Evening star., 1932-04-18
CHERRY BLOSSOMS
CARNIVAL VIEWED
BY HUGE THRONGS
Auto Traffic Less Than in
Previous Year, but PedeS-
trianS Increase.
TOTAL OF 26,522 CARS
GO AROUND TIDAL BASIN
Park Police Report No Accidents
and Only One Arrest-Blooms
at Their Best.

Washington'S annual flower carnival.
rejected in the cherry trees around the
Tidal Basin in Potomac Park. yesterday
attracted 26,522 automobiles. Thou
sands Of pedestrians walked beneath
the cherry blossoms, examining them
closely, taking photographs of the deli
cate petals and enjoying the whole
floral display.
Out-of-town cars came in abundance,
their occupants not only to see the
cherry blossoms, but to drive along
Washlngton's newest and most preten-
tlouS boulevard-the Mount Vernon
Memorial Highway. For the first time.
many of them drove over the newly
opened Arlington Memorial Bridge,
which proved an important artery in
easing traffic congestion.
Only One Arrest.
There were no accidents, the United
states Park Police said, and the lone
arrest was Of a motorist, accused of
having faulty brakes and humping into
the car ahead The police set aside
specially designed crossing pcinss for
pedestrians SO they might get through
the heavy streams Of traffic safely.
Last years figure for automobiles
during the Sunday on which the cherry
blossoms were at their best was 80, 900.
Yesterdays slump was explained by the
fact that there were numerous busses
this year and an appreciable increase
N the number of pedestrians. Capt.
Ray c. Montgomery, United States
Army superintendent of the United
States Park Police, pronounced yester-
days crowd a record one. especially
from the viewpoint of pedestrians.
Every available member of the force
was on duty yesterday, the Metropolitan
Police assisting in keeping traffic moving
along the feeder streets. Traffic was
directed to travel clockwise around the
Tidal Basin. Motorists inbound from
Virginia were routed into the city by
way of the Mount Vernon Memorial
Highway along Columbia Island and
over the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
The American Automobile ASsocia-
ton had its road service trucks sta
toned at strategic points.
Traffic Extremely Heavy.
Lieut.. Henry Helms, who is acting
captain Of the Park Police, in the alb
sence of Capt. P. J. Carroll, who is re-
covering from a siege of sickness, re-
traffic yesterday was extremely heavy.
Cars, six and seven abreast, Travelled
around the Lincoln Memorial from
11:15 to $50 O'Clock, when the traffic
was at its height, Lieut.. Helms asserted.
Traffic along the Mount Vernon Me-
mortal Highway was likewise heavy.
Special excursion trains brought
countless visitors to the city, and these
Swelled the ranks of the admirers of
the cherry blossoms. A brisk Spring
wind whipped across the waters of the
Tidal Basin and sent some of the blos-
SONS f1uttering to earth.
The cherry blossom display. is now
considered at its zenith and with ia
vorable weather should remain so until
Wednesday. Warmer weather has ac-
celerated growth of the double blossom
variety trees, and these are expected to
be in bloom about next Sunday.
They are found in East Potomac
Park, along the Speedway while the
single blooms, now at their best, are
located around the Tidal Basin.
10000 at Lincoln Memorial.
More people visited the Lincoln Me-
mortal yesterday than ever before on
Sunday, Lieut. Helms of the United
States park police said. Inspector Will
liam Wright of the protection division
of the Office of Public Buildings and
Public Parks said that his force esti-
mated that there were more than
$4,000 visitors to the monument to the
Great Emancipator.
count was kept by Inspector
Wright's men periodically through the
day. 1t showed that from 8 to 9 there
were 1851 visitors; from 9 to 10, l,529;
from 2 to 3, when the next count was
made, 1882 persons we're clocked, while
from 4:30 to $50 pm. there were 1926.