Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-01-22

An organized movement of travelling
men to compel hotel proprietors to live
up to the letter of the laws pertaining
to fire-escapes and other prescribed
protection for guests, has been begun
as a result of the West hotel fire at
Minneapolis and the originators of the
campaign declare it will soon
spread through the land. The travel
ers themselves will be pledged to in
vestigate the various hostelries at
which they stop, and if they find
houses that are not thoroughly equip
ped with modern protective apparatus
as prescribed by the laws in their
states or cities, will themselves swear
out complaints and compel the author
tiles to enforce the statutes.
ct is our intention that action be
taken by the various organizations of
travelling men to bring about regard
of the law and alleviate the wanton
Carelessness of hotel men," said one of
the advocates of the movement yester
day. ''The question doubtless will be
taken before the annual meeting of
the Iowa State Travelling Mems aSsO-
citation at Des MOines next month and
proposed at the annual meetings of the
various other strong societies Of
travelling men in other states at their
first meetings. Already scores Of
travellers are agitating the matter and
several prominent officers of the
United Commercial Travellers have be-
come interested and promised their
hearty support towards ending the
recklessness that subjects our
brethren to such peril.
"The first step Of our crusade will
be study of the law Of Wisconsin and
other states pertaining to fire protec-
ton, Every member will be expected
to become c0nversant with the
statutes covering his subject in the
states and principal cities he visits.
Equipped with this knowledge, he will
be able to proceed intelligently and
produce results. Arrived at hotel
he will look it over If its defects
are obvious he will be expected to ar
range to prosecute.
I'VE believe that it is no more than
just that we bring about the enforce
ment of these laws, many of which
have lain disregarded since their
passage Really it is up to us to put
them into action, for no otner class IS
so vitality concerned. We are COM
PEELED to put up at hotels and spend
the greater share of our nights in
them. We could hardly expect any
other class of people to work for our
safety. Travellers were in the ma
iority Of those who met death in the
West hotel fire and formed a large
majority of the guests in the hotel that
night.
Possibly many will doubt II there
is sufficient need for such radical
movement. Just let a doubter accom-
panv one of us for week and see the
fretraps we are compelled to trust our
lives in night after night. We have
no other place to go Of three or four
hotels in a gOOd-sized city, II will be
difficult to determine which IS the
least protected. The rule obtains the
country through, even in states where
strict laws covering this very subject
are found on the statutes. They are
now inactive laws, and it is up to us
to stir them into action.
AT present there are hotel laws ga
lore in nearly every state, but it will
be found that those that are enforced
or have been active within ten or
twelve years are those favoring the
hotel proprietor. He can force us to
pay for our meals and lodging, after
We have registered, whether We spend
another FIVE minutes IN MS house or
not. The penalties are severe, too. In
many cities, of pretty good size, too,
we are charged for electricity we burn
after midnight. 1t is time that the
hotel man gave us some return, and
Well demand it now, though it will be
no more than a just enforcement of
the laws.
In several states and cities there
are no laws at all, and in others the
statutes are lamentably weak. With
our movement we'll under way, It will
be our further purpose to see that
weak laws are strengthened and
stable precautions compelled where
there are no present laws governing
fire protection. We ask nothing but
justice and the reasonaple protection
that we and those dependent upon us
deserve. Already the campaign has
won its converts, and individually the
travellers will boycott hotels that do
not provide protection until they per
feet an organized movement in their
societies"