St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-12-04

SaturG December 1, 1909.
A s25o,ooo HOTEL FOR CONVICTION

A $4,000 HOTEL FOR COVINGTON
The proposition of Louis A. Denechaud,
OF New Orleans hotel fame, and other promi-
nent men, tC erect a hotel at Sulphur Springs
IN CovingtOn, at a cost of $3.50, 900, is the
latest lnducement to arouse the spirit of en-
terprise in the citizens of Covington. There
need be no appeal to the sense of the Deo-
pie to recognize the benefit such an addition
would be to the town. This, however, is not
different from every other proposition that
may be entertained for the advancer~ ent of
the interest of Covington, in that it requires
the outlay of some money. It must be rec
ognized that if improvement is desired, if
advancement is to be made along modern
lines of energetic development, the cost
must be paid-nOt as a contribution to luxury
but as an investment that will pay dividends.
1t is proposed that the cost of this hotel
complete, ready for the entertainment of
guests, shall be $780, 900, for which stock
shall be issued at the par value of $500 per
share, and that it shall be bonded in the
sum of $780, 900. In order that the enter
prise may be strengthened by the assurance
of local support and confidence, it is desired
that $25, 900 in stock be taken by the citizens
of Covington. We do not presume to say
just how much the citizens of Covington can
afford to put into an enterprise of this kind,
but we urge that every citizen who can af-
ford to should take some stock in a venture
that admittedly if successfully carried out,
will increase the value of every piece of
property in the town, and which, at sixty
per cent valuation, will add $3.50, 900 to the
assessment roll, or an increase of just one
seventh of the present assessment.
The men who are at the head Of this pro-
ject are experienced in the business. with a
knowledge Of the necessary surroundings and
requirements for success. CoVington has
not been picked out because it represents
the financial support that such an undertake
ing must have. There are many other cities
and towns in Louisiana that would be will
ing to put more money into the undertaking
than Covington citizens are able to. 1t has
been picked out because it is situated in the
,health-giving Ozone Belt, that is becom-
ing world-famous among the medical fra
ternity and will be eagerly sought by
wealthy health-seekers whenever they can
find the comforts and conveniences and the
attractive surroundings to which they have
become habituated and will not sacrifice;
because it offers sulphur and other mineral
springs of high medicinal value, which will
afford hot or cold baths equal to those of Hot
Springs or other notorious resorts; because
it offers pure drinking water and artesian
wells; because the soil is especially adapted
to use for golf links and polo grounds, which
will attract the wealthy class of people from
the North and East who go to California |
and Florida for the special purpose of en-
joying these games when the rigor of the
winter season makes it impossible to do so
in their own sections. This class of people |
always has large following and money is |
lavishly spent for entertainment and pleas
ure. The large number of employees of the
hotel would add to the money to be spent in
Covington, while the erection Of the hotel
would give employment to large number
during it's construction.
Besides numerous other advantages that
will accrue to Covingtion through the estab-
lishment Of this hotel, it will make it easier
for us to secure improvement in the railroad
service we are receiving now, an improve
ment much needed and vainly applied for,
and which we will never obtain until we
reach position to demand it. In fact,
from every viewpoint, the proposition seems
1 good one.