The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-08-06
HOTEL FOR
The OTHER HALF.
OF CHEAP HosTELRIEs, THE SAL
WALTON AIsMY's is BEST.
Captain Brown Tells of the strenu-
GUS Time the Proprietor Has Keep
ing Unruly Patrons of His 1O-cent-
-a-Night Hotel in Order.

The fortunate half Of the travelling
public little suspects to what straights
the unfortunate half is frequently re-
duced A person used to occupying
rooms in modern hotel knows moth
ing of what it means to patronize
one Of those dingy dimly lighted
buildings in front Of which generally
hangs the sign, Beds. 10c; Rooms,
15c."
The average cheap lodging house
hotel is what might be expected Of
! that which is the next cheapest thing
| to sleeping in the streets. It is un-
Clearly, unsanitary, uninviting. For
the propretors to make much money,
! little can be expected or the beds LOG,
rooms 15c" hotel.
Perhaps the most inviting Of all the
the class, is the Acknowledgements
hotel" operated by the Salvation
Army at 216-222 First avenue s..
Here the accommodations are superior
from the mere fact that the institu-
ton is not operated for any financial
gain-simply as branch of the social
work of the Army.
The hotel is located on the second
and third floors of the building, and
;. it's main point Of superiority over
others of it's class is that it is kept
clean. The floors and staircases are
frequently scrubbed, disinfectant
/ freely used, and the beds and bedding
always clean. Every bed, too, has
real sheets as we'll as a blanket on it,
i which is putting on considerable style
for loo night.
of several large dormitories. Around
the sides of each dormitory are built
a number of cupboard-like apartments
which are styled the rooms They
resemble the bathrooms found at the
rear of the average barber shop. The
but half-inch painted pine boards,
some feet high and hardly half way
to the ceiling of the dOrmitory. The
] rooms in size are the length of one
narrow iron cot, and twice it's width,
SO as to give the occupant room to
stand on the floor to dress and un-
dress instead of being forced to stand
on the bed.
This army lodging-house is ahead
of most of the others in that a great
share of the rooms" each has win
dow In the lodging institutions
store buildings, there are but four
rooms to a floor which have windows;
two in the extreme front, and the two
at the rear, and some of these have
half hundred rooms.
Within the central square space in
each dormitory-the court, as II
might be called-which is formed by
the rooms, are beds. Here not ar
inch of space is wasted. The cots
are arranged in long rows, side by
side, with barely room between each
for man to stand. Some fifty OF
more iron cots are thus damned into
each dOrmitOry.
Houses Well Patronized.
The workingmen's shelter turn!
men away nearby every night from
Sept 1 to June 1. Cold winter nights
men are turned away as early as 7:3t
in the evening, every cot and room be
: ing engaged. The shelter can lodg
: 10 men. All during the summe
} months, when outdoor sleeping |
r good the average is about $50 mel
5 a night. Hot water radiators an
!. ing-house comfortable in winte
{ and thus make it a favorlte
Some tbs sev1n list Of @sa are n an
;. take rooms by the week. To thos
J, who can afford the luxury of hote
i room for a whole week at a time,
f special rate of, 81 is made for tn
seven days.
$ Captain G. W. Brown is the man
It charge of the Shelter, with Owen Su
e Ivan to assist him. Captain Brow
d was formerly in charge of the Saliva
y ton Army shelter in the Bower
g New York-the largest social institl
IS ton of it's kind in the country capab
d of caring for 500 men night, ar
e patronized by as tough a class of me
s. as ever get together in such a nun
lie Der.
< Il got a good training in New Yol
re in how to handle men who come
i'd the Shelter" said Captain Brown
Y. T h J o u r n and altho we ha'
es some strenuous times nearly eve
Of night, have never yet had to call
A. the police. Liquor is always at tt
I'd bottom of the trouble whenever
err starts. Nearly every night there Is
~ tussle Of some kind that I have
take a hand in, but I have alwa
managed to come out on top. We a
st nit drunken men when they are in
at mood to behave themselves, and
s. them sleep off the effect Of the
as liquor; but when they come in ug