Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-20
VicariOus Recreations
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

of vicarious amusement. The news
| paper, especially the tabloid Of the typ
especially featuring pictures, Is claSset
! by the social students as q form o
recreation rather than education. AM
| the papers have IS ,O0O, 900 readers O day
| 1t would be impossible to guess hoy
many persons confine their reading I,
| Informative matter and how many bu.
newspapers for the comic strips, con
| tinued stories, puzzles and the like. In
deed, there Is excellent reason to thinl
that practically all readers give atten-
ton to all features.
The radio has 80 ,00O, 900 listener.
every evening and they are lstenin:
for entertainment to the extent
| probably 30 per cent. The same Is tru
| of talking machines and such mechan
ical instruments as the player-piano
The saxophonist may be classed as
participator, as may any other per
| former, but some 100000 listen t
monographs and similar mechanical
music every day.
Many Mechanical AdJunctS.
| A good many close and earnest stu
dents have gone into this matter, it be-
| ing realized that the recreations OF
people constitute an excellent guide u
| the trend of national development. For
example, the Federation Of Womens
| Clubs made q survey and among the
recreations of women 1t especially listed
the telephone. Gossip has always been
recognized as o diversion and so the
federation has found that mechanical
gossip looms up largely in survey
covering 5000, 900 families. 1t is noted
chiefly in connection with women liv-
| ing in the country, and more especially
where party lines are found. Quite
gracefully, the federation does not list
! eavesdropping, as perhaps 1t would be
| justified in doing, in connection with
| the party-line data. That would be
partly vicarious amusement, partly par
| ticipation.
Inasmuch as so many millions use
automobiles INTERCHANGEABLE for busi-
ness and pleasure as occasion serves,
1t would be diflcult to arrive at a
sound classification, but the astounding
! number of Sunday and holiday acci-
dents indicates that the automobile Is an
instrument Of vicarious play to q vast
number of people, there being only one
| in each car who Is physically partici-
pating in the sport of driving, unless
one include back-seat drivers. More
money is spent on automobiles than on
any other form Of recreation, pleasure
motoring costs being estimated at
SIS, 000, 900 900 year. Vacations, which
include much more than the cost OF
travel, cost 81, 00O, 600, 600 a year, while
81, SOC, 900 900 is spent on the movies,
1t may come as surprise to many
that, although the bicycle is frequently
thought of as relic of the Gay
'Nineties,," $25,O00,000 still is annually
expended on the sport; incidentally, a
real, participating sport. Types of rec
reation involving some mechanical ad-
junct cost the American people $l0,-
| 635 400 600 a wear
On making whoopee, such as going TO
night clubs, roadhouses and the like,
Americans spend $1,000 0o0, 900 year
while children's toys cost $3.50, 900 900.
The grand total spent on all forms of
recreation is placed at sal ,045 ,000, 900.
AS to many, If not most, forms Of
vicarious sport, the passive physical
watcher does manage to get into the
spirit of the game by gambling. As
gambling Is carried on secretly In 50
many jurisdictions because Of local
ordinances, 1t is not possible to quote
any figures, but it has been estimated
that on poker alone 81 ,000, 000, 900 q
year changes hands. This, of course.
| Is not consumed; the winner is almost
sure to spend his winnings in the
same way, maintaining a healthy cir
culation. Not very many, out Of the
total, gamble for a living, but only
! for sport.