Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-01-29

Wn1h1m&tOn, ~ ~
80 hotel keepers expect . grand
s II tourists in the near future,
. .uSA sotels are being spruced up to
,rsst The exacting demands OF the
. according to H. 8. Va
maguchi. the japanese hotel mag
nate. :,
Japan emerges from q technical
.tsts Of war into an era OF pros
nsr;tv Its financial condition is
similar to that of the United States.
A great deal Of money Is in cir
cnlation. the value Of the yen
1eonaI to our half dollar) is les
sened. and prices are on the rise.
The visitor to Japan cannot esti-
mate his expenses on the scale OF
the cheap Jap toys and trinkets
sold ii our oriental shops and 10
cent stores. He will, il he goes to
a first class European plan hetel,
enjoy practically all the luxuries OF
a first class hotel in this country,
and the size of the bill will remind
him very much OF America
"The japanese hotel business is
going through revolutionary
period" says Mr.. Yamaguchi, who
is touring the United States to
learn innovations for his three ho-
tells. Japanese hotels have made
progress in the last five years that
we never dreamed Of" he continu-
ed. 81 have fifty tons of things in
New York now-machinery and
equipment-and l have not finished
buying
Most Of these purchases, he ex-
plains, are labor saving devices.
Japanese labor is neither SO cheap
nor SO plentiful as it formerly was.
and so motors to freeze ice cream,
chop meat, and wash dishes must
replace hand labor. even in the
orient where human service is to
be had at the lowest rates.
Five dollars . month Is the pres
ent pay for a hotel maid in Japan.
To this the management adds food
and clothing, which bring the cost
of a girl to about fifteen dollars.
The japanese maid fully earns her
salary, clothing and all. She knows
little of eight-hour agitation, but
works steadily for 10 hours, some
times longer. The sh6rt-hours'
epidemic has reached Japan, how
ever, and labor is beginning to de-
mand a 57-hour week in place of 7s
hours or longer.
II the Japanese hotel keeper re
grets the high cost Of labor, he Il
still more downcast when he con
siders food prices. Seaweed, rice
and fish are within the range Of tn,
ordinary Jap pocketbook. but tn
European hotel is expected to serv'
western food, cooked in French o.
American style. The japanese no
tel manager has to consider butte
ats cents a pound, and eggs a
FIVE cents apiece. He serves them
and his rates mount in proper Amer
lean fashion. Six dollars a day, MI
Yamaguchi tells us is now the pric
of room in the big Japanese no
tells. This includes meals, electro
lights, walters in evening clothes
regular bed, and a degree of pri
vacy nnknown to the famous ma
tive inns.
Mr.. Yanaguchi has given mucl
thought to the policy of the Japan
csc hotel Most of the guests a
the best hotels there are Americans
and the next in number are Eng
FISH.
These people," he says, Ids no
go to Japan to see the American
style of building, and still the,
want American conveniences. W,
put up hotels that shall have Jap
anese effect, but they must be sim
pie, easily cleaned, and sanitary
no elaborate carvings as in Japan
csc inns"
Western food and furniture com
bined with Japanese decoration
come as near to suiting everybod
as possible, he finds. Mr.. Yamagu
chi has visited New York's larges
hotels, and those Of Washingto
and White Sulphur Springs. He
now on his way to New Orlean.
then across the continent to River
side, Cal, and other western cite.
The results of his study will b
incorporated in his newest hote
now being built near Yokohama
The new hotel is to be a concret
! structure, six stories high, and con
tanning $50 rooms. A six-stor
building is quite a. skyscraper i
Japan, and is only made possibl