The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-08-12

More Than 80 Per Cent Of Existing
Sites Arc Located West Of the Mis-
sissippi River-Once Started, Ides
Spread With Amazing Rapidly
Towns Without Hotel Are Thus En-
abIed to Make Bid for Share Of
Tourist Patronage.
The recent remarkable increase In
| the volume of motor camping has
served to call attention to certain fea
lures of this interesting subject that
have not hitherto received sufficient
attention. One of these relates to the
establishment Of municipal camping
sites for the comfort and convenience
Of campers. Several years ago, when
the camping idea was in its infancy,
the pioneers of this new phase of mo-
tor touring were forced to find their
own camp sites, in most instances
pitching their tents wherever night
overlook them and giving but little
heed to the condition of the site Sc
lected, except to assure themselves
that it was reasonably high and dry
AS time went on, however, and the
number of camping motorists in
creased by leaps AMI bounds certain
enterprising communities in the west
ern states began to realize the com
mercial possibilities Of this new form
of motor traffic and decided that it
would be to the advantage of all con-
cerned if they were to provide suit
able camping grounds Immediately
adjacent to the business centers of the
various towns. Reasoning on the prin-
ciple that every motoring party is
obliged to spend a certain amount of
money somewhere for gasoline, oil,
tires, repairs, food, clothing and
amusements, it did not take some of
the local chambers long to decide that
the towns that provided most for the
comfort and convenience of their trans
lent guests were bound to secure the
greatest volume of their trade.
Idea Spreads Amazingly.
Once started, the idea spread with
amazing rapidity, and it was not long
before those interested beheld the IL
Eliminating spectacle of town vieing
with town and city with city in de-
termined effort to provide the best pos
sible accommodations on the theory
that well-equipped camp sites would
induce a certain number of motorists
to tarry awhile to enjoy them. Scat
tered throughout the vast region west
of the Mississippi river are thousands
of small towns which could not pos
sibly support first-class hotel and
maintain it as a paying investment,
but which are, nevertheless, able to
provide suitable camping grounds and
thus make a strong bid for their share
of the tourist patronage that formerly
escaped them altogether.
The fundamentals Of any camp site
are well-shaded plot of high and
level ground, properly drained, sew
eral acres in size, with pure water and
close at hand and also some
form of outdoor oven or CRATE to make
cooking as simple and convenient as
possible. Little more than this was
provided in the earliest camps, but as
time went on and competition between
the various communities became keener
the list of conveniences became more
Buildings were erected to
serve as rest rooms and for shelter
during storms, general stores and
aundries were installed in many
places, cooking was simplified through
the use of cook stoves gas plates and
even electric Stoves cleanliness was
encouraged through the installation Of
.unning water, bath tubs, shower baths
and swimming pools, health was in
Nv
.oilets and incinerators for garbage |
md refuse, police and electric lights
we're provided for safety's sake while !
many of the comforts and even lux
lries of home life were approximated
is far as possible by providing tele-
,hones, electric irons, wash machines,
ables and benches, dining pavilions,
illing stations, accessory stores, in
ormation booths and free road maps.
Gather Much information.
Several months ago the demand for
relative to the location
nd equipment of municipal and other
amping grounds became so pro-
ounced that the American AutOmO-
lie association decided to gather in
ormation concerning them. This or
sent out a veritable flood
f missionaries to automobile clubs,
hambers of commerce, highway asso-
iations and other similar bodies re-
Nesting full details concerning the To-
alton and facilities provided at the
arious camp sites in all sections Of
he country. Very recently the results
f this Investigation were published In
ne form of 1OO-page booklet entitled
ne Official Camping and Camp Site
[anual." which contains not only a
seful summary of the fundamentals
{ motor camping, but also complete
escription of more than 1000 camp
ties.
A perusal of this exhaustive analysis
1ows a great many interesting things
OF previously known. For instance,
le state of California leads all others
the number Of its camping places
18th a total Of 155. Montana is a poor |
,cond, having only II, while South
q II ta follows CLOSELY with 90 Fourth II