The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-06-05
.WHA1 BIG Reunion
DID FOR RICHMOND.
Opcn-lIandcd Hospitality Repaid
i in Many Benefits Reaped from
Presence Of Veterans Here.
ABOUT 10000 VISITORS.
About One Fourth Of This Mum.
Der Made Trip to Jamestown
Exposition.

. n = q g
According to tho best information
that can be obtained from the records (
of the various headquarters, from the
railway offices and from the hotel reg
listers. 1t is now practically certain that
tho Confederate Reunion brought to
Richmond not fewer than 10000 WIS.,
itors OF one kind and another. They x
came from every part of the South, and
not n few from other sections Of the ~
country. Leaving out of consideration
the open handed h"-:.!.ality Of the
Richmond people, who delighted to
serve and honor the men who fought
for the South, and looking at the whole
matter from a purely commercial point
of view, a few figures that, however,
are simply estimates may not be out
of place. It seems fair to presume
that each of the $4,000 people brought
with him some money to spend while he
was here The expense account Of
many of them proba bly, ran far up into
the hundreds, but then there were
many others of the old soldiers who
came with the expectation OF spending
very little, and they were not required
to do more. Taking 1t 'by and large"
It Is q very conservative estimate to
say that the average expenditure of the
10000 people was $500 per capita. At
that estimate, the AMOUNT of money
that came to Richmond from all over
the earth was something like 100000.
1t Is more than likely. that the estimate
of $500 per head Is too small, and it
may be that the total amount added
to the revenues of Richmond dealers
of one kind and another is not less I
than half million dollars, or even
more.
increase In Trnde.
of this money went into the tills OF
the hotels and the restaurants, but
LIT got into the Richmond channels Of
trade all the same, for the hotel men !
and the restaurants can't keep it. To
be ready to serve the hosts who called
upon them these institutions had to-
start out with big orders on the gro-
cerymen and all kinds of other dealers
| In eatables and drinkables.
Room-renters. boarding house keen
crs and all kinds of people benefited
1by tho reunion. The transfer COM
|pnnies, the street car lines. the shoe
sinners, the newspapers, the pretty
much erything in the city came In
! for increased revenues, and but few
were disappointed. &
Inquiry among the retail dealers In
various and sundry kinds of goods re-
|veals the fact that their daily receipts
were much larger during the reunion.
5|perod tEan for corresponding days Of
former weeks of late date. Indeed
there Is not a house III the city. great
or small, that has not in some way
|felt the financial benefits of the great
gathering of people here during the
|reunion.
The Broad Street merchants admit
that they had much out-of-town trade
hi II ,f ,iro To-
and North Carolina people, who love
Ito shop in Richmond anyhow, and
never lose an opportunity to come to!
\ this city to buy dry goods. notions
shoes, nicknacks and what not The
cheap railway, rates offered during res
union week brought to town many peo-
pie who came merely to shop. III
4 b.; a Confederate reunion or any thing
i else that bring many people who will,
j stay several days Is a good thing for
a progressive city like Richmond.
Helped Expedition.
It has been said that the Increased
attendance, upon the reunion this year
i was In a measure due to the James,
town EXposition; that many Veterans
! who wanted to see the exposition came
i to the reunion more for that purpose
4 than otherwise, thus killing two birds
4 with one stone.
4 A careful reading Of the railway and
4 steamboat records pertaining to travel
In and out Of this city for the past few
days seems to indicate that the boot
4 1t on the other leg. The data now at
i hand leads ono to believe that the
A exposition has proilted by the fact that
the reunion was in Richmond It is es-
4 tinated that ut least 20. 600 OF the peo-
4 plc who came to the reunion extended
Z their journey to Underwater to see the
!, exposition. 1t is also estimated that
I half of these would not have made the
. journey to the exposition IL they had
not been first attracted to Virginia by
4 the reunion.