The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-06-18

- OT SPRlNGS, Alh., JUNE IL
ION (special)-When the traveller
reaches Little Rock on his way
to the most widely known and unique
| health resort in the United States, he
begins his acquaintance with Hot Springs.
The train is boarded by numerous, well
dressed, persuasive individuals, with
smooth manners and solicitous ways,
who have ."literature' in their hands
and are soon found to be runners" for
Hot Springs hotels. They even invade
the sleepers and woe betide the unwary
tourist who offers them a particle of
encouragement
Each runner deposits a card or a
pamphlet with you and, while he is po-
lite to a fault, he is persistent in the
same way. The only method for getting
rid of the hotel runner is to sit
down. on him, quietly firmly and eff
fectively. You need not be noisy nor
unnecessarily harsh about the matter
just squelch him once for all. If you
do not nip the runners remarks in
the bud, as 1t were, he will deliver him
self as follows:
How do you do? Have you made
your hotel arrangements at Hot Springs?
| We have the most elegant house in the
place, centrally located steam heat,
| electric lights, all modern convenienees,
baths under the same roof, table service
excellent, everything new, sweet and
clean. Just at present we are offering
| special summer rates, You could not
| do BETTER and - -'
| 1t is dangerous to let him get any fur
ther-choke him off and do it quickly.
There was time when Hot Springs
and incoming trains were overrun by
touts, but Uncle Sam put an end to that.
Hot Springs is a government reservation
and the regulations are strictly enforced.
The doctors no longer make general use
of runners" and only few hotels keep
up the practice. Competition among the
hotels is fierce, and the smaller houses
claim that they are forced to solicit
| business. The big hotels can afford to
| be Indifferent,
! When the novice first arrives at Hot
| Springs and gets a glimpse of a few
| patients" his heart sickens. his stom-
| ach revolts and in instant the words of
a popular song, ooh, l want to go home"
strike him with overwhelming force.
One soon gets accustomed to the place,
however and at night when the illumi-
nation is at its height the misery and
suffering of unfortunates. in search of
health is swallowed up in a whirl Of
gaiety. Central avenue, a picturesque
boulevard, winding through the noun
tains and representing practically all the
| business district at present, is blaze
of light. There are scores of gambling
palaces-"clubs," they are called-bril-
lantly illuminated and gorgeous to the
eye. Turf exchanges, souvenir stores,
book stalls drug stores, snowy bar
rooms and establishments of many kinds
line one side of the street for blocks
There are no real stores; all the BUSH
ness houses are shops and most of them
are small. Nearly all the entrances
are dazzling with electric incandescent
lights and at night when the shops and
the big hotels twinkle with myriads of
lights; when bands are playing and cool
breezes whisper through the hills. the
scene is one of intoxicating beauty.
Across Central avenue and facing the
shops is Bath House row. The avenue
is broad. the sidewalks are ample and
the bath houses nestle in an investiture
Of trees and shrubbery. Bath House
row composes a number of artistic struc-
lures that are small but pleasing to the
eve and present an attractive appearance
of comfort. Some of the wrecks one
sees sitting about on the verandas are
= MI Mt Ohfapfc for
contemplation.
This is supposed to be the duh season
at Hot Springs. Rather. May is about
the quletest month, but there is no dearth
of visitors, apparently, and the town now
is almost as picturesque as it is in the
height of the winter season.
A prominent real estate man told me
today that there were 1863 doctors in Hot
Springs practicng their profession. 1t
seems as If there are many more. but
of course he did not include the quacks.
who still try to evade the vigilance OF the
government authorities.
Not quite one year ago a crusade was
started against fraudulent practitioners,
with the result that few dare to show
their heads now and most of these gen.
try have been put out of business. A
few remain, however. One was tried
Yesterday and was fined 500 for prac-
ticing without license. Every doctor 10
required to have a permit from the
United States government, and unless
he has this license he cannot issue any
directions to the bath houses.
1t would require ascensus to discover
how many hotels there are in Hot