Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-06-20
SIX DAYS IN GOTHAM.
South Carolina Editors Enjoy Annual
Outing.
SOME OF The Things Seen BY The way

Worlds Great Centre Of Wealth and
Poverty-Banquet at Twenty DOL
lars of PIate-The Crowds on Broad
way-Sishts That Instruct, Enter
tain, Thrill and chiII-Random Inn
press ms Of one Of the Visitors.
BY w. D. GRIsT.
Five days on the water and six days
Of sightseeing in New York, have
been included in the 1911 junket Of
the South Carolina Press association.
and If any one Of the editors, or all
of them together ever succeed in put
ting in print the half Of what they saw
or did, the record will fill many news
papers and wonderfully interesting
and instructive that record will be.
shall only attempt to sketch what i'm
pressed me as some of the most strik-
ing features Of the jaunt.
The Hotel Woodward.
Most of the party made it's head
quarters at the, Hotel Woodward, a
splendidly appointed building in what
Is known as the uptown district. This
hotel Is under the ownership and man.
agement of Mr.. T. D. Green, formerly
of Columbia. The building is located
on the corner Of Broadway and 55th
street, Is twelve stories high and has
about 225 rooms. From ground floor
to roof, it is divided into single rooms,
adjoining apartments, suites, parlors,
ETC., splendidly furnished in conformity
with the lost word in modern luxury
and convenience. Porters, bellboys,
doorkeepers and other servants wear
handsome uniforms and every want Of
every guest is satisfied as soon as ex-
pressed. This hotel, like all the first
class hotels of the city, Is run on the
European plan and the charge for
rooms run from $1.50 to SO day.
For this occasion, however, Mr.. Green
gave the press party a uniform rate
Of $1.50 and many Of them during their
stay occupied $40 rooms. With the
usual curiosity characteristic Of the
profession, the editors investigated
other fine hotels in the city and found
none of them superior to the Wood
ward in appointments or service, al
though there are a number at which
the price of entertainment runs many
times higher.
Taking In the Sights.
With the Hotel Woodward as
base, the members of the press party
took in the city. up town and down
town, east side and west side, covering
the theatres, the parks, big manufac-
turing establishments, museums,
aquariums, geological gardens, general
sightseeing routes, the rathskellers,
the roof gardens and other attractions
without number. They were going
from morning till morning, but few
Of them taking more than five or six
hours sleep out of the twenty-four,
ing up tirelessly, and none seeming
to lose interest even to the end. 1t is
a fact, however, that all were satis-
fed. No one claimed to have seen
everything that was to be seen. All
appreciated the absurdity Of such a
claim; but there was a common appre-
citation of the fact that it Is possible
to get more sightseeing than can be
intelligently digested and before the
end of their stay most Of the members
Of the party realized that they were
experiencing just such a condition.
Banquetins tho President.
The most notable event of the week
in New York so far as those who
availed themselves of it were con-
cerned, was the banquet given in the
ball room of the Hotel Astor on the
evening of June 8, by the New York
Produce Exchange. President Taft
was the guest of honor and principal
speaker, and the South Carolina news
paper men were there through the
courtesy Of the Interstate Cotton Seed
Crushers' association, on whose special
account the banquet was given. There
were thousand guests at the banquet
seated at 125 tables, eight at a table,
and two galleries, running entirely
around the great banqueting hall
were filled with ladies, wives and
daughters of the banqueters. Just
what the exact facts are, I would not
like to say; but it was commonly
stated that the cost of the banquet was
500 a plate or more than twenty thou
sand dollars. Others gave more con-
servative figures, but none stated
them lower than $40 plate, or $4,000.
1t is a fact, however, that In addition
to a very expensive menu, the favors
at each plate cost several dollars and
the wine bill was hardly less. The
music, the service and other details
were on an equally elaborate scale, and
there is no question that the aggregate
expenditure was something tremend-
Gus.
Speeches BY Notable Statesmen.
Besides President Taft, other speak
ers were Mayor Gaynor, Governor Dix,
Bourke Cochran, and Mr.. B. F. Taylor,
president of the Interstate Cotton Seed
Crushers' association, and DR.. Finley
of the New York city schools. Senator
Chauncy NJ. Depew was to have been
present but was kept away by a death
in his family. Mr.. Taylor made al
great speech in which he told about
the wonderful progress of the south,
and especially about the cotton seed
oil business; but of course, the speech
of the occasion was that of President
Taft. The president did not come in
until the second to the last course,
the ice cream and coffee course. He
was in town more especially on ac-
count of Mrs. Taft, who was under
treatment in one of the New York hos
pitals; but of course would have been
present on this occasion, anyway. His
speech was notable in that it was an