The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1907-05-02

neck of the pine woods. They don't
even breathe directly. Most of the men
are half doubled up, and look as the
they had been fed on quinine and dan
delion tea.
We walked four or five blocks over
execrable pavements. with no sidewalks
at all. First the party had to go to the
valuation office to get their yard and
a half of tickets fixt up and to look
after baggage, trunks and the like
Trunks had not come. Wharves search
ed. baggage rooms on the boats search
ed, bills Of lading searched, checks
scrutiniZed, but no trunks We're found
n. B.-The trunks were not found at
the end of three days. 1 left them They
were not my trunks. I had more sense
than to take any trunks.
Two hours spent in validating II tick
cts. Then we took the street cars t. go
to the Exposition. Walked three blocks
to get them. We rode and rode and
rode. We went thru Norfolk streets that
were lined with negro shanties unpayed,
dingy, dangerous. Then thru other Nor
folk streets dingy, dirty, dangerous, uH-
paved. muddy, past Shiny sioughs of
sinking water, thru some pretty
suburbs, over arms of the ocean, over
little creeks, over viaducts that erost
railways. on and on, until it seemed as
tho the day was weli-nigh spent; but it
wasn't, for our watches told us that we
had put in only one hour and quarter
getting to the Exposition Grounds. 1t
seemed six at least, for the country in
between is SO very uninteresting. We
We're bound for the Inside Inn.'' which
is supposed to possess advantages over
an outside inn of any kind, anywhere
else
1t doesn't
We got to corner of the Exposition
Grounds finally, and were told that We
must disembark from the street car
they really have very handsome electric
cars in Norfolk, but they are all troll
ley-and take an accommodation" line
up to the Inside Inn, distance of three
blocks or more.
Inside Inn.
II was muddy; there was a network
of street car tracks crossing and inter-
crossing each other, the ties and the
rails all laid on top of the ground, and
you walked on these or sank ankle deep
in the muddy slime. We did both. We
waited Is minutes for the accommoda-
ton cars. We finally got to the Inside
Inn. That you would have to see to
appreciate. 1t is two stories high, COW
ers whole block, is built of cheap pine,
IS partitions are Of building paper COW
cred with wall paper, and it has porches
dTOuuI liiEtt SiutS Oh IL lfict are ~ lttt
wide, with pillars of plaster three feet
thru. The first floor is all in one vast
room opening on these p0rches or
yerandas, the support for the upper
floor being rows and rows and rows of
pillars. In the very center Of this ire
Inendous room, whose vistas really fas-
cinate you. are the offices, taking up q
space of 20 feet square, perhaps. There
are no telephones, no electric buttons
nrartipaiiV m nothing A he'd single
chair. a cheap bureau, a tin standard
on which is tin pitcher and tin
basin, and under which is a tin slop jar
and you have the conyeniences of a
room in the Inside Inn, for which you
pay $3.50 per day. With two in a
room, when one of you would have to
stand on the bed to robe or disrobe, you
can get such a room for $3.50 per day.
And say, you hear me-" as the ma
tives have a habit of calling your atten-
ton down there-that hotel would burn
like a celluloid collar. 1t would, indeed.
The day of the OPENING, being up early,
! heard the yell of "Fire!'' and heard
the engines madiy ringing and putting
as they dashed by 10 somewhere in the
near vicinity. ] dressed, and started to
leave the grounds and past by a pile of
smoking embers, possibly 20 feet square,
with evidences of charred timbers
spreading over large extent of ground,
and the engine was busy pumping wa
ter on the few blazing fragments. That
was all that was left of what an hour
previous had been TWO big hotels of the
Inside Inn type and seven doggeries Just
fitting up for saloons. In less than an
hour it had all been reduced TO ashes,
and scarcely enough If the ruins left to
tell the story. The Inside Inn can house
5000 people. About ! 200 of those who
were in rooms on the outside line Of
the hotel would escape if the hotel
c1ueht fire. The other 1000 would burn
to death No smoking is permitted On
the premises. oh. no. indeedy, But,
Just the same. every man / saw had n
cigaret or. cigar in his mouth.
The eating at the Inside Inn. which Is
extrs--nearly everything is extra
costs by the cubic inch. About o cents
bite. as nearly as / could size it up
BY what l had. When you take pot
luck With the Inside Inn you are sup
passed to be paying for ingress and
egress from the Exposition Grounds as
often as you desire to come and go.
tried it on, and found that il didn't
work. The -gatelSeepers had nat been
told to recognize the pass and they re-
fused to do so; but / came and went as
I liked. while the Gatekeepers ranted
and cussed and said / couldn't, but
did.
From the Inside Inn to any place on