New-York tribune., 1922-06-04

down romeWhaf, hI' tho price q
rooms in small and n.cdium-,is,i
towns IS still holding drm ad
apparently is proof against any haar rad'
observed travelling man in tho smoking room
Of Pullman that was rolling toward Nw
York.
y Oh can get accommodations % rca 0uasi
prices in the biz cities now. but in tho lizzie
towns it seems 20 be rs bad as war unes.
What's caused it? The only thing can dat
out is The motor travel thats going on mna
Of the time. II you happen 10 get on tran
late al night IN a mcdum-sizcd town on
main east and west motor highway you might
as well 20 and sleep ON n park bench ard r9l
waste time trying 10 hunt up a foom
Il hit one Of those towns a little after nt.
night this morning. knew wha. was go
ing to get and what | wasn't going TO ge, be.
fore was anywhere near the desk The pro.
prietor was not what you could call inhos.
ptable. He was hostile. 70 Sioux or Apache
could have been more so. When I inquired
about room he shook his head negatively.
Then he proceeded 90 rub il in.
ITO tell the truth, we're not catering %
commercial trade, anyway he said, as
wouldn't take any city detective or psyche
analyst to figure out that l was a travelling
salesman.
"'In that case says, can you tell me Whist
class Of trade you arc catering TO-?
ooh, we're filled up every night with auto.
mobile people, he says. And he was right
I've seen them come In, these motor tourists
hot and tired from long days grind on me
road. They're in a mood TO pay any price Tor
a room with bath. The landlord charges them
right up to the limit and does ii unblushingy
and knowing that there is no possible kick
back. These folks will be fitting on IN ire
morning and a new bunch will hit IN at ngns
to be done out Of their money In the same
bare-faced way.
"Well. coming back 10 this icy proposition
behind the counter, finally got him interested
enough in me 10 call up another hotel and ma
out If there was anything doing IN the way
OF room. He informed me that there was
so picked up my grips and tramped through
the moist spring night 70 the other hotel sew
eral blocks away.
THE landlord there wasn't any too happy
over my arrival, but he finally took me 70 an
upstairs room-one Of the kind that inevtaoy
inspire thoughts OF suicide. One OF tnose
rooms Il was with the ceiling placed high ana
with one electric light bulb glowing half heart
edly right up there in the middle Of that dingy
wallpaper. which had been applied By paper
hanger who believed in economzing in paste
The CARPET and the furniture were all IN keep
ing with the bulging wallpaper II was me
kind of room in which the sunshine from th'
most pleasant day outside would be killed oe-
fore il more than passed the window. a man
who was musically inclined might rent sSen
a room for composing new set Of blues.
"Yet when / paid for that room early tn1S
morning, after had spent a scant five hours
in il. | handed $S TO that landlord. bigh'
dollars for room with dngy paint. sagginS
wallpaper and furniture which could be pleAea
up for next to nothing at any second-nahe
store. The owners OF such hotels are h0s
making any effort to keep them in repair OF
make them attractive in the slightest way
They figure they don't have 20. The gasohne
tourists arc making life too easy. The none,
rolls into town every day on rubber tires pe.
il doesn't roll out again when the hotel keeper
has any say about it, AZ ss for s. rooms v
easy 20 figure the incomes that are pe''S
made"