Arizona republican., 1911-03-30

SUSPENDED
CONSTRUCTION Work on Hotel
Adams Stops
LOCAL OPTION ELECTION
On It's Result Depends the
Fate of the Project, as
Determined at a Meeting
of the Stockholders Yes
terday.
LOCAL OPTION ELECTION

CONSTITUTION work on the Hott Il
Adams will stop today and will not
be resumed until after the local option
election on April IS. That determine
ton was arrived at by a unanimous
vote in a meeting of the stockholders
beld yesterday afternoon in the Com
mercial hotel. in which IS per cent of
the stock was represented.
The action was taken solely as an
expression on the question of a wet
or dry town, a fact which NJ stock
holder made secret of. Rather. the
stockholders desire that fact to be
known, though it is stated that the
merits of the liquor question were in
no way discussed in the meeting 1t
was with the stockholders a question of
business solely. They decided that
they did not want to put s25O,0OO into
a hotel in a dry town. 1t is their
judgment and observation of the ex-
perience of other cities that such a
structure in a city of this size and un-
der the conditions that surround Phoe-
nix would prove a financial white ele-
plant if the city goes dry. 1t is their
money and they do not care to take
that chance with it, against their judg-
ment
1t is the privilege of the people to
vote for prohibition if they want il.
and the stockholders say il is their
privilege to restrain themselves from
building a hotel. The property can be
utilized for other purposes. and. of
course. will be if a hotel is not built.
Less money will be invested and some
kind of building to serve some sort
of purpose win of course be wrought
out of the structure now begun. even
if it is only another row of one story
store-rooms The men interested are
not going to throw away the money al
ready invested. or any more of it than
they have to. but they argue that they
can keep from spending a lot more
that will return them no revenue
Construction has proceeded just as
far as it can go without great loss
in a later changing of the building
plans. That is why the work is to
be stopped now, rather than next week
or two weeks hence, or after the cleo
tion has been held and the town is
declared dry, if that should be the YER
dict of the people. The forms are now
in place and ready for the pouring II
concrete for the mezzanine floor. That
was to have been started today. but if
the building is not to be used for a
hotel. a meZZanine floor will be not
only useless, but almost unfit the build
ing for any other use. In any event
it would have to be taken out at n
considerable cost, in addition to the
worse than useless expense of putting
it in.
Inquiry of various stockholders after
yesterdays meeting brought out the
fact that the action was not the result
of any factional movement, hut was
unanimous so far as those present were
concerned. The stockholders number
between forty and fifty persons, all
Phoenix citizens. business men and To-
cal capitalists. and IS per cent of the
stock was represented, as indicated
above. 1t was learned also that ]. C.
Adams owns but 25 per cent of the
stock in the company, and had very
little to say in yesterdays meeting He
is of course. in accord with the action
but he preferred to let the other stock