The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-10-10
HOTELS SWAMPED
BY HE ANY RUSH
They Can Handle Conventions
but Fair. Week Brings On a
Difficult Problem.
MANY FOLK SIT UP TO SLEEP
Cots Put Everywhere Except in
Bars to Accommodate
the Visitors.

All signs as to hotel accommodation:
fail in State Fair weather Abou
three years ago Business Manager
Dabney, of the Chamber of Commerce
came out in a statement in which he
estimated that 1855 people could be
taken care of in Richmond's hostelries
without crowding. He was of course
figuring on conventions, very few oil
which would exceed the figure indi-
Gated in attendance. He was not think
ing of State Fairs.
Forty thousand strangers or there
abouts turned loose in one day in a
city constitute problem which the
hotel men can, even by doing their
utmost, only solve in small measure
The worn and weary travellers must
for the most part solve 1t for them
selves.
Mr. Dabney's figures showed that
eleven Richmond hotels had total of
TIA rooms with baths and 654 rooms
without baths. When it is known that
on Wednesday night one hotel alone
Murphy s-aceommodate 74o people, it
will be seen that exceptions took the
place of rules when 1t came to put
ting away visitors.
Cots. Cots Everywhere.
Every square foot of room was
adorned by a cot. There were cots
in the parlors, cots in the assembly
halls, cots in the Easements cots in
the poolrooms, cots in the dining
rooms. There was none in the lob
bies, but many guest, footworn and
forlorn at his failure to secure a place
OF rest spent the night in the chairs
and settees in the hotel offices of the
city. L couldn't turn them away"
said Night Clerk Elicit, of the Rich
mond. land 1 let them sleep sitting
up as best they might"
The Jefferson had all it could care
for. No crowding was allowed, but the
rooms were all occupied.
AS for the Lexington and the smaller
hotels, the case was hopeless from the
start. Most of them were filed IN
before the State Fair managers opened
their gates for the first mornings eX-
htbition. Every available cot was nut
on the job. The Guerrant gamely re-
sponded to the call OF the wild and
put them to sleep in the halls
Boarding houses and homes had all
the dodgers they wanted and more
provided they were located so that thew
could be found. Possibly great many
more could have been cared for had
there been way to find the vacant
bed. But tramping for hours in search
Tor lodging soon breaks ones spirits.
anu d chalr IN hotel lobby seems
preferable to going anywhere else
Hundreds of visitors went TO Peters-
pufg TO spend the night Not perhans
because they could find nowhere "a
rest put because they could NO, ra,
accommodations at the Richmond no
tets and preferred public hosiery
Where probably they had previously Sc
cured rooms.
Hard Problem.
fchtnond can care for almost any
hiho OF convention at its regular no.
,els and lodging houses. but the past
week experiences seem to demon.
strate that without some sort Of bet.
ter organization among others ~ e
olfhcult to take care of a State Fair
crowd 80
We lodged perhaps $500 people
during the week, and fed probably
5000" said Manager Disney, of Muir
phys. last night, land thousands of
others patronized the bar. And We,
of all the countless thousands who
passed through the lobby during the
week, only one man was so intoxicated
that he had to be cared for 1t was !,
remarkably sober, patient and we'll
behaved crowd"
Mr.. Disney beleyes the crowd couldI
nave been augmented had the roads
running from North Carolina given
reduced rates Many North Caro1in-
dams Visited the fair. for Richmond is |
each year becoming more and more
a Mecca for the people of the Old |
North State. yet many more would have
been here had the railroads given in
ducements Mr.. Disney intends an
other year 10 make an appeal through
business bodies for better rates, TO |
allow North Caroinians TO attend "the
biggest event of the South"