The sun., 1906-12-28
7OABANDON VOMAN'S HOTEL?
MARTHA wASHTNGToN STOCK
HOLDERS VOTE TO LEASE IT.

Cos; NJ Living Tos High fer the women the
Hotel Was Neant rOT-IAvely Meetinx
Of Feminine Minds Over It-TaIk O
NOmaRs Hotel ON q Cheaper site.
The stockholders Of the Martha Washing
non Hotel in East Twenty-ninth street voted
Yesterday 70 lease the hotel subject 70 the
annroval Of the board OF directors.
!, was a merry meeting, according to one
AZ the stockholders. 1T should 20 down in
history az the battle Of the tongues" he
said There were a few men present i
.Mere man was at discount and the exc
cution Of polite and cutting phrases was
frightgll The dictionary was cut TO pieces
and retired in bad order"
As far as might be gathered by an in
trder the war was civil, very, and waged
by two factions, one of which declared the
management -stingy" and the other that
there was deplorable lack Of public spirit
on the part Of regular boarders, who OBJ
iacted 20 the prices and bought their teas
outside,
The meeting Of the stockholders opened
with a resolution that the Martha Washing
ton he offered for lease When there came
hull ia the firing Edmund Clarence Sted-
man, the poet, offered an amendment to the
effect that the hotel be leased subject to the
advice and consent of the board Of direc-
tors. The amended resolution was carried
at the end of two hours and half of dis
cusslon.
Mrs, Frederick Ma than, a recent stock
holder, who was described by one of the
surviving gentlemen as very capable
read a number Of letters from stock holders
and guests commenting unfavorably on
the manage ment. Just what the letters
complained of could not be learned, since
the survivor refused, as he said, to strain
his vocabulary by repeating them. He did
say however, that many bitter things were
said Of the cheap guests who 60 outside
for their meals
This brought on a discussion Of the cost
Of living in the Martha Washington, and it
was found that prices had gone up all along
the line since the hotel was first opened in
1908. The price of the cheapest room, il was
SAID, had gone up several dollars d week,
half portions cost almost as much as whole
ones used to, and to make it all the worse
the guests deserted the American plan
dining room in such numbers that the room
was closed some time ago.
The faction that deoried the guests who
dlned outside pointed out that the hotel
was always full and that better class" of
guests was coming in all the time. This
EloI6AAb ohL lhN buSBCbIAOh JHdI JLlc
Washington had outlived its usefulness,
since it had become too expensive for
the women of moderate means for whom il
was designed, and it was proposed to sell
the property and put up elsewhere on less
costly site a similar hotel. This latter
Proposition was left for the consideration
Of the board of directors.
During the discussion DIR. Huntington of
Grace Church declared that it must be
confessed that the original plan of the
hotel, a place for professional women of
moderate means and for transients un-
attended by their men folks, had failed,
since in order to run the hotel without loss
II had been necessary to raise prices beyond
the means OF the class it was sought to pro-
vide for.
Just there one of the women stockholders
tried to suggest that the hotel had not been
Intended as a money making scheme, but
she let the word charity slip in and the
battle was on again. Charity may suffer
long and be kind, but not lin the woman's
hotel. The guests will have none Of il,
and as many Of the older guests Colder in
point of residencel are also stockholders,
a suggestion that the place be run anyway
on It's old schedule of low prices and that the
sockho lders make up the loss got a warm
but not hearty reception.
Mark A. CALDWELL the general manager
of the hotel, who is held responsible-it ia
the fate of a G. NJ. to be responsible-for
the cooks stinginess in the matter of half
portions, refused after the meeting to COM
ment on the situation. He had not been
present at the meeting, he said, and did
not care to discuss domestic troubles.
One Of his assistants, a woman, declared,
however. and she was backed up by the
prettlest guests on exhibition, that MIR.
Cadwell was just lovely"
The whole trouble" said the lady,
comes from the older guests, many OF
whom own one share OF stock apiece and
think that therefore they are privileged
10 crlticise everything. They want every
thing for little or nothing. l tell you it
very hard problem to please lot OF
women when they are cooped up by them
selves I've learned a lot about my sex
since / came here and l can't say that what
have learned has given me high opinion
OF bachelor women"
Charles D. Kellogg, secretary Of the
Womans Hotel Company which runs
the Martha Washington (he is also vice.
president Of the Charity Organization
Society, but don't mention that word
Charity, declared that nothing definite
had been done at the meeting OF stock
holders. Everything. he said. had been
lett 10 the regular meeting which will be
held early in February. He admitted that
me resolution recommending that the hotel
be leased had been carried.
The guests themselves didn't seem to
understand the fate hanging over them.
They had heard a rumor that wine Jelly
would he allowed in the American dining
room.