Omaha daily bee., 1919-02-26
Wmterinqin "Sanng Lands"

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Ponce De Leon never sought after the foun-
tain of youth more assiduously and more hope
lessly than does the American tourist for a spot
within the confines Of the United States where
he may find climate that permits of the wear
ing Of duck trousers and canvas shoes in the
winter time. Lured by railroad folders depict
ing the most tempting tropical scenes where
palm trees and surf bathing abound he travels
to Florida or Southern California only to find
unusual seasons" of uncomfortabiy cold morn
ings and evenings with utterly inadequate heat
ing provisions. But hope springs eternal in
the human breast" and winter finds thousands
upon thousands of middle aged and old people
sitting on the park benches to enjoy the sun
shine in the middle OF the day in Los Angeles
They look homesick and you can read on their
faces their unexpressed thought and that is
What wouldn't we give to be home again"
You meet thousands and thousands of people
on the streets of Los Angeles who do not know
where they are going, standing in long lines
before the cafeteras, reading the bills pf fare
trying to pick out 81 meal for IS cents. Los
Angeles is the habitat of the cafeteria and it
admirably, fills the requirements of the floating
population that lives in rented rooms, 1t is
amusing to note the embarrassment of your
friends who are living at first class hotel when
you meet them in the cafeterias and listen to
their lame excuses for being found at those
places instead of the hotel dining room.
There are many excellent little restaurants
where you are served with well-cooked dinner
OF five courses with pint bottle of California
wine for one dollar. These places are run
mostly by Italians and will be bard hit when
national prohibition is put into effect
As may be expected in a place where in
valids from all over the United States go to pro-
long their lives the diet crank runs riot here.
1t is the home of back-to-nature fads, raw fruit
and vegetable disciples and lot of the people
you meet look as though they lived largely on
the wonderful climate. Then again having
nothing to do but dwell on their personal all
ments it is rich field for the different religious
beliefs by which you jolly yourself into think
ing that there is nothing the matter with you
Christian Science flourishes here as nowhere
else. Every religious belief seems to be repre-
sented. Theosophists abound, New Thought
disciples meet you in the streets, here and there
you find gray-haired old man in the park car
rying a pacard with the announcement hat he
has found new religion and you hear him
arguing with tourist hoping to make him
convert.
The moving picture industry of Los An
geles compares favorably in the invested cap
ltai and number of people employed with the
packing industry of Omaha. The entire city of
Los Angeles, which always takes its census
when the greatest number of tourists are in
town, is movie struck. The movie heroes and
heroines attract more attention than did the
crowned heads of Europe before the war These
movie people seem to keep the devil busy find
ing novel and entertaining things for idle hands
70 do. You Will see more people on some of
the narrow downtown streets of Los Angeles
than any other place in the world The city
OF Los Angeles is an overgrown country vii
lage and If we were still in the horse age in
stead of the horseless the streets around the
parks would be congested with cab horses eat
ing out OF nose bags.
If the Burlington railroad had as miserable a
depot in Plattsmouth as the Salt Lake road has
in Los Angeles, Cass county would have a
lobby in Lincoln that would block ali egisla-
ton until the railroad commissioners were
forced to give them a decent and satisfactory
station. Los Angeles is apparently without the
first trace of civic pride. Their public library,
which is good one, is on the upper floor of a
business block. Not one of the citizens / asked
in Los Angeles could tel me where the public
library was. 1t seems to be successfully hidden
and it would be an ideal place for fugitive
from justice to hide. They have no municipal
auditorium, their Chamber of Commerce is
housed in dark rented quarters and their post
office would disgrace southern city of $4,000
inhabitants. Their hotel facilities are entirely
inadequate to take care of the tremendous in
f1ux of winter tourists that come to spend
January or February there. It looks as though
they expected the tourists to live on the climate,
outdoors in the parks. In the words of the old
song, ITS all right in the summer time, but o!
how different in the winter time"
In marked contrast to the lack of civic pride
are the splendid monuments in the way Of banks
and business buildings you see there. The sky
scraper bank buildings, with their luxurious,
capacious banking rooms. are as fine as any
thing in the country and show worthy APP
probation of the immense deposits that are the
wonder of the world.
As may be expected, the moving picture
theaters are the finest to be found anywhere.
They have immense, we'll lighted, finely stocked
dry goods stores and department stores hardly
eXcelled in New York or Chicago. Their mar
ket places with the tempting displays Of fruits,
vegetables, fish and meats, and the many places
where you can buy cooked food of all kinds, are
of unfailing interest to the tourist The cost of
living in Los Angeles is notceably less than in
Omaha.
We experienced little earthquake while in
Los Angeles, just enough to rattle the dishes
Even those of US who had never experienced an
earthquake before did not have to be told what
had happened, but it was not enough to
brighten any one.
When Mexico becomes a protectorate OF the
United States, tourists will discover that the
CITY Of Mexico is the best winter resort in the
world and the bottom will fall completely out
of the tourist trade of southern California and
Florida, because, within a couple of hours ride
of the City of Mexico you can get any degree
of heat that you wish. The temperature OF the
| City of Mexico does not vary IS degrees the
whole wear round, and the natural attractions
! of scenery, peon life, the monuments and his
torical spots, will make the City of Mexico the
| mecca of the winter tourist in the near future
Omaha, Feb II. F. L. HALLER.