Evening star., 1924-08-26
FINE STATE ROADS
BRING IN MILLIONS
Tourists Now Spending Vast
Sums in Localities Having
Best Highways.
BY j. c. ROYLE.

special DlspAfch to Tho Star.
NEW YORK. August 26.-The
United States with nearly $1,000. 00(
automobiles in operation has be-
come nation on wheels and there
has been a marked profit to those
communities which have invested
money in building and maintenance Of
roads. on which those wheels must
run. The tourist business has be
come one of the really big industries
OF the country and reports from vari-
Gus scenic centers in the last few
wee ks show beyond question that the
public is using its cars for sighA
seeing purposes.
Wealth in quantities is spent where
tourists go and such traffic Is spo'
cash business running into the hun
dreds of millions of dollars annually
1t is increasing in direct proportion
to the improvement of roads and
highways. This Is conclusively showr
in the case of California. which laid
out a far-sighted plan years ago tc
attract tourist traffic from other
States and hold it.
Roxis Bring in 400, 900 900.
Prior to the San Diego and San
Francisco expositions, the State laid
great network of concrete boule-
wards, fifteen feet wide and four
inches thick. The State engineers
knew this roadbed was not heavy
enough to hold future traffic so they
called these roads a base" planning
later to put on a top surfacing. In
1915 the State had completed SIS
miles of the heavy surfaced roads
and today has $500 miles of perma-
nent concrete highways six to eight
inches thick and 20 feet wide in many
sections.
AS a result there were 100000 mo-
tor tourists in California in 1923 ac-
cording to the State automobile as
sociation, who spent an average OF
$40 a day apiece for an average stay
OF 80 days. That put about $9o.o0o.0 0of
from other States in circulation in
California. and experts confidently ex-
pect this sum will grow to over $780,
100000 for the current year.
Huge Trame in Northwest.
The State or Washington, with owe
1000 miles Of concrete roads. is com
ing in for it's full share of such traf-
fic. The Seattle Chamber of Com.
merce states that in one month this
summer. 15.004 cars from 80 States
Alaska. Hawaii and other places en-
tered Blaine alone on the way Il
British Columbia. In 1928 some
$4,000 cars entered British Columbis
from the United States and Dominion
officials place the value Of touris
traffic to Canada at $136,0o0.o0o annu
ally.
In Colorado there were e45.n1:
campers cared for in the automobil,
camps OF that State last year, ane
with favorable weather that tota
will undoubtedly be surpassed thi.
season. Iowa has over 200 touris
camps scattered within it's borders
each attracting its quota of tourists
So valuable has tourist travel become
to Wisconsin that some sections o.
the highway are patrolled by Bo,
Scouts, who act as guides to the trav.
elerS.
The $500 miles of concrete highway.
in New York have been the drawing
card which has pulled motorists from
every section of the land.
Park Fees Count Up.
Even the government is showing
a direct profit from its roads in ma.
tional parks, although not beneitins
from the ordinary day-to-day expend
itures. Since 1916 $1,443,e00 in Fed
eral funds have been used on roads
in the parks and in the same period
$1,5l1 1893 have been collected in fees
from automobiles using these roads
1t Is expected between 100000 and
100000 automobiles will visit the
parkes this year, and an appropria-
tion of s7,5o0.000 has been made fol
road construction within their limits
in the next three years.