Evening star., 1948-09-05

1Qere is no particular reason why
Labor Day has to be the first Mon
day in September. It more or less
just happened that way. When first
celebrated in New York City back
in the 1905, the idea was to space
it about midway between July and
Thanksgiving.
Unfortunately. legend has
sprung up about it. Despite the
fact that. officially, summer con-
tinues until September 81, Labor
Day has come to mean the close of
the summer vacation season. Re-
sorts got in the habit of padlocking
the door and rolling up the side
walks the day after.
Vacationers who are pushed
around in the flood of requests for
July and August resort accom1flo-
dations are inclined to blame the
crush on an era Of free spending.
They are only partly right. The
biggest factor is that about 10000
600 more American wage earners
have been granted paid vacation
time since World War II began in
1899, Americas resort plant has not
been able to meet the demand, con-
centrated largely in the two school
vacation months.
Since the late 193os, the Ameri-
can tourist industry has pressed an
organized drive to break with the
peaking-up practice; to induce vaca-
TONERS voluntarily to drop out of the
.July-August jam and prevail upon
summer resort proprietors collec-
lively to keep facilities open through
September and into October. if war
ranted. Progress is being made along
those lines, with mutual pleasure
But the mental hazard-"summer
ends with Labor Day"-remains.
The extension OF the season prob
lem now is being attacked from
another direction. It involves q
move to set Labor Day over to q
later Monday. Spearheading this
campaign is the Recreational De-
velopment Committee of the New
England Council.
A recently completed survey by
the committee Of nearly 1900 New
England businessmen engaged di-
rectly or indirectly in the vacation
industry indicated that IS per cent
favor date change. More than a
third expressed a preference for the
second Monday in September, one
third preferred the third Monday
and slightly less than one-third
urged the last Fourth or fifth Mon
day.
The committee indorsed a two
week pushback 1t plans to ask
legislation to this effect by all six
New England States in the fall. The
proposal also was brought to the
attention of the National Associ-i
alton of Travel Officials and the
Society of Travel Agents.
Favorable responses, according to
the New England Council, indicate
action on the plan at the fall con-
OF the two organizations.
AS for the separate movement to
extend summer vacations beyond
Labor Day, the most recent evidence
comes from New York. The travel
bureau of the State Department of
Commerce queried about 1,7O0 resort
operators on plans to stay open into
fall. The Thousand Islands region
led all others in joining the move
ment. Eighty-three per cent more
resorts will accept guests in Sep
tember and October than last year.
Second in the percentage column is
the Catskills, with 81 per cent more
resorts staying open to cater to fall
Vacationers.
In the recession winter of 1878.
some of the airlines put into eff
feet a plan of carrying wives free
II they accompanied their husbands
on flights. Such gratis air passage
is against the law now, but American
AlrllneS is going ahead with plans to
lnaugurate an economical family
fare" the first Monday after Labor
Day.
Unless vetoed or postponed by the
Civil AeronauticS Board before Sep
tember 49, American Airlines will
blaze the trail in offering as part
OF the plan half-fare rate for
children between the ages of II and
81. if travelling with either parent.
Half-fares now apply generally on
domestic airlines only to children
not yet IL.
AS filed with the CAB, Americans
family fare plan" is limited to
flights starting on Mondays, Tues
days and Wednesdays. The man will
buy his ticket at the full rate. His
wife and each additional child ac-
accompanying him will be charged
half fare. If a mother is flying as
the senior member of her family,
she pays full fare, then half fare
for each of her children going along,
unless they are 81 or more years
old. Children under 2 years still
will be carried free.
The plan was proposed exclusively
by American Airlines. Should it
prove beneficial, by rejuvenating
revenues and at the same time
growing a new crop of air travel
fans, other lines may follow AA's
lead.
Reductions in air travel costs have
cropped out in other directions.
Among the latest is Pan Americans
tourist-clasS flights between New
York and San Juan. With DC-4
planes converted to seat SO in
stead of So passengers, Pan Am
OES A ctivitieS
T..