The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-06-23
TOLEDO PREPARING
FOR CROWD AT FIGHT
1t Is Expected That $4,000 Visitors Will
Be in That City for the Willard
Dempsey Bout and That 10000
viii Stay Over Night.

Toledo, O.. June 23.This city must
grapple with difficult housing problem
in preparing for the enormous crowd ex-
pected here to witness the heavyweight
championship contest between Jess vii.
lard and Jack Dempsey July 4. With
seating capacity estimated at about So
900 in the arena, it is estimated that at
least 10000 visitors will be in Toledo
the day of the bout. OF these about
one third, or 10000, are expected to be
in the city over night
Toledo itself is a city OF about 100000
population and even in normal times the
hotel accommodations are inadequate
The city boasts of II hotels of 100 or
more rooms capacity and 10 more Of so
rooms or better The two biggest ho-
tells have been sold out for the last
six weeks Nearly all the other larger
hotels have reservations calling for their
full capacity. The smaller hotels are
filing more slowly, but unquestionably
will be occupied to capacity long before
July 3.
All the hotels plan to install extra cots
and beds in the rooms. A fiat rate of SIS
{
dozen beds in each room, has been estab-
lished as the minimum. Only few
newspapermen, who have been on the
scene month or more, will be permitted
to occupy rooms alone. Other guests
will be obliged to share their rooms with
as many persons as the management sees
fit to provide beds for.
Estimates place the total bedding &C.
commodations in the hotels at a dis
crepancy of 10000 beds for the number
of persons expected to spend the night
of July in Toledo.
Ad Q. Thatcher, a Toledo sportsman,
is the leader in the enterprise to pro-
vide sleeping accommodations for this
overflow Thatcher and several associ-
ates have obtained leases on a number
of vacant buildings in the downtown
district and for the last month have
been installing cots. The two largest of
these buildings, the terminal building
and a fiye-story structure formerly oc-
cupied by Toledo's largest department
store, viii provide room for 5000 and
$500 cots, respectively, while others
probably will have room for another
1000 beds.
Thatcher and his associates are in
stalling cots formerly used in army can.
tonments All bedding for the tempo.
rary sleeping accommodations is being
rented from Chicago, linen for 10000 cots
having been secured by the Toledans.
Probably 10000 beds will be ready by
July 3, which leaves only 1000 extra
sets" for any emergencies which are
bound TO arise.
Lodging houses are preparing to do a
| land office business. Like many other
American cities, Toledo has outgrown its
| housing accommodations in the last few
years, due to the great industrial growth
and rooming quarters are none too plen,
| tiful even in normal times. Keepers of
! lodging houses are planning to double up
their regular guests to make room for
the expected influx Of visitors
Toledo is within a short train distance
of many large cities and hundreds Of
persons will stop over night in these
cities, coming to Toledo only in time for
the contest. Hundreds, perhaps thou
sands. of persons will stay all night in
Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, all with
in few hours ride of Toledo.
Pullman and steamer accommodations
cannot be counted upon. The United
States railroad administration has ruled
that it cannot permit the boxing contest
TO interfere with train movements vital
to the rehabilitation of returning troops
and has already cancelled permits for
many special trains which had been
planned for the contest. Persons who
were planning on making the trip on
these special trains will, therefore, have
to come to Toledo before the bout and
will add to the crowd of visitors here.