Evening star., 1916-07-25
Season Brings Unprecedented
Influx of Visitors to Wash
ington This Year.
EUROPEAN WAR HELPS
KEEP THEM AT HOME
"See-America- First" Movement Has
Brought People From Every State
to Seat of Government.

There have been three times as many
strangers within our gates in Wash
ington this summer as ever before, and
an amazingly unprecedented influx of
visitors from all parts of the country
for the last two months. This is the
testimony of the managers Of the many
sightseeing automobile companies. who,
If any one, ought to know. for they are
the ones who depend almost entirely
for patronage upon the tourists and
excursionists.
June and July they carried about the
National Capital to the various points
of interest to sightseers record break
ing crowds. During those months their
business is usually slack, but this sea-
son they have had practically all the
trade they could take care of. and the
prospects are that they will have all
they can do until the snow flies.
Further than that. they say that
practically all of these thousands of
persons are going back to their homes s
in all the states of the Union enthusi-
astic about Washington, determined to
come again as soon as they can and to
urge their friends at home to make the
trip. Each tourist is going out from
the capital a booster. these managers
and the nations capital promises to be
increasingly popular as vacation re-
sort.
Effect Of Road Improvement,
This opinion from the managers Of
the sightseeing lines that they have
been doing such an unprecedented
business is particularly remarkable
when it is taken into consideration
that there are now many sightseeing
lines doing business here where only
couple of years ago there were but
one or two companies taking care of
the tourists. 1t should be taken into
consideration also that. with the i'm
and the development of chain of au-
tomobile highways throughout the
country, automobile touring parties
are coming here in their own cars
more than ever before and using their
own cars to take them around the cap
ital to the various points of interest.
Frederick W. Niles. manager of the
Capital Sightseeing Company, Inc;
nearly three times as many persons
riding in our cars as ever before.
There have been innumerably more
tourists and transient visitors in the
capital 1nlS season tNdn ldSt LdSt
summer the travel here was far heavier
than previously, due partly to the fact
that the foreign travel was cut off by
the war. We then got good patronage
from people in the eastern states en-
route to or from the California expo
sitfon. August is always good
month. so we are looking forward to
seeing more people in Washington next
month than ever before The August
trade is due to the fact that people are
at NJ
mountains and practically all of the
railroads now issue stop-over privileges
at Washington to ticket purchasers.
This has been a banner year in our
business"
Similar testimony is given by John
A. Norman, manager Of the Interna-
tional Sightseeing Company. He says:
This has been the best season ever
the tide seems to run stronger. bring
ing the tourists to the capital during
the summer months. The conditions
abroad are. OF course. keeping the
people at home. and inducing them to
visit the beauty spots of their own
country. Besides this. the general
prosperity of the United States is pro-
noting travel. The munitions plants
have been making a lot of money and
many persons. This has given thou
sands of persons the wherewithal to
satisfy their native love for travel,
and we find big proportion of them
coming to Washington first. July is
usually the worst month in the year
for our business, but this year 1t has
been the best month in the history Of
our company.
More Tourists Than in Other Years.
There have been more tourists in the
capital all during the summer than
ever before. Besides the crowds that
we handle. there are an increasing
number of tourists coming in their
own cars.
I'VE have any number booked ahead
two or three months. The hotels are
all we'll filled and business is booming
for US. We are now hauling on an
average of 500 persons day. Invariably
when they are leaving our cars the peo-
pie express their delight at Washing
ton. say they are coming again and
going back home to tell their neigh
bors that Washington is the best and
prettiest city in the country. and the
best place they ever found to spend a
summer vacation"
Patrons From Many States.
Warren NJ York, manager of the
Seeing Washington" line, has also ex-
perienced unprecedented prosperity in
business this summer. "It has been a
big year." he says. I'VE are doing more
than three times what we did last year.
Our patrons are coming from all sec
tions OF the country. Some of those
who rode about Washington on our
cars last season came back this summer
with large parties of friends. There