The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-25
A VISITOR OFFERS
PROMOTION IDEAS
Points Out the Great Effect of
the Tourist Rate on
Mainland. .

| E. A. Barnes for many years prIn-
cipal of one of the large schools il
| Chicago is now a visitor to these is
lands. For the past five years his
health has required that he spend the
winters in warm climate and he has
gone to a different region every year
He has spent a winter in Egypt and
one in Mexico. and this winter he is
| spending in Hawaii. He met Alex
ander Hume Ford in Jerusalem several
years ago and encountered him again
Honolulu. 4
81 was in Southern California, -
said Mr.. Barnes, "and I found that
though they raised oranges there, their
principal crop, after all, was tourists.
The tourists bring steady stream of
gold into the southern part Of Cali
fornia, and the people there recognize
them as a source of wealth and cul-
tivate them accordingly.
sit occurred to me that a stream
of tourists might be brought to these
islands if the same methods were adopt
ed that are used to bring them to
California. One of the chief means
used there is the tourist railway rate.
The railroads about September of each
year make a rate of $33 from Chicago
to all Pacific coast points for the win
ter, the regular rate being now about
$40. These tickets do not permit their
obac +o in nd DuJ1
man cars, but what are called tourist
sleepers are provided. In these the
accommodations are not quite so good
as in the standard Pu1lmans. But in
all other respects the accommodations
furnished are the same.
'sThe effect of these rates are that
thousands and thousands of people in
the east of all callings and business,
take advantage of them and travel
to the Pacific coast. to Southern Cali
fornia. The result is that that whole
country is built up by this immigration.
They are like bees, after rifiing the
flowers in distant places of their honey,
they deposit it all in the hive. And
what rich hoard it is may be shown
by the fact that Los Angeles, city
of say 250,000 people, has forty banks.
These people who come are not all rich
the most of them are not. But they
all come with some money. This class
of people as a rule want all they can
get for their money. As result there
are in Los Angeles, and in other cities,
whole streets built up with houses
where apartments are let at from So
to So a week. In many of them light
housekeeping privileges are accorded.
Families come out and take furnish
ed house and send their children to
school. Each one of these tourists may
not spend a great deal of money. But
each spends some, and there are sol
many. of them.
Now it occurred to me if some of
your steamship companies could be in
duced to see it to their interest at |
certain seasons of the year to make a
reduced rate and properly advertise 1t |
that some of this stream of tourist |
trade could be brought to these is
lands. The railroad companies lose
nothing by their reduction of rate. In
fact they look on it as a means of |
adding greatly to their profits.
q know that in the past the effort |
here seems to have been confined to
securing wealthy people to come here.
But other regions seeking tourists do
not so confine their Efforts