The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-26

would be an interesting psychologio experience if the man or woman who thinks that the managers of European tours have an easy time could exchange brains for a short time with these busy ones who ehaperon parties through Eu- rope.
 The fact that foreign travel is increas- Ing each year and that large parties of American tourists, chaperoned by expe- rienced travellers, annually leave these shores for a tour" of Europe naturally lends interest to what may be termed the essentials of the successful chaperon.
 There is evidently no decline in the pop ularity of these summer tours in foreign lands" personally arranged and conduct ed by persons who know the map of Eu- rope as unerringly as the business man knows the route to his office. The suc- cessful chaperon to all appearances has easy sailing, and if she has any woes the members of her party are kept in bliss ful ignorance. But there is a vast amount of detail work that falls on the chaperon in arranging her foreign tours. Just what these duties and responsibilities in- volve is not generally taken into con- sideration. The business side to any en- terprse is the stupid and uninteresting part as far as outsiders are concerned and yet, as in every properly managed enterprise, success depends upon method.
 It was Addison who said that notwith- standing faculty be born with us there are several methods of cultlvating and improving 1t. So that these superior ones who are born with a faculty of directing enterprises and who are capable of rush. ing across continents with parties of twenty and thirty persons and returning them safely to their native land have possibly several methods of doing it.
 The successful chaperon is now com peting her arrangements for the summer tour" It will be inferred that men are no longer eligible for this position The bright and clever American woman has cornered the market, and it is an undis- puted fact that as a chaperon of the tourists parties that annually cross the Atlantic the American woman Is without a rival.
 The agents of the steamship companies admit this to be a fact, and are eager to arrange bookings a year in advance of the date of sailing. This tells its own story of the business ability of the Amer iean woman who Is making the European tour possible to many people who would otherwise know little of foreign travel
 Of the bright women whom the diff ferent lines book annually for the Eu- ropean tour there is no one better known in the south than Mrs Zac Smith of Bir- mingham, who with a small and select party, will make her sixth annual tour in June.
 The party will sail from New York Sat urday, June 27, on the Waldersee of the Hamburg American line, and will be made up of people from Memphis, s Chattanooga, Little Rock, Birmingham, Montgomery. Mississippi and Los An geles.
 England, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary and &sermany will be visited.
 E Mrs. Smith may be taken as an ex- 1nple of the successful and ideal chap sron. She knows Europe from one end b the other, and her experience in the management of tours places her in the front ranks.
 What are the essential clements of the successful chaperon?" was a ques- ton recently asked Mrs. Smith.
 There are several elements which contribute in a specific way to the suc- cess of the personally conducted foreign tour" she replied. ITO begin with, the tour must be carefully and intelligently planned, This requires on the part Of the proposed manager information and experience, and a pronounced ability to visualize that Is. one must be able to see all the places to be visited as panora- ma before the mental vision, in order to secure the correct arrangement and due proportion.
 "The outline of the tour "continued Mrs. Smith, must be systematic and well balanced; with a due economy al- ways of time and energy. There must be no unnecessary retracing of travelled ground, no night travel, no undue ex- penditure of the strength of the tourist when convenient cab will conserve the nerve force. Equally important is the distribution of the specified time in order that every precious moment may be util- ized to the best advantage. Oftentimes serious mistakes are made by the unex- perienced by prolonged stays at unimpor- tant places
 '.The conscientious manager too, must make a judcous selection in planning the trip. A first tour should be compre- hensive and give to one as wide a sur vey of all Europe as is possibly consist ent with distinct and vivid impressions of each place. And finally the necessary rest-days must not be overlooked, when relaxation, the neglected diary and let ter-writing form the order of the day.
 This, you see, is but the first step, when the tour is all planned then the necessary arrangements must be made and accommodations secured.
 If definite goal is necessary in the problem of success in life generally, it is more specifically true In regard to the successful tour abroad. For foreign travel is constantly increasing each year. and as the vast majority of tourists sail during the month of June and return in September if one would secure the best accommodations, 1t is necessary to form ulate ones plans almost a year in ad- vance. When all this is satisfactorily ac- complished and you have your definite goal in view. It is time then to look around and see who will join you in your pleasant plans.
 sIn organizing the party, of course care must be used in order that each member will be congenial; experience soon makes this part easy and assures the happiest results.
 'At first the organization of a party is