The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-07-03
le ocean is shattered as
ships, and shall be
other side before
pennants fly.
lAC,,r
SOME TOURISTS

SOME TOURISTS
liable to suppose that .
people will be in Florida
Fuel is going to be-
Ugh priced in the northern
people who can come south
cold months are going to
+ viii be seen by the letter
assistant director of rail-
Senator Fletcher, which was
in yesterdays Star, there is
ention of cutting off transporta-
to the south. There may be
trains. they will run more slow
and won't have so many Injuries,
Mt they will bring the people. Also,
thousands and thousands, more than
\ ever, will come in autoes.
\ .Ocala should try to obtain its share
Hof this tourist travel. 1t is true that
Ocala isn't tourist town. 1t has
/ few Of the things that the average
tourist is supposed to want. On the
other hand, it is a city of homes and
homelike places. and could make the
average winter visitor more cornfor-
table than many mere pretentious
places.
How to attract visitors is the ques-H
ton. Ocala has tried many plans
entirely too many and none OF them
| have panned out well. Some would, If
they had been followed up steadily,
but it has been the fault of our peo-
pie in this matter to try anything only
once. They make stab at it and
quit. Ocala, like most other Florida
towns, has paid for much advertising
that was no use to it. It's our opinion
that few hundred dollars in space in
the Saturday Evening Post and Coun-
try Gentleman would do more good
than anything else. These advertise
ments should be written by competent
ad. writer's. who know how to put
much in little space. The town should
not waste any more of its money on
brewers of cheap balloon juice like
Mrs.--we forget the ladyss name
who worked our board of trade last
season.
The gist of the advertising should
be that Ocala is quiet, pretty,
|homelike town, with pretty country
and reasonably good roads around it,
good hunting and fishing, and every
thing at reasonable price. And the
citizens should make sure that the
sreasonable price" part of the state
ment was made the truth. People who
charged extortionate rates for rooms
and meals should have their names
published.
A friend Of ours who has been
around quite much, and has some
practical ideas. makes the following
which seems to us like sensible sug-
kestions:
We should have an organizations
DE board Of trade, if it can be arous-
IA out of its droxsiness which
hould appoint a comIaittee, and the
committee one member as special
manager to look after tourist affairs.
There should be a bureau Of informa-
jon preferably located at room in
bne Of the hotels-to look out for the
interests of such visitors who are UNI
ble to pay hotel prices for the sea-
on--to find r0olcs and board for
Them, and see thai they were not
bver-charged.
An open lot should be found some
where, cleared. fitted with benches,
Ables and swings, checkerboards and
roquet grounds a place where the
tisitors might resort in open-air
weather. Other cities have such
places, and they are filed with people
bn clear days. 1t is such as our park
would be if it was finished but we
lon't think it will be until the war is
ver.
Money should be raised to pay q
band to give a concert at least one
vening in the week at the bandstand.
t would not be possible to get up
band such as that we. had a few
kears ago, but smaller one could be
Employed to give concerts, part OF
which could be used to promote dane
ng on the paved streets If people
wanted to indulge.
This practical friend of ours has
cen these things tried in other towns
-he has also seen tourists paying
We dollars q piece for cots in the
itchens in such towns Nothing that
proposes would cost much and il
ould all be practical.
# this undertaking is entered on, il
ould be the more likely to succeed
the executive part of the manage
Aent was put in the hands of some
hergetic and diplomatic business
pan, who could give most of his time
it. There are two or three such II
pwn, but it is useless to suggest them
Mess disposition is shown to cap
out the work.
Now that the council has elected
be Caldwell manager, it should give
e two engineers at the plant more
oney. The salaries the city pays
ese two men are q disgrace to it