Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-02-17
We WILL BUILD THE De VARGAS
HOTEL" DECLARES J.P. WAGNER
After Ringing Speeches the Eks Theater Last Night
$1,5O0 More Is Subscribed in Is Minutes---J. C.
Schumann Pledges $500--A. B. Renehan,
Col. Moss, r. Fl. Hanna, Samuel
Cartwright, T. P. Gable
and ]. P. Wagner,
the Speakers

eve will build the DeVarRas hotel,
gentlemen. l am sure Of it just as |
am sure that every one who puts in
dollar in this project will reap rich
harvest. Santa Pc can not get along
without a great first clasYtourist hotel
and Santa Fe shall haze it. Am /
right" (Shouts of yesf yesD
The above was theI declaration OF
John P. Wagner, president of the Sac
ramento Valley Irrigation Company,
vice-president of the Santa Fe Board
of trade. builder of the Kansas City
viaduct and now the man financing
| the 100000 tourist hotel, known as
the DeVargas hotel, for the city OF
Santa Fe.
The occasion was a meeting last
| night of the citizens Of Santa t'e al
| the Flks theatew where the amalga
| mated forces of the two great com
mercial bodies of this city, the Board
| of Trade and the Commercial CLUB
| ioined hands and boosted the project
| On the stage sat Mr.. Wagner, and
near him DR.. j. A. Massie. president
of the Commercial Club, Attorneys K
! H. Hanna, A. B. Renehan and a Chi
! cago capitalist Col. Leopold Moss
who owns stock in hotels and Whc
believes that if clothes make the man
hotels make the town.
1t might also be mentioned tha'
near Mr.. Renehan sat his dog and dur
ing the most impassioned part OF Mr.
Renehan's address the animal advanc
ed to the front of the stage and stooe
right near the speaker apparently
drinking in every word about the neee
of a. hotel that shall provide appetiz
| ing morsels for its guests. For the dos
will doubtless be a welcome visitor al
the hotel after the interest he mani
tested in its construction.
Begins at $50.
The meeting began at $50 p. m
after the picture show and Whll'
there were not many at the openinG
more and more people came in and 70
wards the close of the meeting the
was a fair sized audience
| Mr. Wagner outlined the object o
the gathering-to feel the pulse of the
citizens of Santa Fe on the project O
| hnfn1 hnrp-anf
emphasized the importance of raising
a. nucleus fund of $4,000 to gain pos
session of the proposed site of the
hotel. Attorney Hanna followed witt
A. talk on the necessity of first clas:
hotel accommodations in a city like
this and advanced many telling argu
ments to back ND his assertion.
Mr.. Renehan was the next speake
and he was warm in his praise of th'
hotel project, Some of his striking
sentences were the following:
'I believe that the future of Santi
Fe must be built around the DeVarga
hotel.
81 believe that great tourist hote
in Santa Fe is the pivotal idea tha
will make the city great.
"I know that people who have at
tempted to accomplish great thing
have been the butt for jokesmiths
Twas always so.
"The Imagination is the noblest gif
| e &c rpnct nrnatiu
and without the Imagination little cal
be accomplished in this world.
"The building of the Santa Fe Rail
way was the project of a mans imagl
nation and furnished food for tn
jokesmiths.
eve are living in commercial
not material age and while it is wei
enough to look back with pride t.
1905 the date of founding this cit,
still our imagination should and cal
; picture a city of 10000 or $4,000 pee
, plea vast and much desired change
eve must have facilities here t.
J entertain those who come here to pa
J respect to the city's romance, its tra
ditions and it's wonderful climate.
at is no disparagementt to the pres
ent hotels here to say that anothe
, one is needed.
Progressive Spirit.
: New faces are seen here and the
: are Of the new people who come her
| and are unwilling to see the wheels 0
} progress standing still. They hav
. been able to see needed changes tha
l have not been seen by men who hav
lived here ten and twenty, yes thirt
} and forty and even fifty years.
'If there has been growth in an
city and particularly in ours it ha
been due to new people coming her
with new ideas. new ambitions. neN
impulses, new energy, new blood.
"This opera house was built by
few young men who had not been her
very long-scarcely long enough t
t be we'll identified with the city.
2 "Santa Fe. even five or ten year
l ago was called The Old Pueblo bu