The Detroit times., 1911-05-11
WORKING WOMEN S
HOTEL WILL Be
BUILT HERE
Girls Protective League Will Finance
Proposition, Selling Stock First To
Members and Then To Gen.
eral Public.
Plan Is To Provide Clean, Wholesome
Quarters With Home Privileges
and Comforts.


Just as soon as a site can be Sc
cured a hotel for working women Will
be erected In the downtown section
by the Girls Protective leagues which
met Thursday morning, In the Y. W.
c.. A. auditorium, for the purpose oil
Incorporating under the laws OF Mich
igan and TO launch the hotel PROPOSE
tion.
"The hotel project Is not designed 70
be charitable or philanthropic under
taking but practical business propo-
sition," said Mrs. Percy ]. Farrell,
president OF the league, In unfolding
the scheme TO those assembled. I'VE
do not propose to ask the public FOR
voluntary subscriptions, but expect to
form a stock company and sell stock,
first TO league members, and then TO
the general public. Facts and figures
gathered from similar hotels, In DIFF
ferent cities OF the country show that
they can be made self-supporting in
reasonable length Of time, often, In
deed, yielding as much as 40 percent
in dividends on the investment. The
leagues idea is to erect new build
ing on a suitable site, keeping the
lower floor for stores or Offices until
such time as 1t Is found necessary
to claim the added room for hotel pur-
poses In going carefully over the
ground we have concluded that II Is
better to erect a new building than
TO take an old one and remodel II,
unless the latter could be acquired at
such a bargain as to make 1t worth
while TO expend the money necessary
for remodeling."
In answer to a question as to wheth-
er sites had been sought, Mrs. Doty,
chairman OF a committee, appointed
for that purpose. said that almost the
entire downtown section, within the
half-mile circle had been traversed
and that the best propositions from
real estate men were located on Park.
pl. and Howard-st. There was I'M
mediate objection by several members
to both OF these localities because Of
the undesirable reputation the neigh
borhools had acquired, and also be
I.cause OF the undesirable streets
through which women would have 70
60 to reich either Howard-st. or
Park-pl.
81 know nothing about Park-pl., but
do know that Police Commissioners
| Croul, who Is very much interested In
the hotel project, thinks Howard-st.
all right, and says that one eminently
respectable place like the hotel there,
! would soon attract other desirable
tenants and the street would gradu-
ally down Its undesirable reputation,
said Mrs George Hendrie.
Returning to the plans for the
hotel. Mrs. Farrell said that the
price OF board would not be so low
that II would give employers the op-
portunity to say to their women
workers, "Oh, you don't need any
higher wages, you can live very we'll
on so-and-so, at the woman's hotel
THE league members are pledged
to devote every energy this year TO
raising the scale of wages for women
to what is known as living wage,
said Mrs Farrell. I'VE must all work
conscientiously to that purpose II, In
turn, the hotel Is TO be successful. In
the plans for the latter we have In
corporated means to permit the wo-
men living there to do their own
laundry and sewing, have the free
services of physicians and nurses,
when i'll, and in fact, to provide a
clear, wholesome home with home
privileges and comforts"
The league Is two years old and
has a membership Of about 900 OF the
city's wealthiest and most-prominent
women An active campaign for In
creased membership will be carried
on in the next few months. The ar
ticles OF incorporation, read by Miss
Florence Pond, chairman OF the in
corporation committee, were unani-
mously approved and a notary was
Immediately sent for, that signatures
might be taken and the papers sent
to Lansing for filing at once. The pur-
pose of the league Is TO promote the
study of child problems, provide
proper shelter for juvenile delin-
quents and to help girls OF all ages In
need OF assistance.
The officers are: President, Mrs.
Percy j. Farrell; vice-president, DR..
Florence Huson; recording secretary,
Mrs. Sherrard; treasurer, Mrs.
Adolph Sloman.