Evening star., 1936-09-29
Capital Should Have a
Proper Convention Hall
To the Editor OF The Star:

To the Editor Of The star:
Please accept the hearty thanks of all
the hotels in Washington for your recent
editorial about the lack Of appropriate
convention and banquet facilities in the
Nations Capital.
The importance of our city nationally
and internationally; the magnificence of
our architectural masterpieces; the dig
nifty of our country's shrines here; the
beauty of our parks and boulevards; all
these receive deserved tribute from the
visitors to our city.
A consistent high thought has moved
through all the plans for the city's COM
pleteness; that all that is done shall
have the approval of the individual
visitor. The desire for this separate
approval is laudable and the sojourner
here experiences an enchantment Pc
| culiarly memorable.
No civic consideration though has at
any time been given to the comfort and
pleasure Of large groups of individuals
meeting at one time and necessarily in
one place. At this point our national
| and local responsibility breaks down. In
every particular excepting for the miss
ing auditorium the city of Washington is
| perfect convention city.
What explanation is there excepting
| that no one has sufficiently cared?
Should not then the humiliating recol-
| lection of the strange hybrid banquet of
the third World Power Conference be
sufficient to cause a determination on
the part of those officials of our Govern
| ment who have responsibility to us
| and our civic leaders who should be con-
| cerned, that an auditorium adequate in
every way will without delay be erected?
Nor is 1t only for the benefit of the
| visitor elsewhere that such an edifice is
| needed. The use of such an edifice for
| sports, attracting large attendances and
community gatherings, would bring a
community benefit.
And so we are found wanting in an
| important appointment necessary for a
| proper hospitality to large gatherings,
| guests of the city and to serve them
with the dignity rightfully expected of us.
| Call the roll Of large gathering essen
tials and hear the answers:
| City hospitality Here
transportation Here
| Hotels Here
| Civic order and sanitation Here
| A place to meet Absent
Washington. city of charm and dig
nifty, with places of interest and national
| shrines inspiringly beautiful; city that
captivates the imagination of all who
| come from other lands; surely such q
| city. wherein nothing has been spared
| to demonstrate our love Of the beautiful
and to indicate the permanence and
| power Of our national purposes, should
| quickly remedy situation which COM
| pels our citizens and visitors from other
| shores to partake of their food at q
banquet of international scope and rela-
| tionship in the concourse Of a railroad
station because we have failed to make
| proper provision for such an occasion
| The presence of such an auditorium
would not only serve to meet the need
| for that, but would result in creating
civic occasions because the facility for
| that is available. Our community shame
| Is the greater because it is so that every
large city in the United States has such
an edifice.
There is rightful place in this mes
sage about the loss OF revenue to the
city's commercial interest because we
cannot invite gatherings to Washington
Of size greater than q certain number.
The support Of our citizens is asked
in such action as may be taken to the
end that suitable auditorium be erected
without delay.
EDWARD w. MARTIN,
President, Hotel Association, Washing
ton, D. c.