The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1920-12-09
Plans Are Being Made for
Attraction Of Tourists
Next Summer
SEVERAL HOTELS ARE -
ITO BE CONSTRUCTED
Community Enterprises Might
Take Place of Last Years
Carnival Fairs

St. Paul, Mimi, Dec. S.-Every
county in Minnesota' and practically
every city and town in the state al
ready is planning to take care of 1921
tourist travel, and a number of cities
-"with hive commercial clubs" as
several banks expressed twill
spend substantial sums for the con-
venience and attraction of automo-
bile travellers.
Activities of the. Ten Thousand
Lakes association caused many busi-
ness men to erealize that Minnesota
had only to advertise her scenic re-
sources to attract tens of thousands
of visitors to the state during the
spring, summer and fall. Summer
resort hotel-keepefs informed bank
ers this season, that an impressive ma
jority of persons who spent their va
cations in Minnesota for. the first
time, declared they would be regular
visitors in the future. Many bust
ness men, who motored through the
state during the summer, returned
to hunt or to fish.
This information was obtained dur
ing the past week from bankers in
every section Of the state by the
Merchants National bank of St. Paul,
for it's weekly. review. The question
naire sent, to bankers, read:
"What plans are being made, or
have been made, for road building in
your vicinity during 1921? Is there
to be any trunk line or arterial
work? What special plans are being
made for 1921 tourist trader Is your
community establishing tourist infor-
nation booths@or other conveniences
for automobile visitors? :
It was noticeable that activities al
ready started were, for the greater
part, in cities adjacent to summer
attractions. Several hotels are to be
built, others are to be enlarged and
at least two that were burned this
year will be replaced by modern
inns. Garage keepers in every city
plan to establish unofficial inforna-
ton booths;" chambers of commerce
will have official headuarters for
travellers, and number of bankers
declared that their institutions might
be regarded by strangers as places
to seek information regarding local
Or county resources, or regarding
roads and tourist conveniences>
= Some cities are erecting, or pre-
, pairing to erect, advertising signs
along important highways leading in
to their cities. Immediately after
the first of the year, quite a number
of chambers OF commerce or business
mems associations will hold meetings
to consider effective programs to at
tract summer visitors and to provide
conveniences for them.
The Merchants National bank OBJ
tanned the following local and gen
eral data from authoritative sources
Ramsey county authorities report
that in this county plans are being
made to spend approximately $1,235,-
900 for road work. According to the
present scheme there will be II miles
of concrete road work; II miles of
grading and crawling, and a miles
of tarvia surfacing during 1921. Ac-
cording to plans at the state highway
engineers Office, Minnesota, next
year, probably will see 120 miles of
paving, 500, miles of graveling and
600 miles of grading on trunk lines.
1t is planned, also, in the entire state
to do 1000 miles of grading and 800
miles of crawling on secondary ar
terial roads.
est. Paul, as headquarters Of the
Ten Thousand Lakes association, al
ready is doing some work on the
1921, campaign for tourists. Book
let's now are being distributed in
Iowa and Illinois, and it is probable
that, with the betterment Of roads
next year, there will be an increased
number of tourists visiting Mime.
sofa"
One interesting development noted
is that most of the larger cities of the
state are planning to maintain bands
and to have concerts one or several
nights a week. Newspapers are sup.
porting the plan and in some places
popular subscriptions have been start.
ed. American Legion posts also are
active. Visitors made voluntary con-
tributions last summer.
In this connection it was noted that
community enterprises probably viii
take the place of carnival attractions
which visited many Minnesota cities
Some Of these organizations seem
ingly were satisfactory but major
ity Of them were not.
It was noticeable also, that num-
Der Of cities and towns have decided
to wait until money conditions arr
more favorable before taking aggres
sive action regarding maintenance Of
tourist eonveniences. If conditions