The Washington times., 1915-03-08
HOTEL De G|NK" IS
SELF:SUPPORT|NC
Work Is Its One Big Asset.
Has Solved an Economic
Problem in New York.

NE" YORK, March S.--The Hotel de
Gink. derided and laughed at by city
officials when jeff Davis, the king Of
hoboes. first blew" into New York and
suggested IT. is a success.
Tho members Of the mayors commit
tee on unemployment now admit it.
They left jeff Davis and his bo's alone
for month. At the end Of thirty days
they went on an inspection tour. What
they saw opened their eyes. economi-
cally, to quite large extent.
An average of 30 men day have
been fed at the hotel since 1t opened:
that ie 600 meals a day. The meals
have cost on an average slightly over .
cents each and. furthermore. they have
been clean. we'll cooked and satisfying.
To be sure. there has been no cake and
demi tasse served with them: neither
do they start off with oysters, but none
OF the guests has found fault, and that
Is more than most hotels can say.
The Hotel de Gink has It own barber
shop: its own tailoring establishment:
and its own hospital. There isn't q po-
liceman to be found within q radius Of
two blocks Of the place.
Solves Economic Problem.
And 1t has been self-supporting!
The city has had these men taken of,
it, hands without one cent OF cost to
It, 1t solved an economic problem that
had Judge Gary and his co-workers
scratching their heads to find a solu-
ton for.
The city rented the dilapidated old
building at Worth and Center streets
to the boes on credit. 1t had formerly
been occupied by q button factory,
which had left behind it several tons
Of white button dust. What to do with
the stun puzzled them for a time. Then
one OF their number conceived the idea
OF making sort of whitewash or call
Gimme, Of it. They did, and the place
was thoroughly renovated and made
clean. Button manufacturers formerly
paid to get this stufr taken of their
hands. Now they are selling 1t for $3
to IS a ton
The place was bare and dirty. It
Wss w ,,d cleaned: In cleaning. a great pile
was taken and sawed into lengths of
seven and one-half feet. The old, rusty
joints were screwed into shape. the
short lengths were used for legs and
cross bars. canvas swung in the middle
hammock fashion. and bed de luxe
was the result. That is Just one sample
Of Hotel de Gink ingenuity.
Work is the one big asset Of the hotel.
Its guests must work. A call comes in
man FOR few hours. A man is sent
down. He does the work, gets his nav.
puts half Of 1t In the hotel kitty" and
pockets the rest. Out Of kitty" comes
the meals Potatoes. carrots, onions,
and perhaps a little meat are bought
and dumped into huge caldron That
mulligan: Bread and coffee COM
Prise the balance OF the menu.
Shaves Come Free.
Some barber in throwing awav an old
chair became thoughtful and sent 1t to
tho Hotel de Gtnk. A towel company
caught the idea and sent down a thou
sand old towels. One Of the 2OO-odd no.
boes was a barber, down on his luck.
he Is now installed as official hotel
barber: IT costs nothing for the guest
to get his face scraped
Plumbers from their number mended
the aged heating apparatus. An engi-
heer among them Is now running II.
long haired. dreamy-eyed individual, a
that prevents him from becoming a reg
uiar physician. presides over the hos
pital supplies, which We're secured from
the city dispensary. A tailor has his
corner where the guests can get their
clothes mended free OF charge. Things
OF work We're bought from the funds
in the kitty" The coal blll the first
As a side line. the hotel is rapidly be-
coming means of returning lost
people to their relatives. Seven runa-
homes since the house was founded
How the boys came to reveal they were
runaways only jeff Davis himself
knows. He has a way of getting peo-
pies confidence and he has yet to bs
AAnA guilty of its abuse.