pensive. As the city grew and lines were extended, both urban and suburban, we established and maintained for a number of years two high-class and well-improved parks, one being located within the city boundaries, where it could be reached for a fare of five cents; and the other on a suburban connecting line where the round trip fare was fifteen cents in addition to the street car fare. At both of these parks flowers were extensively cultivated and displayed and amusements of many kinds were furnished, such as bathing beach, boating, dancing, vaudeville, music, light opera, balloon ascensions, and the like. No charge was ever made for any of these except for the use of bathing suits and boats and a small admission fee to the light opera. In the way of music, we have furnished some of the most famous bands which have visited this country and have frequently played so distinguished an artist and soloist as Signor Liberati and his band for weeks at a time. We have found the public taste in such matters capricious, demanding a frequent change of programme, and, as time has passed, a higher order of entertainment. On the whole, our efforts have been appreciated and the patronage has been generous, but it is difficult to say whether the profits have been sufficient to justify the immense amount of energy exerted in this direction, and we have finally altogether abandoned the maintenance of any such places by the company. Two parks, one city and the other suburban, are still maintained by independent corporations, at which, outside of boating, bathing, etc., music has been the only attraction furnished the present season, except a summer opera, to which a small admission fee was charged. We pay these park corporations a stipulated sum for furnishing our patrons with the free privileges of the parks. Meantime Kansas City has begun establishing its own public parks and as they become sufficiently improved to be generally used, it will be the policy of our company to encourage their use by the people in every reasonable and legitimate way.

We have always given liberal financial support and encouragement to the maintenance of a professional base ball club, and have always found the returns from this source satisfactory and I believe profitable.

Our company has given liberal financial aid and encouragement to the fall festivities which are of annual occurrence at Kansas City. They consist of a night parade by a local organization known as the "Priests of Pallas," representing, by a series of fantastic floats, scenes from history or mythology and a flower parade; and grotesque carnival parade in the day time on successive days, under the auspices of the "Kansas City Karnival Krewe." In these parades many brass bands from the section of country tributary to Kansas City are employed to take part. The festivities extend over a period of several days and are the means of assembling a large concourse of strangers in Kansas City. They are universally regarded as bringing much trade

and business to the city, and I am confident our company makes no investment in the way of amusement and entertainment to the public which brings better returns.

A noted military chieftain (General Hancock) spoke of the tariff question as a local issue, and such, in a large measure, I have found the subject assigned me for this paper; and I can only hope that something that I have said may prove to be of local use to many of you. Respectfully submitted,

WALTON H. HOLMES.

DISCUSSION ON THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON "TO WHAT EXTENT SHOULD STREETRAILWAY COMPANIES ENGAGE IN THE

AMUSEMENT BUSINESS."

The President-Gentlemen, this subject is now open for discussion. It is a subject upon which nearly every one present can have something to say; and I trust you will take advantage of the opportunity offered.

I will ask Mr. Wyman to open the discussion on this paper.

REMARKS OF MR. C. D. WYMAN ON "TO WHAT EXTENT
SHOULD STREET-RAILWAY COMPANIES ENGAGE
IN THE AMUSEMENT BUSINESS."

Mr. Wyman, New Orleans-Mr. President, at your request and by reason of my desire to accede to the same, rather than because I think there can be very much said that will not to a certain extent traverse the grounds that Mr. Holmes has so admirably gone over in his paper, I am speaking perhaps only to re-emphasize some of the points that he has made, and yet I do so very willingly because I have had a considerable amount of experience on both sides of this question. I believed, and was very positive in my belief for many years, that a street railroad man should stick very closely to his line of work, and that he had very little freedom or time for going into the amusement business or any other sort of business that was not intimately connected with the daily operation of his cars, the management of his power plant and the thousand and one matters that the every

day detail of his business necessarily claimed his attention. Therefore I used always to advise, "Keep out of it, don't go into the establishment of parks and the engagement of actors and actresses, musicians and all that sort of thing; do not establish skating rinks; let someone else in the dramatic line, some impresario or manager do it. If you do it at all, lease the privilege to some good man, encourage him in some way, but do not attempt to manage it yourself or devote your time to it."

I have discovered, however, that as Mr. Holmes very truly says, local conditions affect this matter to a very large extent. I have also discovered the truth of the old adage that if you want a thing done well you have to do it yourself, and my experience with the persons who are engaged in the purveying of public amusements to the people is that they are not altogether the most reliable people in the world, and that it is a pretty good thing for you, if you want to establish amusements upon that line, to take them under your own control and management.

I have also found in a great number of cities where I have had both official and consulting relations with Street Railway Companies and their representatives that this promoting of amusement enterprises was a very good method of stimulating the business. Now Mr. Holmes very rightly says that it was a proper thing for the street railway companies to aid in the development of municipal improvements like public parks, etc., and on that score there is philanthropic and humanitarian work, which we can do, especially during the summer seasons, for it is the universal custom in almost all cities to close the theaters and places of amusement during the heated term. The wealthy residents at that time very often to a large extent leave the city for some summer resort, and the other classes, those from which we derive the major portion of our income, are left without amusements and healthful entertainments and pleasant outing resorts other than parks or picnic grounds which often are not specially beautified, are not lighted in the evening and present no special attractions other than an open gathering place. The mass of the

people demand something more than bare parks. A growing taste for entertainment at once instructive and artistic is evident and must be satisfied. Therefore, on the humanitarian side of the question we can in a certain sense become public benefactors by furnishing amusement for those of our patrons who must remain in the cities during the summer.

Further than this, it has not been the custom in some cities in hot weather for people to go out much in the afternoon and in the evening. In the southern cities this is particularly true. With the sun beating down fairly warm, but not so warm as you often have it here in the North, our people do not go out for amusement much in the day time, and they were in past years not accustomed as a rule to go out much in the evening, other than to the homes of friends living in their immediate vicinity. Now we of the southern land have been trying to replace this practice with that of taking longer excursions to parks and amusement resorts, a practice we thought better for them and incidentally for us, and to this end street railway companies provided in quite a large number of the southern cities places of amusement, with music and attractions of one sort and another, by which has been cultivated to quite an extent the habit of outgoing of the people in the evening. Such a local condition may not prevail in many cities, but it exists with us. We have found in the last two or three years, by having some of the resorts such as have been mentioned, open in the evening, with music and attractions, the people are commencing to go out, and travel has been greatly increased. Therefore, wherever a habit of insularity on the part of the people exists, these amusement resorts, if well conducted, clean and pure in all their surroundings and in what is presented, will surely cultivate travel.

Now so far as the congestion of travel, which Mr. Holmes. speaks of, on any particular line is concerned, I do not think such a condition is to be feared to any great extent. We are always willing to have a good deal of congestion in running a street railroad. It is always to be remembered that if a resort at the end of some particular line congests the travel upon that line, for the time being, it becomes an outlet for travel by other

lines and a feeder to others. In one city with which I am familiar, there is one line at the terminus of which is a resort of this character; but while the cars are leaving at a minute or half minute, and sometimes twenty seconds, headway upon that line, when it reaches the central part of the city the people immediately disperse to the other lines and the other lines get a large benefit therefrom. Thus I think very often the congestion which has been suggested as being possibly injurious is not so harmful as one might think and does not divert travel from other lines to the extent it benefits them by inducing travel in the line of excursion business. It seems to me that it cannot be doubted that the constant keeping before the people of a suggestion of pleasure, or interest, or something to amuse, of something to relieve the tedium. of business, leading them to seek the same by traveling upon our cars, is a most beneficial thing for our business.

One thing we must always remember, that is that street railroad riding is after all a habit. As a habit it is growing with the better facilities we are constantly providing. We can look back a few years, when general riding was not so usual, when people walked more than they do now, when we sent out messages not by telephone but by messenger, and he walked. Now all these different improvements that we are introducing in the way of finer cars, of higher speed, of better facilities and, last of all, amusements, perhaps one of the most recent innovations, has a constant tendency to increase the habit of street car riding; and I believe that anything that has that trend and tendency is certainly very beneficial.

As regards the detail of these things, we might discuss them ad libitum, as to how they should be conducted, etc., but that is mechanical, and will easily suggest itself to the mind of almost any manager. The main question is, Does the providing of amusement resorts by the street railway. companies pay? I think it does, and for the reasons I have suggested. [Applause.]

Vice-President Ely (in the chair)—Are there not some other members present who will discuss Mr. Holmes' paper? The Convention would be very glad to hear from them.