Orleans Progress, Thursday, August 1st, 1895

THE OTHER SIDE

West Baden Springs as Seen by a Chicago Writer

The Accusations Made by the Indianapolis Sentinel
Disputed from Start to Finish.

Chicago Chronicle, July 22, 1895
West Baden Springs, Indiana, July 22 -
 
This place, long justly famed as the most attractive all-the-year-round resort in the United States, if not in the world, has recently been given an undeserved notoriety by reports which appeared in the sensational press describing it as "The Monte Carlo of America." It was charged that gambling flourished here to a degree unknown elsewhere in this country. The place was described as being overrun by gamblers, thugs, confidence men and dissolute women, brazenly flaunted their vices in the faces of reputable visitors.

To the thousands of people who have made annual pilgrimages here and are familiar with the orderly and respectable management, no denial of these sensational reports is necessary. In the case of other people who have never been here, and whose attention may have been first attracted to West Baden Springs by the grossly unfair and highly colored reports, it is deemed not inappropriate to meet these false charges by a true statement fully and fairly descriptive if this celebrated resort and its capable, gentlemanly and intelligent management.

The writer has been an occasional visitor to West Baden Springs during the past four or five years. He has watched with much interest the growth and development of the hotel and its surroundings under the liberal and artistic supervision of the proprietors, Messrs. Lee W. Sinclair and E. B. Rhodes. He has seen the building gradually transformed from a small, crude structure, with practically no accommodations beyond food and shelter, into a modern, commodious and comfortable hotel. He has watched the progress of the work of beautifying the grounds - seeing this year a grassy lawn where a swamp existed last year; or following this year a winding, romantic walk across the hills where last year the undergrowth and forest refuse made a passage impossible.

From these occasional visits the writer had acquired a thorough knowledge of the character of the management, and he was consequently greatly surprised at the publication of the reports to the effect that gambling in all its forms flourished here and that brazen women frequented the gambling tables and paraded the halls and parlors of the hotel, mingling freely with the respectable guest. He arrived here a few days after the original publication appeared, and a very slight investigation sufficed to show that the picture had been greatly overdrawn and that the story was practically without foundation in fact.

Further investigation showed that the original publication was inspired by malice and was designed for the sole purpose of driving away some of the patronage of this resort. The proprietors, in their efforts to make West Baden Springs the most agreeable summer and winter resort in the country, have encountered at every step the opposition of a powerful and selfish combination which has sought in vain to impede their progress. They have triumphed over this reckless and malicious combination so far and they will triumph over it to the end.

Conversations with guest who have been here during the past three or four weeks show that the charges about public gambling being carried on here were grossly exaggerated. Among the persons interviewed were Charles H. Wacker, Rudolph Brand, ex-Senator Duncan, of Chicago, who united in saying that the stories were highly sensational and rested on the slenderest foundation. There may have been some gambling here, but it was not conducted in the open and flagrant manner described. The "brazen women" were only the creations of the correspondent's imagination. No improper characters are admitted into this hotel. This is one of the rules which is rigidly enforced.

Public gambling is not permitted at West Baden Springs, Signs to this effect are conspicuously displayed in the halls and corridors. At the same time there is no puritanical attempt to interfere with the personal liberties of the guest. But even card playing, where no stakes are contested for, is not permitted in the bedrooms and chambers when it interferes with the quiet and comfort of other guests. But here, as in other hotels, a man may do as he please in his room so long as he does not violate the proprieties or disturb the serenity of his neighbor.

So much for the stories about gambling at West Baden Springs. They were to a large extent manufactured. A gang of confidence sharks from Chicago recently operated a gambling room in the village of West Baden which is about one half mile from and in no way connected with the Springs. The members of the gang were arrested and their business broken up, and the incident seems to have been seized upon by some irresponsible scribbler as a basis for the exaggerated stories which have been sent out concerning West Baden Springs hotel and its management. The authorities are now thoroughly aroused and there will be no further trouble about gambling at West Baden Springs.

The appellation of the "Monte Carlo of America" is not, therefore, properly applicable to West Baden Springs. The place has a title, however, which it has fairly earned and by which it is generally known. It is called "The Carlsbad of America." The title was bestowed upon it by a celebrated German physician. Colonel Fred De Funiak, the well known railroad magnate of Cincinnati, visited Europe some years ago for the purpose of taking the waters of Carlsbad. When he arrived there the physician who he consulted said to him:

Colonel de Funiak, why have you come so far to obtain this treatment? You have in the United States, in the county of Indiana, better water that we have here. I refer to the water obtained at West Baden Springs."

Colonel de Funiak upon his return reported what the German physician had said, and since that time the West Baden Springs have been known as "The Carlsbad of America." The people who are seeking health, rest and recreation will find these things here. The sufferer from dyspepsia or a disordered liver, the business man whose system is "run 		  down," the professional man who is afflicted with "that tired feeling," and the delicate woman whose life has been made burdensome by the troubles peculiar to her sex will obtain relief from the intelligent use of these remarkable waters.

There is scarcely an ailment common to humanity which will not yield in some degree at least to the actions of these waters. In all cases where the stomach, liver, kidneys, nerves and skin are involved the waters are an efficacious and unfailing remedy. Persons suffering from rheumatism, gout, neuralgia, white swelling and other disorders of the blood derive immediate benefit from the sulphur and mud baths, which are administered her by trained and competent attendants.

West Baden Springs is located in Orange County, Indiana, 278 miles from Chicago and eighty miles northwest from Louisville. They are reached from all points north and south by the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago railroad (the "Monon route"), and from points east and west by the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern railroad, which connects with the "Monon" at Mitchell, 23 miles northwest of West Baden. Round trip tickets to the Springs are sold on all railroads at reduced rates, and persons leaving Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Evansville, Vincennes, St. Louis and Terre Haute on the early morning trains arrive at the Springs the same day.

The West Baden Springs property contains 700 acres of land, cultivated in meadows, pastures, grain and gardens, and embraces a mammoth hotel, opera house. engine house, bottling house, photographic gallery, printing office, billiard hall, ten pin alleys, laundry, stables, and servants' quarters. The Springs are situated in a beautiful valley surrounded by majestic hills, adorned with noble forest trees. They are covered with handsome arbors which protect them from the heat of the sum as well as from storm, and enclose seats arranged for the comfort of guest.

The medicinal virtues of the waters have been known from a time "whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." It is a well established tradition that the waters were freely used by the Indians for the cure of diseases hundreds of years ago.

As far back as 1820 there Springs became known to the early French settlers. Old residents in this neighborhood say the curative properties of the waters have always been known. In the early days of the white settlement of Indiana, people came her to drink the waters. As there were no houses to accommodate them they camped in the forest on the hillside and caught fish from "Lost River" or shot wild game for food.

As the number of visitors increased year by year - an inevitable result because each visitor became a living advertisement of the virtues of the waters - the demand for accommodations became imperative. The first owners of the property erected a small house for the shelter of visitors. This soon gave way to a larger structure and that in turn to another still larger until by this gradual process of development the present roomy, substantial and imposing hotel was created with its modern conveniences and accommodations for almost 1,000 guest. The hotel is kept opened all the year round, and guest come and go during the winter as well as through the summer season.

About seven years ago Lee W. Sinclair, formerly of Chicago, heard of West Baden and of the remarkable qualities of its waters. Being a man of shrewd and quick perception he saw readily its inagulficent possibilities as a health and pleasure resort, and he determined to obtain possession of the Springs property. His negotiation were successful, and he soon came into the ownership of the property. From the day he secured it until the present time he has been animated by a single purpose - namely, to bring the hotel and its surroundings up to the standard which a resort with so many natural advantages deserved.. His task has been long and arduous and beset with many difficulties. He has encountered opposition from unexpected sources, but his courage and energy have at last triumphed and there is today no more popular or attractive resort in the country than West Baden Springs.

Some of the greatest physicians of the world have endorsed the medicinal virtues of these waters. The late Dr. Gross, of Philadelphia, who visited the Springs in 1874, declared the waters to be of great value as "an eliminator of diseased conditions of the system." He said further: "I have had opportunity to test various medicines and the various mineral waters of Europe and this country, and I am free to confess that as an eliminator of diseased conditions of digestive organs, the stomach, liver and kidneys, and as a healing agent to the mucus membrane lining the alimentary canal these waters are certainly superior to any curative agents I have ever prescribed. The range of their adaptability is so great that it is indeed wonderful."

There are now about 400 visitors at the Springs. While the waters may be used with beneficial results at any season, they undoubtedly have their best effect in summer, because during that season the opportunities for outdoor exercise are more abundant. the names of thousands of leading professional and business men throughout the country could be given as references, and all would gladly testify if called upon to the virtues of these waters, but it is considered unnecessary.

A large number of visitors come here annually from Chicago. The city by the lake is to be congratulated that it has within easy reach such a magnificent health resort as West Baden Springs has proved to be. While many thousands of Chicagoans have availed themselves of the benefits to be derived from these waters, there are many other thousands who, though needing the waters, have never tried them. To them and the other afflicted ones of the earth the writer desires to say: "Come to the West Baden Springs; give the waters a fair trial, and, my word for it, you will never regret it."
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