The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-10-02
TOURIST SEASON.
Record j re a kin 6
Business in This
Section.
WATER TRAVEL IMMENSE.
Big Gains on the Steam
and Electric
Roads.


of business on tourist account and, so
far as receipts have been computed, the
season stands as a record breaker. At
no time since the worlds fair in Chicago
have so many people patronized the
various rail lines in and out of Boston
and New England as were transported
during the past summer.
Saturday was the first time since
about the middle of June that the ticket
sellers at the two great railroad stations
in Boston have had moments rest
during the busy hours of the day.
An official Of the South station, Bos-
ton, said Saturday morning at the time
of the departure Of the Colonial express:
This is the only morning for the past
three months that I have not seen a
struggling crowd about the windows of
the ticket offices. 1t is apparent that the
big rush is over While ! have only a
vague idea of the amount of the re-
ceipts taken at this station. know that
they have gone well up into three fig
ures each day during the past eight or
ten weeks"
To one who is familiar with the scenes
in the broad midway of the South sta
people seen there Saturday morning, as
compared with the hurrying crowds
during the vacation season. was
marked.
At both the inward and outward bag
gage rooms the decrease Of business
was noticeable. 1t is now possible to
care for the effects of passengers within
the spaces allotted for the storage of
trunks, handbags, baby carriages and
IL. c-fe afs ~ axf01s-
flow upon the platforms, as was the case
when the outward rush was at its
height and the returning tourists were
f1ocking back to their homes. Trains are
now run to the seashore with normal
amount of equipment instead of being
overweighted or dispatched in sections.
1t is also possible at this time to secure
a seat in drawing room car without
telegraphing a week ahead for accom-
modations and then frequently being in
formed that it was not possible to Sc
cure a reservation for still another
week.
From the North station, Boston, come
similar reports of an extraordinary sea-
SON. The occasions have been many
when the parlor car equipment has been
nowhere near sufficient to meet the de-
mands of the travelling public, and v
the truth were known, it would show
that several thousands of dollars have
slipped through the fingers of the man
ayers of the Pullman company because
of the shortage. The fact that the Bos-
ton and Maine set back for a week the
usual time for putting in its excursion
rates to the mountains Is evidence that
the season has been of great activity.
Even now, il Is said, that hotel accom-
modatio1s in the hill districts of New
Hampshire are far from being a drug
in the market, and while the landlords
manage, III some way, to care for their
guests ii has been necessary up to now
to telegraph ahead for accommodations.
The New England lines are not the
only ones that have profted by the re-
markable season now rapidly drawing
to a Close. 1t was learned at the local
office of the Burlington system, yester-
dav morning, that receipts on passenger
account during the month of September
were greater than for like period at
any previous time since the road has
had an office in this city, and the same
holds good in the case of all the other
great systems of the west. Thousands
of people from that section flocked to
the east during the heated term to es-
cape the whiting temperature Of sum-
mer and seek relief at New England's
delightful seashore resorts, or enjoy the
cooling mountain breezes Other thous-
e~tlOo nav NOlllS up lIOtl LIE
like localities along the north and south
shores, or sought out the numerous
charming valleys and slopes in northern
New Hampshire.
Heretofore, this class of patronage
has been largely confined to the veal
thy classes, but this year it has been
composed in great part of the so-called
middle class, The prospect that good
times We're to be continued made them
~ -
ate part of their incomes to q few
weeks enjoyment away from home
During the past few seasons they were
timid of the future and economical
wherever it was possible to save a pen
ny. This loosening of purse strings was
also noticeable al the various cottage
districts within easy reach of the city
Without exception they report a sea-
son of bountiful patronage, and in
many cases it is said to have been far
inexcess of anything heretofore known
Winthrop has been overrun and the
lucky landlords have reaped an unusu-
ally satisfying harvest in that prices
were increased and even at the higher
figures it was not at all times possible
to meet the demands of patrons.
While the rail lines have revealed in
a business heretofore unequalled. the
water transportation companies. In
most cases, have had similar expert
ence. Traffic between Boston and Var
mouth and Halifax, N. s., and. Port
Hawksbury, G. B., and Charlottetown.
P. z. l., has never before reached the
figures made this season Through
the activity of advertising agents and
the addition of new equipment eoual
to that Of the transatlantic companies
wide interest in the Provinces has been
awakened, and thousands of tourists
who heretofore had only a vague idea
OF what these dependencies of England
offered in the way of recreation and
novelty, have sought them out and ad-
ded new experiences in their lives.
Another form of tourist travel is
that by electric car, and inquiry shows
that 1t has been greater the past sea
son than ever before. The delights of
this method Of transportation where
1t is desired to make a study of the
many charming rural localities
throughout the state have come to be
generally known, and the patronage on
this account has added thousands of
dollars to the treasures Of the trolley
lines. It Is now a common practice for
a party of five or six to start out on
weeks excursion, continuing their
journey from town to town and from
state to state. and familiarizing them
selves, as they could in no other way,
with the characteristics of secluded
settlements, the beauties of wooded
tracts, and stretches of waving grain. |
the exquisite vistas of canopied high
ways, and the enhancing panorama Of
farmhouses with yards studded with
consultations Of brightest blooms.
In a word, the season that has now
practically come to an end may be
classed as a. record breaker both in |