Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1899-06-24
MILLIONS FOR VACATION.
COST OF THE SUMMER OUTINGS
j TAKEN BY AMERICANS.

Financial Importance OF the Sums Spent
by the 100000 or 1O,OOO,OO) People
Who Annually Resort to seashore and
Northumberland to Europe and cities
In almost all business Offices it has
become customary for everybody, from
the head of the firm to the boy who
carries the mail, to take a vacation of
from one to four weeks. This has re-
suited in the building up of an i'm
mense business. 1t is impossible to
say exactly how many persons take
summer vacations. The term may be
made to include outings of a day or
two in which almost everybody in the
country INDUCES; but setting as q limit
o trip that occupies week or more it
is found by the New York Sun that
the number of summer vacations is
surprisingly large. Estimates place
the number between 5000, 900 and
100000.
The question that naturally suggests
itself: Where do these S,0O0,000 go?
The answer is found in the line of
summer hotels stretching along the
coasts aud dotting the lake and monnt-
lin districts, in the great gatherings
ike the Chautauqua assemblies, in
numerous rail and water excursion
ines and the immense resorts of one
kind and another, OF which every
State has it's quota. The people OF the
Eastern States have the New Jersey,
Long Island and New England coasts,
the White Mountains, the Adiron-
dacks, and the Maine woods for their
summer playground. Those Of the
middle section find recreation among
the Wisconsin aud Minnesota lakes.
Further West are the Rocky Mountain
resorts ard the Pacific States have
their special attractions in Alaska and
their own coast line. Then there are
the great religious and educational as
semblies all over the country, and there
are always trips to Europe for those
who can afford them. These various
outlets enable 100000 persons to
take their vacations without much dis
turbance or GRO wding anywhere.
There are between 1000 and &c.
900 summer hotels in the country.
They furnish employment for 300, 200
people. New York leads all the other
States in the number of these hotels,
containing something like 1000 of
them within it's borders. New Jersey
is a good second, while Maine, New
Hampshire and California have many.
The largest single resort is Atlantic
City, N. J. The ordinary population
is about $4,000. It's summer popul a.
toin varies from $4,000 to 10000
Saratoga is, or at least it wasu until re-
gently, the second on the list. Asbury
Park and Bar Harbor are among the
largest. In Atlantic City alone there
are more than 900 places Of public en-
tertainment. Estimating these hotels
to contain twenty-five rooms each,
which is modest average, there are
accommodations for between 10000
and 80. 900 guests. If the hotels are
filled to two thirds OF their capacity
and one quarter of the guests arrive
and depart each day, this one summer
resort can entertain three-quarters OF
q million people every season. The
employees who are engaged directly in
looking after the wants of the visitors
to this great summer city probably
number $4,000. Cooks, walters and
porters to the number of one third the
army of the United States are kept
busy in attending to the wants of Wis.,
itors to this one great summering
place. Not less than $50, 900, 900, the
indemnity paid to Spain, is expended
here annually for vacation enjoyment.
The same state Of affairs, on
slightly smaller scale, prevails in many
other parts of the country during the
summer season. In the Adirondacks
there are more than 1000 hotels, large
and small. There are an equal num-
Der on the Long Island coast. The
Catskills, the White Mountains and
the Wisconsin lakes show half as many.
There are 800 in Asbury Park. Com
putting these hotels to contain m aver.
age of twenty rooms each and to be
filed to two-thirds of their capacity
during the summer, the hotel bill OF
Americans on their vacations must
amount to at least 81, 100000 day
during the hot season.
In addition to the hotels there are
thousands of village and farm houses
where summer boarders are lodged
and fed. In some parts of the coun-
try nearly every family takes summer
boarders, and there are probably as
many who find entertainment in this
way as visit the hotels. The great
American summer board bill cannot
fall short of 50, 100000 week.
All over the mountain and lake dis
tricts are located camps where sum.
mer vacationists pitch their tents and
live in more or less primitive fashion.
The number OF those who spend tbe cir
outings in this fashion grows larger
every year. 1t is considerably above
the million mark now. Their cxpen-
ditures for camp outfits, provisions
and guides must aggregate $25, O0O,-
900.
Others who like the freedom of in
dependent vacation trips, but who do
not care for tho piny woods, turn to
yachting as means OF recreation. A
coasting trip on small sailboat affords
an inexpensive and delightful summer
vacation. The feet of yachts and
pleasure craft that dots the coast and
inland waters every season numbers
something like 10000 and represents
an expenditure that adds several mill
lions to the debit side Of our pleasure
account.
The Chautauqua movement has
made the vacation idea popular with
thousands who never entertained it
before. The Central Chautauqua and
its seventy-odd branches gather to-
gether from 100, ZOO to 1000, 900 per-
sons at all times during the season.
With the other educational, religious
and temperance assemblies, the Chau-
L., Ia;, e.