Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Tourist Business in The South. (Klcbard H. Kdinunds, In Munufuo tijrers liooordi of lialtlmore.) Ui?|K)ris to. the Manufacturers Itoeord frtHii tlu* railroad ami steamship. lino* enterh'tf Florida show that from th? Iniripuliiif ot the season to the llrst of uarih tin* Mai wiwb#*1 of Tj^ltora. C6 #j,Ht State. mainly, of court)?, tourists, wlTk 17 1 If to tlilii ho addtsl the arrivals (luring March and tho number ?( motorists who went to Florida in lju>ir own j^irs, the tolal would ho at i^Ht 3WMKW. This Is not as high as some wild es timates (hat have been made. hut It is fur Kmilrr than careful students of II10 development of tho tourist business (it)l(l have been justllled In cstlmnt l?ir. it moans a magnitude and lm imrtnnec to Florida of the tourist Irak ?-l far beyond a^ythtng which that il?te has ever before known. It Is Impossible to got any dellnite facts as to the amount of money ex pended In the .state by these 200,000 tourists. A eft refill canvas aud a atudy 0f tlio situation in all imrts of Flori da make It very conservative to esti nate (hat tho average length of the tourist's stay In the state was 30 days. A Inrjfe pro|?ortlon of the people who n-ont to Florida last winter si>ent the eutrro season there.' The nuinber runs far Into the thousands. A largo num ber spout a month or more, while a Con iiderahle number stayed only a week or ton flays, lhit the movement of travel Into the state during the winter mouths ami the heavy rush of outward travel In tin- spring shows that it will be very [conservative to estimate SO days as a Dlfiliniini for the average time sinmt by tacli tourist In the state. As It Ik not possible to get ox act fyc urvs on this point, m> it is not iMHwible to do more fchlan simulatively estimate 18 to the amount of money exi>cnded fcy the average tourist. There are thousands of j>oople w*ho at the elabor ate. costly hotels run their dally exjwn idlhiros Into big figures. There are L>mo who spend very moderate amounts jat boarding houses and the smaller ho mid Ix'tween these two Extremes khpre "arc toii^ of thousand who at the iveraue Florida hotel pay $n.00 a (lay ?r more for hotel accomodations. To hotel and boarding Jmuse expenses should be added the expenses for mo loriutf vachtln&, fishing, the purchase ?f souvenirs and the thousand and one thliij^ which absorb the tourist's mo ?ov. It Is safe to estimate that the average expenditure for a tourist for Dip winter was $r>.()0 a day. Some es timate the amount considerably above $5 (Mi a day and some a little lower, lut $5.00 Is at loast a conservatively low figure. < Mi this basis, the average 'wax ro the winter visitor while In Florida was $150.00 for the 30 days kml for tin* 2(KMMX) visitors, tills would hrah iNffOftO.OOO expended In Florida Bast winter by tourists. I'nese Inures, Except as to tho arrivals by transpor tation lines furnished to "the Manufac turers Kecord. are estimates. '*thers Hjieculate as to the average length ?f the tourist's stay and as to the av era ire amount exjH'nded and make their calculations as to whether $30,000,000 too much or too little. We l>elleve, ?ased on a rather wide study of 4ha jmibject. that It Is a low figure. Tts magnitude, however. Is far beyond any ?stimsite that we have ever seen as to what the tourist travel means to the St-ite of Florida. A large proportion of these visitors were from the Far West and North rest. and during the present winter, a mslderable number were from Oana a. The average length of the trip rlor to reaching the State would be pwards of 1000 miles or 2000 miles >r the round trip to Jacksonville and turn. Counting the cost of the Pullmans and the Incidental expenses of the jjounipy the railroad expenses must ^ave been on an average .not -J ess than 7r> per capita. This would mean as niinumurn $l.r?.(XK).000 to the rail oads and steamship lines before these travelers passed beyond Jacksonville, V gateway into the State. From (virly February to April, every ?otel in Florida was ./ ver-crowded and was compelled to refuse accomoda tions to many would-be visitors. Va-. *ant rooms and houses In the neigh borhood of these hotels were rented ?o help take care of this overflow, and lull there u-as an incessant cry frpm r? tourLst.s for accomodations far be ^paclty~oriTiie~State. [ while Florida thus bad its greatest |nd most prosperous tourist season last Fh'tcr, the whole South had similar i pwHlithms. Apparently everywhere t pout a of Richmond from the Pinehurst wo Southern Pines section of Carolina i down through Camden and Augusta ? ' other far Southern i>olnts, th<5 rush tourists far exceeded anything that ik section has ever known. ids situation wns due in part to the mounding prosperity of the North and (s' and to the fact that all European oris wore cut off and those who 77-7 4, Accessories Pft?VICE station and ford parts in stock KERSHA Phono 140 formerly \Vent abroad. this year visited Other part?; of nur owu lain I TJient was also a larger mowim-nt than fot* nu iiy from tftttmda ami a notable num her of Canadians seeking to eseajie the rigors of their winter* come South, i Climatic c? unlit hois from Carolina to Aitiinl wore probably never Hurfmssed during any winter, Florida had one of its moat superb winters from the <il iBatle i??>ii?t of view, Just as It liud Its greatest amount of tourist travel'. ! If It were jKWwlblo to got the tlgures that would tell the story of the tour i |?t business from Richmond t<? San Antonio, the total would anuusO the! country. .These tlgures, unfortunately, are not available, hut what tan he definitely stated as to Florida Is an In diontion of what Is going on throug out the South In the growth of t.lie t oil r 1st tea tile. From every part of the Fur North ami Northwest, from the Central West and the Kasi, ami as stated, from Canada, i>cople in>ured in to the South this whiter, not only fur beyond the capacity of the hotels hut far heyond the facilities of the rail roads for handling this traffic. There was a lamentable shortage In facilities on the part of some roads from the .Kast to Florida In handling traffic adequately 'and comfortably. The trains were so over-crowded as to ne cessitate their being cut up Into two and even three sections with far more cars to each than could possibly be handled to advantage on the tracks of these roads. There was almost univer sal complaint about the jarring and jolting In the starting and stopping of trains, due doubtless in part to the fact that engines were not equal to hauling such Heavy trains and to the track not being solid enough to meet the conditions of such travel. These complaints were so numerous and so jierslstent and so vigorous that It Is absolutely Incumbent uih?u the railroads catering to this tourist bus iness to put- their Hues in shape with heavier rails and better track aud with larger power, equipment ' In order to avoid such justifiable complaints, it should never be i>osslble for the tour ist to he compelled to make such jus tifiable complaints as have heen heard tu . every j>art of the Carolina 8 and Florida during the winter. Indeed, this condition is the most serious handi cap against an Increase In tourist traf fic next winter. Hotels are prepar ing to enlarge their facilities, many nfew hotels will be huilt aud great ef forts will be made In every resort cen ter to provide for the crowds that are expected, but upon the railroads will fall the heaviest responsibility afld uix?n them 'will rest the need of bet tering their fudlitiess so far beyond existing conditions as to avoid the uni versal complaints of the winter against the jarring and jolting and bumping which threatened the health of many travelers and made even the strongest weary with their journey. This con dition must 1h? met and overcome. It would be the height of- folly to i>ermit it to continue into another winter. Ev ery criticism of this kind and these criticisms were throughly justified by what travelers had to endure, is a re flection not only on the railroads, but oii the whole South. Travelers w3*o have to epdure such discomforts are inclined to believe that everything in the South its done in that way, and they blame the whole section for the shortsightedness of railroads. The South has at last caught its pace in this tourist business. If the railroads are wise and if Southern communities will afford the hotel ac comodations, It will be i>ossll?le within the next few years to double the en tire tourlKt traflic of the South. The 200,000 tyurlsts who went to Florida during the winter and spent $30,000,000 or more there, were enthusiastic l>e yond expression as to the glorious en nrate of tbe winter. From the North and West they had daily rejwrts of storms and blizzards, of the grippe and pneumonia and kindred diseases which afflicted the whole Northern and Western country by reason of the se verity of their winter, whereas day after drty and week after week and month after month from December to April, there was the most glorious, brilliant sunshine, with scarcely a. rai ny day for the entire seoson, in Flor ida. The visitors who Were in that state have gone home enthusiastic, thonsands Tfrfe nfcuHhfc on the possibil ity of doing what many thousands have for years been doing, viz. : Having winter homes in Florida, and soon the tdle will spread from one end of the country to the other as never before of Qie "glorious winter climate of the State. In the Sand Hill region of the Caro linas and Georgia and in other winter resorts of the Central South, the tour ist business, as in Florida, exceeded aything that has ever been known in those sections, and' these visitors like wise will be spreading abroad the at tractions of these resort regions of the South, for they, too, .had splendid feather. ^ The South, except Florida, as a wtoole, has never adequately understood or appreciated the tourist business. Cdunties and states of .the South have made comparatively little effort to ad equately prepare for the tourist trade. Hotels have done their beet, but they have not received, except In rare cases aa enthusiastic support as they de served from the communities In which they are located. Many people have looked upon the tourist trade as merely a passing event of no particular importance to the com mercial or industrial life of the South, whereas Jit la a most vital factor in the development of the South. It was the tourist traffic that made California. Henry M. Flagler was a tourist who, spending the winter in St Augustine to escape the rigors of New York's cli mate, -became enamored of the climate end in the 25 years following that tour ist trip, he expended more than $75, 000, POO of his own money in the devel opment of Florida. * Mr*. Potter Palmer was a tourist to tin? West Const of Florida. She bo came enamored of the country and she and the Potter Balmsr estate and mem He** of her family now own nearly 200,000 acres of Florida lands which Itoejr are developing for colonisation purposes, for city building and resort t ?>Vw <sn<? Mi ij creating activities. * One of the JWr , i i>k j?I6\v juttuunciuroni was ? tonr|nt t t ? ? Miami, ami becoming enthu . .! . ? \ ? ? ? llut MH^hm ht< Ik spending $1, 000,000 t In the building there of a winter. home ;ijnl the beaut Ifytng of to* yriiuudH Marl tj. Fisher. one t?f the leading man ? ufaeturvrs of Indiana, \v?? a tonyM I?? J M k-i ml. lie. I ? m ?. toll in lovo V Kit jis attractions unci promptly undertook the j reclamation ami development of nearly 1 acres tif overflowed la imIs, ? wllii j plank looking t?? the. building of a City, j Into which he has inured a vfiwt amount I of capital. . E very where throughout lflorhla aliul: I lar conditions ex 1st . Men' have gone i i to look ami have stayed to locate. , They have gone as transient travel : ers, hut seeing limitless i>osslbllltles i In iucti climatic advantages they have become ontliuslastlf Investors ami tire ! less workers In material upbuilding. | in every tourist resort in the South I similar conditions are fonml ami many (of the tourist hotels, through the en, orgy of their owner* or managers, have IsM-onm leading factors In this develop ment work. Florida has appreciated these facts more than hate other states In tin' South. It is showing its recognition of their important aiijl of catering t:o the tourist trade U\ spending millions of dollars In Improving Its highway*, In pro|K)rth?u to wealth lunl nopuhi tion, Florida Is probably s|>endlug more money on road hnllding than any ether state in the Union Counting tin- ex penditures made during the last 12 nontls, those under way and those for vh'ch bonds will shortly he *ssu?h1, then Is in process of ? exjioiHllture by Florida on IN highways at .least SiO. 000, 000. Florida Is not simply "talk ing" about good roads and then mnk Ing cheap ordinary dirt roa<ls ; it Is building perinanert highways, many of brick, so that within a year or two it will be posslhh: to travel t"> and from every part of the state over splendidly, built brick or macadam or other solid highways. It is doing a work In this respect that bespeaks the energy, the enterprise and 'he intelligence of Its j>eople. It is FetttMf an example to the ?i} tire South. Indeed, it is setting a pace that it will be hard for any other state in the Union to more than match, and very few of them can keep step with it. It Is the only state lu the South where the friendly rivalry and competition In road building be tween different eountl??* (ft as active as here. The rivalry is so great as to assure the completion in the near fu ture of a chain of highways which will reach from .Jacksonville to Miami, from Miami across tfie4 Everglades to Tampa and from Tamfttf to Jacksonville, with all intermediate towns connected .up by similar good roads. The population of this country, now exceeding 100, 000, (>00. is increasing at the rate of about 18,000,000 every dec ade. Our national wealth Is gaining at the rate of about $10,000,000,000 a year. Every increase in [Herniation ami in wealth Is enlarging the field of popu lation for the development 'of the tour ist business in the South. Increasing wealth makes It possible for thousands who in the past were compelled to remain at home and en dure Northern winters, now to seek the South. Increasing i>opulatlon is enormously adding to the numl>er of people in the country who will look to the South as a place of winter residence. Hero and there are seen evidences of the tendency of the |>eople of wealth ami of people of moderate means as well to own winter homes in the South. Hundreds of thousands of fairly well to-do people in the East and the West have reached an age when they want to get away from the hardships of cold winters and spend the latter years of life in quiet in a mild climate. Many of this class located in California, currying with them $40,000 or $50,000 or $100,000 apiece. They had gone out in time**1 past as tourists. They en joyed the pleasures of California's cli mate and settled there as permanent residents. _ They did not know that in Florida and in other parte of the South there could be found advantages far superior to California's. It was their ignorance of these facts that took them to Cali fornia rather than to the South. The number of people in similar conditions as to age and a competence is increas ing wltii amazing rapidity. The tide of settlement in the South by people of this class is rapidly rising. It can -twr hi'lpetr "HHCTH5" momentum vastly Increased by the right kind of work on the part of Southern railroads and the people of the South. And this ^ thought leads to another, i Florida, for Instance, has never been even half advertised for people of this kind. Never have the towns,, or cities or the railroads of the South ade quately presented to the country the opportunities and the advantages of permanent homes in Florida for peo* pie of moderate means who want to settle down in a good climate for the balance of life. Never have the advan tages of house-keeping In Florida dur ing the winter montha been adequate ly presented. The "Vast majority of j l>eople sujijHtso that gfc* to Florida the,\ would lui\c Lu licpwiul ??ottrdlng * lioiiM's ui' hotels. uiiiI to iu; 111 y neither iiiv dcsir.il le. ? h?> fa* l Hull furnished ll.H-c frilJU (1)0 llie\p',|kslvO llUlllW low U> the elaborate resilience. all fiuni-die'l, rcad\ for immediate mni puiicy, i 'iiu In* routed lu ?i?n? rly every part "of the state has never Ihhmi nude known broadly throughout the conn try. ,?> . Indeed; us ?iuy -.indie-. with mime i-Mtv the situation In Florida a ml nt te s its iwtentlalines he IS anuiyed at how lit I U' I lie olllcials of uianx railroad . loading to ami from Florida have up* predated tlie limitless mine which is iilK-n to their development. Tlu\\ lime not yet scratched the sur face. *- I They have been, moving along with- i oui an,\ vkhhi. except lu rare en**# of Hu* imtiMHliillties for crcathig; triiillc; unless per chance some of them have realised that the tmlllc which the> teive Is fully equal 10 their eaimdty to properly lumflle, ami therefore they are not seeking to enlarge their luisl iu'sn except In a perfunctory way. It Is time for (hem to wake up. It In time to bo doing thing* on a broad hi^i h*. ' ' They should be the leaders lu this development, To a large extent they nve merely utilizing the advantages i hat they have created by nature, hy the hotels and hy the |>eople Interested In Florida's development, 4 The Fast. ('oust sect Ion of Florida has been more widely advertised thru. Mr. Flagler's activities than any other I .art of the state and the result is an anutKliiR development In that section., The superb advantages of the Fake Ueglotf mul the West Coast have never been properly made kftowu. This, how ever. Is due to a considerable extent to the fact as often ntated In the Man ufacturers lteconl, that the railroads of the entire Smith, with rare excep tions, have never grafted the i>ossl Mlltles of this country. There have been no W. XI. Ilarrlnuin's or 0. X . I lunt lngton's as groat constructive lead ers lu Southern railroad upbuilding activities. This Is partly due to the otllcla Is of Southern roads, many of whom <lo not themselves quite under stand the South, and it is partly due to the fact that the financial Interests in the East who control Southern roads have lieen shortsighted to the extreme, have liAd no adequate understanding of the South and have been parsimoni ous In doing the things which the Pa cltle Coast roads did and which re suited lti the marvelous advancement of California. , ? Probably no better illustration could he found *ln the entire country of how the financial Interests controlling a railroad can develop a country, increase Its activities and at the same time enormously expand their own business than that of the Clluchfleld, a 250-mlle line across the. mountains of Virginia and North Garoltnn. This road has si in pi v revolutionized the entire region through which it runs hy the Intelli gent way in which It has Investigated the resources of the country ami the cnergv with which It has nought and found the capital for the development of that territory. . There Is scarcely a mile of railroad in the South in which work of the same kind could not lie made to bring forth results commensurate with what the Cliiichfield has been doing. Thestlme has come for the railroads of the South, for the financial powers who control them and for the people at large to wake up and do things oil a broad scnle and with a larger vision and a greoti?r exi>endlture of emrgy and intelligence and money than has ever yet been seen. Will J. X*. Morgan & Co., who have been dominant factors In controlling vast railroad mileage In the South, take the lead ? , ] WilL the City National Bank crowd, which numbers along its leading men, bankers who have been brought up from the South because of their com manding ability, take the lead in turn ing capital to Intelligent Investment Jii the South? . Will the Steel Cori?oratlon crowd look at the South from a broader viewpoint as to its own Interests and also from that of the welfare of the nation, than it has vet shown? .. ^ Will the Mhlvale or the Bethlehem companies become leaders In this work? Who is there among the groat capi talists of the country with the genius and the daring and the vision or C. P. Huntington or R XX,_HnrrtlDaji JttJHjafc. rv Sr^Taider. or the men who have created the wonderful work done by the Clinchfield, who will lead out bold ly for the broadest utilization of advantage of the South, the the development of tourist twifiic the reconstruction and rebuilding of South crn railroads, so sadly needed by many, or the- brooder development of the metallurgical Interests of the South* The field is open, the opportunity . Xs one of national, indeed, at importance. Who Ih to be tho 8*^? constructive genius to do tho Sout and his country Infinite leadership in the largest "tl ^aUon of tho boundless resources of the SOfttBT COLD COMFORT can be taken in delicious liq uid draughts at our Soda Fountain. Ice Cream Soda in all flavors and of a guar anteed purity. Tempting, satisfying, cooling, healthful and the thought of it on these hot days will make your mouth water. The lit tle cost of so much comfort will surprise you. Don't swelter when coolness is so ea gy to reach. Try a glass of your favorite flavor and be cool and happy. CAMDEN CANDY KITCHEN Sporo Beleom, Proprietor 7*. r>mHtn, ft. C. ? ? to our business, studying the wants of our customers, persistently striving to hotter our effi ciency, has made the success of our business, and coup It d with the above the 25 years of experience, with the -assistance of competent help, entering to the wants of our customers, justifies the assertion that we are better prepared than ever to serve our customers. We handle a full line of Farmer* Supplier. Har ness, Heavy Groceries, Hay, Grain, Poultry and . Dairy Feeds. Wagons. Buggies, Harness, Disc Harrows, Walk ing Cultivators, Peg Tooth Cultivators, Cotton and Corn Planters. Guano Distributors, Rakes, Mowers. Southern Field Fencing, Barb Wire Staples. Call and get our prices before making your pur chases. ; SPRINGS & SHANNON The Store That Carrie* The Stock. ? FOR SALE? Pure Bred HEREFORD Cattle "The Kind That Pay." We are offering: for sale 50 head of big bone bulla of breeding age of highest quality and breeding. Camden Beef Cattle Farms LIKJOFF, SOUTH CAROLINA. FRED K PERKINS, Special Partner HENRY CUNNINGHAM, Mgf J. w. McCOKMICK, Prop. E. W. BOND, Manager McCORMICK & COMPANY Funeral Directors and Embalmers. Night Phone 23. AMBULANCE SERVICE. Day Phone 7t Country Calls Answered Promptly Day or Night* Camden Undertaking Co. C. W. EVANS, Manager FUNERAL DIRECTORS and LICENSED EMBALMERS - ? ? - AMBULANCE SERVICE, ? ? ; City and Country Calls Attended Promptly DAY OR NIGHT Office and Show Rooms at 535 DeKalb Street . t ? '? ? a ' . :? ? C ; Office Phone 91 Residence Phone 283-L Scab oarct Jt/r jC/n e I jr f' -/ -[ V , * ; 'The Progressive Railway of The South." SCHEDULE: Leave Camden ? 6:69 a. m. } For McBee, Cheraw, Hamlet, 5 :24 p. m. i and intermediate Stations. 6 : 59 a.m. I For Cheraw, Hamlet, Raleigh, 6:51 p. m. Richmond and Eastern Cities. ? r~~ -[V" " ~ *~T T*?* " .SC. v. " , t 1 . . y\ ' ? 11:16 a. m. ) For Columbia and lnterme 11:19 p. m. V diate Stations. ? y-? ? ,*^T ~ -T7~ .V r^r ??? MLrV J . ' - **~ - - ? i ? ^= -f ? .1* * / ' . ? , *--? 10 :86 a. m. ) For Columbia, Savannah* Jack 11:19 p. m. > sonville and Florida Stations. : lilx' , .V.i . ..! C. W. SMALL, D. P. A. ? ??