The Pascagoula chronicle. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1905-1920, 1920-06-18
SHALL We BUILD
| A GOOD H0TEL?|
{. J. Ford Submits Proposition Which
With Proper Support VIII Give
City Needed Hostelry.

| nave Deen lduncneQ LOOKING 10 tne
erection of such hotel here, but
something invariably happend TO-
wreck the project. Mr.. E. J. Ford. in
a circular letter addressed to the busi-
ness interests and property owners Of
the city, now advances suggestion
which appears entirely feasible and at
the same time avoids the rocks ON
which former hotel projects have gone
to pieces.
The plan is so entirely practical and
the need of hotel SO great that every
| one having the interest Of the city at
heart should respond to the limit Of
his ability.
| Here is the plan as outlined by Mr..
| Ford:
Pascagoula, Miss, June 10. 1920.
tDear Sir:-The greatest need Of
Pascagoula today is first-class mod
ern commercial hotel. That the ne
cessity for such an Institution exists,
and that the community has long suf-
fered from its absence, is the unani-
nous opinion of our people.
"In the past, many hotel projects
have been put forward but they have
failed chiefly because in every case
the proposition began with the selec-
tion of the site. The writer believes
that any hotel movement that begins
with the selection Of site is doomed
to certain failure. Again, it has been
the disposition Of our people to await
the coming of outside capital to invest
in hotel enterprise. With many
years failure to build hotel staring
us in the face, it is manifest that
different scheme to attain success
must be adopted.
"With no desire on my part to a.
sumo the leadership in the hotel move
ment, it is nevertheless clear that un-
less some one will make the initiative
we shall not have hotel. A plan has
occurred to me which have discussed
to some extent with certain public
spirited citizens, which shall now sub
init.
LET us first ascertain how much
money towards the building OF a hotel
can be raised actually and paid in
bank. Let all subscriptions be made
in cash and be irrevocable so far as
site selection is concerned After a
| sufficient sum is in bank we can call
meeting of subscribers, select COM
mittee, and invest it with absolute au-
thority to select site, buy 1t, and
| build hotel. The scheme would con-
| template, of course, the formation Of
corporation in which the subscrib-
ers would receive stock for the amount
paid in.
Il have no definite idea as to how
much will be required to build hotel,
nor as to what size hotel we should
have, further than l believe that the
hotel should not be less than
thirty nor more than fifty rooms,
and that it could be built for not ex-
ceeding $4,000. If we can raise local
ly $35,O0O.O0, the building and lot OBJ
tanned for the amount could then be
| pledged as security for funds to COM
plete and furnish the hotel, in my
opinion.
my experience with mass meetings
| is that little is accomplished there,
and | have considered that the best
way to approach this proposition is to
ascertain from individual citizens how
much they will subscribe, and when
we have thus made substantial prog
ress public meeting can be called to
further the movement.
"The writer will subscribe 100000
toward the building of the hotel on
any lot in the corporate limits of Pas
cagoula that the committee will select.
will deposit this sum in either the
Pascagoula National Bank or the Mer-
chants & Marine Bank along with the
first subscription that is received from
any one else.
81 enclose herewith subscription
blank, and if you favor the project,
please come forward with check rep.
resenting the maximum that you will
subscribe to the project. Make the
check payable to the Pascagoula Ma
tional Bank or the Merchants & Ma
rine Bank, Hotel Project, and the
funds will be deposited in the banl
on which the check is drawn. If in
I convenient to put up cash, signif.
| how much, and in what way you will
, subscribe.
"In conclusion | desire to say tina
} scarcely day passes that the citizen
t of Pascagoula do not have occasion :
4 regret with embarrassment that W
. have no suitable hotel accommodation
!. The building of a modern. first-clas
S commercial. hotel will do more, In m
t opinion. to build up the communit
a and establish it on a firm basis OF e,
pansion than any other institution tina
y could come to us at this time.
Respectfully yours.
y "E. J. FORD"