The Detroit times., 1915-10-07
"A Letter From a Hotel Man
Nv Or. FRANK CRANE
Copyright. 1916. by Frank Crane)

Dear Sir--Some time ago read in the
papers an article entitled "A Letter to
Hotel Man. y
It's not very often try to answer
anything in the newspaper; it's too much
like sinner in the back pew endeavor-
| ing to talk back to Billy Sunday, or
whip-poor-will arguing with spring
thunderstorm, but this time I'm going to
take a whack at you.
This is letter FROM hotel man.
In your letter to hotel man you
strike the keynote Of our success as hotel
people-my wife and !. We haven't
great big caravansary in a city, but we
do have a genuine, regular hotel in a
small town in Texas, "house by the side
of the road" where every week we take
care of a number of travellers.
They come along tired, frazzled, lone
some and hungry, and we send them
away contented and cheerful, full Of good
food and happy memories, and ready
once again to wrestle with this ornery
and cantankerous world.
About fifteen years ago we started
out greenies in the business. but we had
one idea in our heads, and that was that
the travelling man is human being,
| just the same as the farmer or the
banker. that he has father. mother,
t brothers, sisters. and folks like the rest
Of us. and that the things We enjoy he
would enjoy.
Consequently the nearer we could
come TO making our hotel seem like
home the surer we would be to please
him.
| Our hotel is not an institution. 1t is
not run on the principle of jail, board
/ ing school. or an asylum. We haven't
lot Of fool rules. In fact, we've never
| had rule about the place. never needed
any. for we have never had any discord
or any more trouble than the usual inn
with its forty and one regulations.
We simply EXPECT every guest to be
gentleman. and as result he is, al
most invariably. If he is not, we quietly
get rid of him.
We have entertained people of every
station-almost everybody except pres
ident so far-and they all get the same
fYen6r0us, whoIe-hearted. democratic hos
lpitalty, and seem to like It.
/ It's a great, big. common HOME,
where everybody is at ease. When the
governor Of the state walks In he gets
! the same treatment as anybody else And
when the little cigar salesman comes,
( tired and discouraged. he gets just as
Good as the governor. he is made to feel
/ he is somebody. and starts out again with
n new grip on things.
/ When a man comes here our aim is to
make him our friend.
! We take his money, hut only for value
received. So he gives it gladly.
He is not allowed to stop here unless
he knows exactly what it's going to cost
/ him. And his bill at the end of his stay
| is just that and nothing more.
We do not forbid tips, owing to univer-
| sal custom But We feel they are unfair,
demoralizing, and not American, and we
discourage them.
/ Come on down here and give us ''the
once over" You will find the finest drink
! ing water on earth, made by the Creator
| Himself. somewhere about 1000 feet
down in the rocks And say, if you care
| for fried chicken, the real cut-at-the-
/ Joints and browned-just-right kind, with
milk gravy full of bits of goodies. and II
YOU enjoy fresh buttermilk, why, this is
! the place.
We don't run sanatorium, but there's
many sick man we've kind O looked
after-mother just naturally enjoys
Inursing-and more than one homesck
young man has shown tears at parting
| from her. and has thanked her for sit
! ting-,fp with him. bathing his -feverish
head or reading to him, or some such
regular human business.
We lust love the hotel business, be-
cause we love folks. We have thousands
of good friends.
And when we get to the good place
and we expect to go--all we ask of the
good Lord is to give us charge Of little
subtle house, by the side of the road,
where the pilgrims go by on the way to
their permanent abiding, where we can
give them bit Of refreshment a hail and
a farewell, and receive from them that
which after all is the innkeeper's best
pay, smile. hand clasp, and hearts
grateful appreciation.
F. Yours truly, -
MATT BRADLEY.
1 L.. .t11,v NJ nroA