Evening star., 1924-05-01
Washington and Tourists.

Comment has been made on the un-
usual number of tourists in Washing.
ton this spring. 1t was estimated that
from $4,000 TO 0,oO0 out-of-town tour
lists arrived in the Washington ter
minal from noon of Good Friday to
early Easter morning. They came
from every state in the Union, the
trains. In one day recently it was esti-
mated that $500 strangers visited the
White House, and last week more
than 5000 visited the executive offices
and an equal number inspected the
first-fioor rooms of the White House.
record-breaking week in the matter
of tourists.
Year by year the tide Of visitors to
Washington rises. The fame Of Wash
ington spreads as the place in which
interesting and instructive things are
to be seen. Americans come to take q
look at their Capital. A large number
OF the visitors are high school stu
dents. Several years ago a number of
high schools in the north and middle
west adopted the plan Of giving an an
nual excursion to Washington, not so
much as a picnic as an educational
measure. The results were 50 salts
factory that the plan is followed by
an increasing number Of schools.
To bring a body OF bright, studious
and impressionable young folk from
distant high school and lead them
through the Capitol and White House,
through the Libraries, museums, art
galleries and government workshops,
and to Mount Vernon and Arlington
gives them pleasure of the keenest
sort, enlarges their fund OF informa-
ton and broadens their interest in
their country and government. When
one of these high schools returns home
hundreds Of families listen to lectures
at breakfast, dinner and supper on
"Our Capital" and the home audiences
put greater faith in the words Of the
lecturers than in those of professional
speakers.
When Americans from afar come to
Washington they expect to see a most
the Capital meets their expectations.
But it is necessary that the District
government, Congress and citizens
strive to keep Washington in first
place as city. Americans think of
it as a model in many ways. They feel
that its local government should be
the "last word'' in municipal manage
ment. They think its streets should
be clean, smooth and safe. They think
that it's street car service should be
the best. They think it's traffic reguta-
tions should be the most efficient; that
it's police should be the most consider
ate and intelligent; that its parks
should be the greenest and fairest;
that it's public buildings should be
grander than those Of Athens and old
should be substantial, handsome and
harmonious.
In the residence sections and sub
urbs these legions of strangers look
for certain things. They do not think
to see the splendor and show Of sub
urbs Of rich cities, because the news
has gone abroad that Washingtonians
are not rich, but all the world has
heard that as a class they are well
schooled and well read These srang.
ers do expect to see homes which
have the expression Of good taste and
the spirit Of quiet and content. They
expect to see lawns or grass plots and
little gardens which tell that their
owners love them and give them an oc-
casional caress. They expect to see as
good schoolhouses as they have at
home, and they expect to see crowds
of merry, clean and well nourished
school children with health glowing in
their eyes. Washington should be the
leader Of all other cities