Evening star., 1916-07-10
THE new PILGRIMS.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

| at certain small rural hotel in south
ern New England few weeks ago was
amazed at the number Of cars in its
garage and the wide variety Of their
license tags. Being an observant auto
ist, he decided to make an inventory
of them. with the result that he dis
Union except four.
| There was nothing unusual about the
situation-no special cause to bring all
OF those motor pilgrims to that par
ticular place. OF course. southern New
England is the autoists favored rum
ming ground, but an equally represent
| ative gathering might have been
found at some point along the Santa
| Fe trail or in Yellowstone National
| Park or the North Carolina Alleghe-
| nies or any one of number of other
| picturesque sections of the United
States.
| This is a touring year in America.
| and the significance of the fact is diff
cult to overestimate. For many years
the number of persons who set out in
their own machines to see their own
country has been doubling annually.
Also. in other years, great numbers
| year that field has been closed. and
| the auto pilgrim has literally over
run his native land. greatly to the
| benefit both Of himself and the peo-
pie of his own country.
| better acquainted. This wide wander
ing across and up
Many Tourists in and down the con-
tinent does more
New England. than any other
thing to wipe out the provincial lines
between east and west and north and
south, to make a nation of us. And
pegging along the roads, stopping
where night falls. getting acquainted
| with the people and the country by
frst-hand contact will accomplish
| more along this line in a summer than
a year of observation car travel.
Again, this gasoline travel is carting
large quantities of money from the
centers of population to places where
it is less abundant and more needed.
Many a backward county has dated
its rise to a new prosperity from the
time it opened good county pike.
Tourist business Is estimated to bring
New England a hundred million dollars
a year, and more than third Of that
is brought by the autoists. The west
and the northwest are also getting
their shares. The country town that
supports one small grocery store and
three large garages is. becoming. COM
mon. The south is rapidly getting in
on the good thing. Florida has fine
set of roads already. and the other
About 1000 cars made the run south
last winter. The men that know say
the number will multiply by about five
when there are good roads all the way
hiv1o fhaf a
are getting to be recognized as i'm
portant assets. just like oil wells and
coal mines and timber. Principally.
there are four-roads' roa hoss hotels his. hn-
county that can produce and properly
advertise these things has made its
fortune.
Roads and hotels can, Of course, be
produced artfhcially almost anywhere,
but unless one or
Good Going and both Of the other
elements are pres
Good Living. ent or in the vicin-
ity these will not avail much. The
American tourist wants good going,
good living and something to go for.
His favorite objective. taking him by
and large, is a place of historical in
terest-a battlefield. one of the log
cabins where Abraham Lincoln was
born, the spot where Stonewall Jack
son fell, the ruins of Jamestown. or
the place where Pocahontas saved the
life of Capt. John Smith. large bat
tlefeld. like that of Gettysburg, for
example. well kept. dotted with monu-
ments and peanut stands, and presided
over by a decrepit and reminiscent
veteran. is perhaps the surest drawing
card. Such a battlefield will produce
more in tourist traffic in one year than
1t would in corn in half a century.
Here is something large and obvious
in the way of an attraction, something
to look at and talk about. something
Enthusiastically genuine. But If there
other good tangible antiquity. vouched
for by some historical society. prefera-
bly, having price of admission and a
souvenir stand in connection, will
serve the purpose.
Almost any state in the Union ought
to be able to produce some good point
Of historical interest that Will adver-
tise well. 1t may be said without ex-
aggeration that history has been 60
ing on for a long time almost every
where Furthermore, the educational |
possibilities of the idea are immense
Our auto roads may. in time become
Of America.
Scenery comes next to historical In |
terest as a drawing card. and this, of |
course, has been |
Scenery the Making the making of
Of the Wild West. tho weatsrn
type of scenery that takes. The tour |
ist wants good, striking scenery with |
n,apf., Of distance haiDht ana co1ar |