Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1893-05-10
Foreign Visitors Counted on for Not Less
Than &2oO,aOO,OOo.

Foreign Visitors Counted on for Not Less
Than $500, 100000.
The total amount of money which
foreign visitors to the Worlds CO.
lumbar exposition will spend in the
United States will doubtless be great,
but hardly as great as some enthusi-
astic calculators imagine. One
optimist, not long since, placed the
amount to be brought to this country
by the fair at 100000, 900, in addition
to Si0O,00O,000 to be spent by Ameri-
cans who would remain at home this
summer instead of going abroad.
Both these estimates, says the Bos-
ton Transcript, seem to us to be ex-
cessively high, and based upon incor-
rect assumptions. 1t is not likely that
the average visitor to Chicago. either
American or foreign, will spend over
500 in that city, and relatively few
foreigners will spend over 5000 else
where in the country. We also doubt
If over 100000 foreigners will be
brought to the United States by the
fair alone; that is to say, 100000 who
would not come were it not for the
fair. At $500 apiece this would give n
result of $50, 900, 900 as the amount ex-
pended in this country by foreigners
brought here by the exposition. Some,
it is true, after coming a great dis
lance, would probably spend several
weeks here, but, on the other hand,
large numbers will come under the
guidance of tourist agencies, etc, or
in clubs. The latter plan is already
being adopted to some extent, par
ticularly in England. These will
spend relatively little money in the
United States. AS to the influence of
another cholera outbreak, while it
would of course, diminish travel all
the world over, it would tend to send
what travel there was to this CONT
nent, if we keep free OF the epidemic
as last year.
As for the amount that Americans
who would otherwise have gone
abroad will spend, very thoughtless
error seems to have been made by the
calculators. They have adopted the
apparently reliable estimate, made
some years ago, that $50, 900 was
annually left abroad by our globe
trottlng countrymen, and by adding
S50,000,000 as the increase in late
years, have assumed that 500, 600 600
will be retained in the United States
owing to the reduction during the
Columbian year in the annual exodus
to Europe. But herein lies a serious
error. 1t seems to be forgotten that
both the exposition visit and the Eu-
ropean trip may be accomplished with
ease in the same year. Comparatively
few of the travelling Americans will
spend month or even two weeks in
Chicago during the fair, and their
European outing will thus not be seri-
ously interfered with. We doubt if
there will be a reduction of more than
10 per cent. in the number of Ameri-
cans who annually go abroad.
On the whole we think that 5000. 600.
600 is a much more reasonable esti-
mate of the amount of cash which will
be brought to or retained in this coun-
try owing to the exposition than dou-
BILE That amount, which the enthusi- |
asts claim. Two hundred millions of
dollars, however, in hard cash will be |
a great addition to our ready wealth.
and, even emitting the untold indirect
additions which will follow, it will
make the exposition assuredly pay
ing investment.