Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-12-09
AMPLE SALT LAKE:
ACCOMMODATIONS.
Grand Army Veterans VIII be
Well Taken Care Of
While Here.
sTERRETT HAS THE FIGURES
Demand for FREQ Beds Will Not Be
AS Heavy as Here
toforc.

Salt Lake can take care of the COM
Ing encampmcnt Of the Grand Army,
and car do it without resorting to the
expediency OF establishing the some
times necessary but always objection.
able white City
This Is the conclusion to which Col.
Frank Nj. Sterrett has come. and which
he says he will impress upon the COM
mander of the Grand Army on the oc-
casion of his visit to Salt Lake neSt
week.
AS Salt Lake Is on this occasion en-
countering the problem of handling
crowd equal in size to the city's pOpu-
lation, for the first time, Col. Sterrelt's
+ inventory OF the citys resources ana
his methods of arriving ut his conclu-s
gsions, have awakened much interest on
tho part of the local entertainment
committee and others
Before the encanpment was secured
there was much doubt as to whether
Salt Lake would handle it creditably,
and Il canvass OF the hotel accommoda.
tons was made. II left feeling OF
uncertainty which Col. Sterrett with
his law OF averages. and experience IN
other cities, wipes out within a single
minute by adding totals and compar-
ing them with results elsewhere.
FIGURES ON SALT LAKE.
1--WE have frequently met in cities
he said where the people have had 10
open their homes. SO we nave come
to know about what percentage OF the
homes will open their doors, and what
kind of accommodations are to be De
pended on in them. From this expert
ence we have struck a figure which has
in recant years worked out almost to
the same point in every city. 1t IS
this: q quarter of the homes In an
average city have no accommodations
for extra visitors. In Salt Lake there
are 22, 900 families living in homes. or
these we figure that 15,00O homes can
take in visitors and that the average
number it Is possible to accommodate
Therefore We look to your homes TO
take care of $4,000 people,.
eve are confident about this, conf
dent enough to trust the figures, ana
when / tell the commander-in-chtef,
we can get along all right, he VIII agree
with me, for he has found these figures
work out all right in all the cities we
go to.
Col. steerett was asked about
his opinion Of the hotels, II tind,''
he said, that you have SIS hotels and
rooming houses. We shall be able to
depend on these for many more accom-
odations than their normal average.
We shall exact a pledge from your To-
cal committees that the rates In no.
tells and lodging houses, VIII not De
raised. Experience has taught US that
ithis.ls necessary, but we shall allow the
hotels to double their capacity This
viii snean that they can put into the
rooms all the beds the rooms will hold
and may put cots In the Railways.
BY such methods the capacity
of the hotels will be made greater than
the people would expect
FEWER FREE BEDS.
"As to free BEDS said Col. Sterrett,
"a few OF course must be provided,
for some of the old veterans rush out
to the encampments without thinking
of car fare. However, we have elimin-.
ated most of the demand for free beds.
From 5000 the demand dropped last
year to 1000, and think 1000 free
beds will cover the needs this year.
You know we Will not ask any city
to grant O free bed to q man who does
not come in uniform, prepared to APP
pear in the pageant What we do want
is plenty of so cent lodgings. Those
are the popular kind, and we expect
most of the people who are willing to
open their homes will accept this rate.
The hotels and lodging houses all told
have a capacity OF about 5000 and this
capacity with that of the homes will
care for the whole crowd.
II do not expect more than 100000
visitors will come here, because Of tho
long trip, and I do not expect that
a. single tent will have to be used to
accommodate those who come. The free
beds can be cots placed in school:
houses, without bedding, as the wealth
er will be warm,
Col Sterrett has been working for
the past few days on this inventory of
the city's capacity to care for the en-
results obtained. In the line of march
he says, there is sure to be 5000 vet
Grams of the civil war in UNIFORM.