The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1913-03-14
SERVES NOTICE ON
HOTEL THAT LAW
MUST Be OBtYED
HAS PLEADED WITH PRoPRlE.
TORS TILL PATIENCE IS NO
LONGER A VIRTUE.
WILL PROSECUTE ALL VIOLATORS

Pure Food and Drugs Inspector Or.
Lucius p. Brown Issues Statement
Of Warming That Leniency Has
Reached Limit.
NASHVILLE, March 10.-"I see
that the Only way to handle large
number OF the hotels of the state is
to put the screws to them. and we
expect to do this to the best of our
liability"
The above statement is made by
State Hotel Inspector Lucius P.
Brown last week. THE hotels have
had about fourteen months to com.
ply with the sanitary hotel law, and
now they must get busy. We have
pleaded with them all we are going
| to-" continued DR.. Brown. "Of course
we are very much crippled on account
/ of lack of funds and at present have
got to rob Peter if we pay Paul, but
the next legislature will be asked to
do something in our behalf In the
meantime its going to be mighty
! hard on those hotels over the state
which persist in violating the law"
The principal reason for the pres
ent crusade against the hotels Of the
state which are not complying with
the law was the destruction of the
Htel Trezeyant at Trezevant, Tenn,
| about ten days ago. According to
DR.. Brown and others in position to
know this fire and the attendant dan
gers TO which the guests of the hotel
were subjected could have been pre-
vented had the hotel been equipped
with fire extinguishers, the cost of
which are very low. It was reported
to DR.. Brown that the inspector at
that point had failed to see that the
hotel had complied with the law, and
for this reason DR.. Brown has had
somewhat to say to the delinquent
inspectors over. the state.
In an order to the sub-inspectors
and hotel keepers of the state, the
wording of " hich can have but one
meaning, DR.. Brown has served no.
| tice that the entire force of the pure
food and drugs department will be
called into service for the enforce
ment of the hotel law if necessary.
/ and that prosecutions will be insti-
tuted in all cases where inspectors
! find the law disregarded The order
in full follows:
| 1.-THE recent burning of a hotel in
one of the smaller towns in the west
ern part of the state, and the subjec-
ition therein of guests to danger from
fire, has brought forcibly to my at
tention the fact that there has been
as much leniency shown toward no.
tel proprietors and local assistant in
spectors as is justified by reason.
Il desire to call the attention of
all persons interested to the fact that
because the hotel law was a new one
this department has endeavored to
make it's enforcement gradual. 1t
was believed that in this way the in
auguration of this important reform
could be he'd with minimum of dis
turbance to existing conditions, and
attention is further called to the fact
! that one of the most prominent OBJ
jects of this law is protection against
loss of lives in hotel fires. But the
law has now been in effect more than
year; ample opportunity has been
efforded every one affected to accom-
modate his business thereto, and any
further lenjency on the part of this
department is not only uncalled for,
but would be direct evasion Of the
duty of the department. Therefore,
notice is hereby given to all persons
affected that to the extent of it's abil-
ity this department will strictly en-
force the law hereafter. The entire
force of the department will be call
ed into service for this purpose if nee
essary, and prosecutions will be in
stituted in all cases where inspectors
find the law disregarded This let
ter must, therefore, be considered as
due notice OF this policy, and no ex-
lcuses based on ignorance of the law
or on intention to comply with it at
some future time will be accepted.
"All assistant inspectors of this de-