragic incidents. Suicides
seem to have a weakness for hotels as a
place for shuffling off this mortal coll. At
as clerk. man ended his life by hanging
himself with curtain cord. A typical su-
Perstitious negro was employed about the
would induce him to go near the suicides
room for several days. About a week after
er moPpng up r Sne pef the a Ha the top
gentleman wearing linen duster had
gone TO that floor to visit a friend and re-
toward the stairway through the dimly
lighted hall where the negro was at work.
The tails OF the buster tapped as. he
up. caught, sight of the ghostly figure. ap-
preaching him. Pompey let cut one pierre
ing yell and started downstairs. He ran
would never i0r return ah to the hote NJ
PLANTATION would convince him that he had
not witnessed the spook of the suicide.'
CHIEF CLERK JACK RYAN
HAS A LARGE CLIENTELE.
Jack Ryan, chief clerk. and the most
popular man at the Southern Hotel. came
up from the ranks. He Is a native of 81.
Louis but has served in hotels in New
York and Chicago. Prior to going to the
Southern. he had been for six years at the
Holland House In New York Guests like
to arrive when Ryan is on duty. They are
sure then of getting the best possible treat
ment. and, If SO Inclined. hearing a good
story. Personally he controls large |
amount of trade. which he could carry with |
him to any hotel
Mr.. Ryan is q firm believer in the bibli- |
cal quotation to the effect that soft an |
swer turneth away wrath. He has a low |
estimate of the value of arguments. and |
his good nature and attractive personality |
are proverbial in the local hotel fraternity. 1
The way which he has Of telling guest |
70 wait awhile before room is vacant for |
him makes that guest willing to wait a |
goodiy length of time and not get out of /
patience. however tired he may be.
one OF the FIRST things / absorbed on en- |
lerinE the hotel business as a messenger"
sa1d Mr.. Ryan, was the necessity of Keep |
ing people In a good humor- PERSONS |
frame OF mind is nearly always accountable |
Tor his Impressions. No matter how good |
d MOTEL may be. II a guest Is cross he will /
PICK flaws, and make known bis discoveries !!
along these lines
1t does not take much for hotel to !!