VISITORS FROM THE DOMINIONS.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Next summer we shall see many thousands of our kith and kin from the Overseas Dominions visiting the Exhibition in London, and owing to reduced fares and extra shipping facilities it is probable this traffic will assume considerable dimensions. The question arises, How are these visitors, who for the greater part consist of men and women of moderate means, to be accommodated in London ? Are they to be left to be preyed upon by unscrupulous hotel and boarding-house keepers ?
There are many second-class hotels in the central district, and it would appear that a corner has been formed to keep up rates at 8s. 6d. for bed and breakfast ; before the War the charge was 5s., then Os. 6d. and 7s. 6d., and finally 8s. 6d., and this high charge has remained ever since. I was staying in one of these hotels the other day and had all my meals there, and the weekly bill amounted to a little over £6 a week. I maintain that the accommodation I got and the class of food provided were not worth the sum I had to pay, and I came home here feeling that I had been cheated.
I dread to think how our sober friends from the Dominions will be treated. Can nothing be done to protect them ? I am just afraid that these visitors, who are intensely loyal and proud of the Mother Country, will return to their homes with embittered feelings. When the Passion Play at Oberammer- gau was celebrated last year, all the thousands of visitors were fully provided for, board and lodging being found for all, and at very reasonable rates, and many friends of mine returned with grateful recollections of the kind treatment
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