Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-27
HARvEY'S HOTELS
Established Standard Beyond
the Mississippi.
WIDESPREAD IN iNFLu ENCE
Enormous Growth of Business From
Small Proportions.
MARRIAGES OF MATTRESSES
Difficulties Encountered in the Early
Days Described by an Ap-
prentice of the Founder.
MARRIAGES OF MATTRESSES
BY WILLIAM T.. CURTIS.

BI WILLIAM T.. CURTIS
Special Cores pomlcncc III The Star and the
thica." Eccnrl-Hcrald.
PHOENIX, April 16. 1911.
The travelling public and men and wom-
en-. who have no fixed abodes down i'm the
southwestern section of the United States
ought to unite in erecting a monument to
the late Fred Harvey, the man who re-
deemed and regenerated the hotel bust
ness, and particularly the railway res
taurant. for to him they owe an everlast-
ing debt of gratitude.
Keeping hotel on the frontier in early
days was no amusement. Supplies were
hard to get; shipments were irregular and
competent cooks and walters We're scarce
as saints. Most of the cooks were men
from the mining camps and cattle ranges.
and they went armed so as to recprocate
criticisms upon their cuisine. Napkins
were unknown: tablecloths We're changed
weekly and lost their color before their
tenure had expired: the crockery was the
heaviest kind of irOnware, and many a
man has been laid out cold with a blow
from a teacup Walters were called
hash singers a traveller once asked
permission to take his beefsteak portion
away with him because he needed a new
hinge on his trunk. The bacon was
of canned beans and tomatoes and sink.
ers"--which was the familiar name for
soda biscuits so heavy that they wouidn
float. There were two kinds Of eggs
States eggs and ranch eggs" Th,
latter were a local exotic from farms in
the vicinity. The former were shipped in
barrels from points east of the Mississippi
river, preserved in lime. and tasted
strongly of it. OF late years yard eggs
have been added to the list of delicac ies
They are laid on the place.
Redeemed by Harvey.
The transmississippi hotel was about
the worst in the world. Nothing could
have been worse for beds as well as
board. but Fred Harvey redeemed this
most important element of civilization
and raised the standard of living to it's
present excellence. He compelled other
hotel keepers to provide their patrons
with better rooms and meals, and his
hotels and eating houses We're normal
schools for the training of hotel man
ayers, hOusekeepers, cooks and others
who have gone into business for them
selves and have maintained the Harvey
standard. The influence upon the public
has been equally great. People who
patroniZed his dining rooms learned what
was good to eat and how. it should be
cooked, and told their wives about it.
The Harveys keep track of every one
of their employees. They have record
of each individual, good, bad and in
different. who has ever worked for them
Some of the mattresses have married
very well; one is the wife of the richest
ranchmaa in northern Texas; others mar
ried cattlemen of large means and have
bright and interesting families. A former
waitress is the widow of a general man
ager of one of the transcOntinental lines,
whom she married when he was con-
ductor. Several are the wives of hotel
keepers who have graduated from the
Harvey service. Fred Harvey told me
once that forty-eight graduates are now
successful managers of tirSt-claSs hotels.
One of them is in Chicago, and several
have former Mattresses for wives