At
their peak, Pullman sleepers accommodated 100,000 people a night, which was
more than all the nation's top-notch hotels combined. That meant stocking 4,195,873
towels, 466,362 blankets, and 145,315 jackets for porters. All of which made
Conrad Hilton look like a country innkeeper and made the Pullman sleeper, in
the words of its most lyrical chroniclers, "an American institution
comparable to baseball and Congress." George had achieved his dream: he
was, as his company boasted in its ads, the World's Greatest Housekeeper. And
it was not just America that reveled in his accomplishments: in twenty
languages, Pullman defined luxury, comfort, and safety in travel.
