The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-11-25
HIGH LIFE
 AT LOW PRICE
ODD LIVES IN HIGH-PRICED FIFTH
 AVENUE HOTELS.
Hotel Hunters They Call the Ambitions People Who, For the Sake Of Ap- pearanees, Resort to Queer Ex-
 pedfents to Live Next Door
 to Expensive Luxury.

Most people who speak in awe of the great Fifth Avenue fotels of New York, the names of which are synonymous with high prices and luxurious living. would be surprised if they but knew of the odd existences which, for vari- ous reasons. are carried on under those sumptuous roofs. within reach of mag nificently equipped dining rooms and within hearing of orchestras world famed.
 [ One naturally associates life in a large hotel of this sort with large in come and large outlay. These hotels, the most luxurious in the world, seek to supply ease and elegance in living i The markets send them their best each day, the finest roses and ferns are spe- cially grown to decorate the tables, and maids and clerks are on every hand to do the bidding of the guests
 Of late years. however, the putting on of the appearance Of affiuence and wealth has become so necessary a part of lives that residence In the great hotels is sought at any cost
 The old plan of having ones mail directed In care of a fine hotel is ob- solete, although the practice of send ing out notes on the gilt headed letter paper of such hotels still obtains with those anxious to make a good impress sion. But the new and successful plan is to hire one room or more at one of the fine hotels and by securing actual residence there give the impression of possessing great wealth. culture, love of ease and an eplcurean palate Many ambitious persons make the keeping of such an address their only start in life It may take almost every cent of their available cash to pay the weekly room rent and defray the ora n ea. .4vsrz G.. dry. while the usual small recreations that moderately pursed persons in- dulge in occasionally have to be sacri- feed.
 Living with a we'll organized cab ser vice at their beck and call and motors at special rates. they use only the street cars They are never seen in the dining rooms except passing through them and in some dextrous fashion they elude the ordinary fees which ho- tel dwellers as rule are subject to- They make a science of maintaining residence in hotel famed for it's high prices and they never patronize 1t except as roomers. Of course, they are discovered in time and discouraged by the hotel managers, but 1t is remark | able to note the names on a list in the possession of certain ex-hotel de- tective who asserts that these men and women manage to exist at the various | Fifth Avenue hotels for less than it
 takes most individuals to live in or~ dinary apartments.
 l "If the inside history of some of the Fifth Avenue hotels could be written" :" said the retired sleuth. there would he volume of exceeding interest filled with important names and much amus- ing incident.
 1 T am not referring now to prize~ | fights held at midnight, the small poker and bridge games at which play 1 CTS lose not only their money but their watches and other jewelry, and the va- rious other enterprises social and com mercial that flourish in spite of all ef- | forts to prevent them, but refer co i.
 class that we get to know as the ho- tel buffers, who, for many reasons, maintain an actual residence at big 1 hotel and manage to do it on less than | it costs most Of the men at the same
 hotel for their cigars.
 l There are people, you know, who | fancy that 1t gives them social prestige
 to stop at a Fifth Avenue hotel, and it does with merchants, who are always glad to secure another customer at
 some of the famous hostelries.
 Society patronizes the hotels. of
 course, but rarely chooses to make them living place. except temporarily during some between seasons stay in the city when town houses are closed. Club men and Wall Street men are | to be found in the cafes and dining rooms of some of the hotels habitually, and for this reason certain classes of men anxious for information on stocks and racing matters frequent these places, but except at luncheon and tea time the women of society are not prominent.
 During Horse Show Week and at | |. a..~- -AA are exceptions to this rule, but no wo- man seeking social prestige need hope to secure 1t by living at even the finest hotel in New York.
 "Of late years, however. some of the l fashionable hotels have become great show places for gowns and jewels, furs and hats. The display appeals to somo women who may have acquired or in- herlted money and who have no inter ests in life outside of observing dress and manners. So they set up their trunks in a hotel room and proceed to | live a weird, unnatural life, having nothing whatever in common with the gayety and the entertaining they see so much of.
 Some of them live this way for years and never converse with any one but the bellboys and the chnmbermaids They are, then, the easy prey of sales people who, under tho guise of guests at the same hotel, or some other house equally famous. dispose of thousands of dollars worth of goods in a season | to them.
 "To these hotel drummers the value | of residence under the same roof with moneyed persons of small intelligence cannot be overestimated. As a rule, the firms they tout for pay their room bills and they also get percentages on | their sales.
 Smart tai1ors nowadays display thelr | goods by hiring a handsome man to parade through hotel corridors arrayed