Evening Star Newspaper, December 5, 1936, Page 17

Books—Art—Mausic OTHER CITIES HAVE COLONIES he Foening Saf WASHINGTON, D. C, Production of Traveling Homes for American Families Has Devel- oped Into Great Industry—Tax Problem Is Observed. “Honeymoon Community” Created. By Lucy Salamanca. [13 ~TRAILING we shall go!" but by no means a-gypsy- ing. We won't give up our hot and cold running water, our cook stoves, our heaters, our comfortable beds, our refrigerators. We want to see the world, but we refuse to relinquish the comforts of life. We want to be as convenient on wheels as we can be in Long Island or Ashtabula.” “Righto!” said 300 manufacturers, alive to the potential profits of an in- | dustry so new it walked right in their front doors, its own blueprints in hand. And they set about achieving the impossible, as American manu- facturers have a way of doing, launch- ing thereby thousands of families on | wheels along the highways North, South, East and West, literally “start- ing something” that no individual manufacturer was quite sure he could fnish. Like a wind sweeping a prairie, the ddea rippled and surged across the eountry. Grandmothers and grand- fathers pored over magazine pictures depicting the joys of the open road; mothers and fathers spent hours bent above highway maps and bank ac- counts, while little boys and girls went wild with ecstasy at the thought of going places and staying home at the same time. Everybody, it seemed, ‘wanted to possess a trailer. None of your ancient, homemade contraptions with canvas sides let down to form a bed, and flapping | ourtains; none of your roughing it with pails of water carried from the pearest stream or huddling about eamp fires for warmth of an Autumn evening. Not for the modern Ameri- ean family. Specifications began pour- ing into those concerns that tenta- tively and half-heartedly had laid a eommercial finger on the national pulse and found themselves confused and unprepared for the prevalent Sever. J_ITTLE garages where men had labored to turn out with patience and care an occasional handmade model of a trailer put up additions and | extended their floor space and forces grew by leaps and bounds. Automobile factories that had chuckled at the mere thought of Americans wanting to drag their houses around be- hind their cars, lost no time in apolo- gizing for the error, but added a branch industry. Entirely new con- eerns sprang up, financed by far- sighted industrialists, Houses which had devoted their time and energies to making coach bodies, engaged staffs of engineers to figure out factors of safety, speed and comfort with re- spect to mobile homes. Old estab- lished firms became desirous of pio- neering the new industry and lent their names to miniature ambulating apartments, Heretofore the American people had Deen torn between two deep-seated characteristics—an inherently nomadic tendency and a high regard for the eonveniences and luxuries of life. Moved though they were, at each re- ourring season, by their native wander- Just, consideration of the discomforts and inconyeniences attendant upon transporting a family of vigorous little eitizens from place to place served effectively to curb or moderate “the gYpsy” in them. Just about then a bhunter who had difficulty with his tent flaps in the rain came along with the idea for a trailer. Behold the yesults! Lets take a trip down to the Wash- fngton Tourist Camp, for example, at this time of year, which may be oonsidered the “off season” for knights of the road. Dropping in casually, we find that foday’s trailer contingent down there along the Potomac consists of one evangelist, touring the country to spread the gospel and put bread into the mouths of his many offspring; one “animal show,” consisting of a|- pony and his trainer in a gaudily painted vehicle of the trailer type; a troupe of Hawaiian radio and stage singers, whose gay trailer is embla- moned with the information that with- in may be had not only the latest wvocal selections but strings for your banjo, ukulele or guitar; one com- fortably equipped trailer home ‘occu- by & retired couple who have lived in it for three years, North in BSummer, Florida in Winter; one mo- bile home of an itinerant chef and his good-natured little wife; a luxuri- ously- trailer, en route to Staunton, Va., where a well-to-do pro- ting on the chops or roast for dinner, | and paying for the privilege 50 cents | day rental and 15 cents a day | between a wedding trip and a home, says America, “a-trailing, | for all the electricity they care to con- | | sume, with free access to hot and cold | showers, the community laundry, ,or | the convenience of the cafeteria and | grocery store, the playgrounds or the‘ | soda bar. | At this season of the year, the camp | manager informs us, “about 9% out of every 10 who pull in are trailers;” during the summer months about 6 out of every 10 registrants of the camp come in trailers. Stay is limited in the | Washington camp to two weeks and cars carrving District licences, except privilege of parking there. Hence the trailers rolling in from lower fourteenth street are, for the | most part, enroute to other sections of the country. They represent visit- ors to the Capital who, after a week's or two weeks’ stay, will be on their way South, at this season, or to the as the seasons roll round to Summer. That growing army of citizens who have found their trailers comfortable homes in all seasons, and have really settled down with their families for long stays in certain localities, can be Baltimore Pike or across the Potomac in nearby Va. “Trailertowns” are be- ginning to be a problem in many communities, and their presence is necessitating brand new legislation to take into consideration such mat- ters as personal property taxes, real estate taxes, or resident taxes. As one bewildered little mayor stated, “we got to figure out if these things are auto- mobiles or houses afore we can go to work and tax ‘em.” Not only legislators have to figure out just that problem. One very | prosperous manufacturer of automo- biles stated not long ago, “When we can be sure what we are expected to manufacture—a house or an auto- mobile—we can swing into full stride, and not before.” The statement is by no means ex- aggerated. Specialized magazines de- voted to the interests of the trailerite, are doing a comfortable business, with circulation lists that include an in- creasing army of permanent residents in trailers. Within the pages of such literature we find reference to indi- viduals, families, and whole colonies who have broken away from conven- tional apartment life under the pres- sure of high rents or the increased cost of living in cities. NE such colony is described as & town of “honeymooners.” A group of young newly-weds, who had grown weary of postponing their weddings Dean of the Senate, in Congress. OW that the Seventy-fitth Con- gress is oiling up its oratorical machinery for the new session cool mountain and seashore regions | found, near Washington, out along the | until they could begin housekeeping in an apartment, or reluctant to choose saw a way of getting married and having both, by the purchase of trail- ers. In a small Midwestern town they have set up a trailer colony. They secured permission gratis to occupy some vacant city property and they laid it out into lots, each with & vegetable garden in the rear and plenty of room for flowers and shrubs around the trailer parking area. Over week- ends this little city disappears—the plot being entirely deserted while the brides and bridegrooms are off on ” w ile | e N aratnotlalicusatitne | some week-end jaunt in their mobile homes. But each trailer turns up again on Monday morning, carefully ~ _ FEATURES parked in its landscaped area and| [ looking very stable and permanent indeed. As the cost of parking in different areas varies from one dollar to two dollars a week, the economy in rental compared with an apartment is ob. vious, for those who like trailer life, and some of those who have tried it | state that they would never be “satis- fied to live in a cooped-up apartment again.” One bride added: “I never feel cooped up in my trailer home. All I have to do is to draw back the cur- tains and I can see for miles from my nine windows. If I don’t like the view, I can go where it is more pleasing. No more staring at bricks for me, because I can't afford a front view from an expensive apartment!” The matter of heating these trailer homes in Winter did not seem to pre- sent a problem to members of this colony who found their up-to-date. insulated coaches and charcoal stoves or other burners quite adequate. OUT along Lee Highway, close to ‘Washington, one can come upon & number of permanent residence trailers. The men of the family com- mute in their cars to the Capital every day, and find trailer life much to their liking. One such individual said he had been able to save some money for the first time in years, and another sang the praises of the outdoor life his children were en- joying under this new system of living. Already the cry has gone out, “If you live in this community year in and year out, it is only fair that you should pay taxes.” Manufacturers everywhere are awaiting the result of agitation on this score, in com- munities all over the country, as § | signal to go ahead with production of the mobile home or of the auto trailer, according to the classification of this type of residence. As a matter of fact, the industry has come so surprisingly and sud- oint of service, is Senator William E. Borah of Idaho, the 71-year-old veteran of 30 ears in —Harris & Ewing. @ By James Nevin Miller. o v what the political alignment is for this session: The Senate personnel today is as and follows: 75 Democrats, 17 Republicans, and ground. denly into prominence that States have not as yet had time to legislate {for or against the traller beyond the issuance of certain specifications having to do with length of stay, fees required, and similar matters. An official compilation by the Na- tional Highway Users' Conference in Washington gives a survey of legis- lative provisions of all States, apply- ing to house trailers, and this covers such questions as registration fees, reciprocity granted non-resident trail- ers, lighting requirements, maximum height and length requirements and similar considerations. A more or less superficial summary of these charts indicates that regis- tration fees are required of trailers in 40 States, and coaches must be registered in 42 States. Reciprocity or full-period stays are granted non- resident trailers in every State ex- cept one; in 28 States trailers are taxed as personal property. In 15 States, safety chains or some type of emergency coupling are required. Sixteen States require brakes, if the coach exceeds a gross-weight mini- mum. The maximum length permitted varies in the 48 States from 35 feet to 85 feet. Definite specifications, having to do with clearance lights, width of coach, maximum height of coach, rear lights, etc, are clearly set forth, ON ACCOUNT of the speedy growth and popularization of the trailer idea, it has been difficult for those Government channels which usually compile and supply statistics to gather information with regard to them. At best, the reports of highway commis- sions, State motor vehicle depart~ ments, and the Automotive and Aero- nautics Trade Division of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, are meager and limited. This is due, in part, to the fact that no differen- tiation has been made in the registra- tion of trailers used for permanent or temporary homes and trailers used solely for commercial purposes and available statistics include both types. Registration statistics from the State motor vehicle departments of va- rious States, including both commer- cial and residence trailers, list Michi- gan as the State having the greatest number registered. In this State, 102,975 trailers are recorded, with SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1936. WASHINGTON BECOMING MECCA FOR TRAILER TOURISTS (1) Here’s the baby trailer . . . looks small, but it’s a real folding bed room on wheels. (2) Sleeping accommodations for two persons is offered in the smallest whole country is your front yard with this home on wheels. (4) Auto tourists find such luz- urious comfort as this in the new factory- built trailers. ing easy in the new auto-homes, kept snug and cozy on coldest days by the heater in the fore- of all steel trailers. (3) The (5) A complete kitchenette makes liv- California running second with 95~ 233. Ohio is a close third with 95,216 trailers registered. In the last six months alone, Ohio added 84,000, bringing the total to the previously cited 95.216. In the District of Co- lumbia, in 1935, there were registered 1,377 trailers. Comparative production figures, covering the period from 1925 to 1933, tell a more complete story, although in every case it must be borne in mind that they include commercial as well as residence trailers. The statistics for this period show: 1925, 12,823; 1927, 19,739; 1929, 22,406; 1931, 7,571; 1933, 7,438. It will be noticed that the produc- tion of trailers increased steadily until 1929, after which year production fell with & crash to 7,438. What of manufacturing Iatterly? That is, indeed, a different story. It is true that many production estimates recently have borne little relation to facts, writers having been carried away or misled by the great wave of public interest, and the fascination the idea has begun to hold for the American people. But as a matter of fact, the and New Schools Prepared to Undertake Tasks Before Them. William E. Borah, dean of the Senate in point of service and the so-called “lone wolf” of American politics, was the lone Republican survivor amid & vote that swept Democrats into all State offices and gave Idaho's four electoral votes to Franklin D. Roosevelt. The 71-year-old veteran of 30 years in the United States Senate outdis- tanced his Democratic rival, Gov. C. Ben Ross, nearly two to one. One of the best speakers in the Sen- ate is the Idaho veteran. He needs strict party lines. Today he is classed as & vehement New Dealer, not only because of his avowed personal regard for the President, but because during recent sessions he sponsored, among outstanding administration measures, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals and the lame duck amend- ment. However, this session’s story may be entirely different. AST November Virginia re-elected Senator Carter Glass of Lynch- burg by an overwhelming majority over his two minor party opponents, the cabinet of President Ropsevelt. A white-haired little man, barely 5 CONGRESS VETERANS IN OLD SEATS AFTER UPHEAVAL/ jPictursque and E;iicient Statesmen of Old Dean of the House is Representative Adolphus J. Sabath of has served more than 30 years. Chicago. He Senator boits the party he should hand in his resignation.” Senator Glass today is head of the powerful Appropriations Committee and also is & member of the Banking and Currency Committee. Dmmrdmwm« Senators is Pat Harrison, Demo~ News of Churches PAGE B—1 < ; manufacturers have scarcely had time to recover from the first jolt of getting their eyes opened to the popularity of the idea, and to get their factories into a stride designed to keep pace with that popularity. Definite forces have served to mili- tate against ill-considered or sudden mass production. There is, in the first place, a disinclination to sink vast | sums of money into an industry that | has had no time—due to its mushroom growth — to prove its permanence. Then, too, the problem of design and material has not been sufficiently solved to warrant large-scale opera- tion. Pinally, there must be considered the necessity for establishing adequate dealer representation. IN SPITE of all this, manufacturers in the United States today are, by the most conservative estimates, plan- ning to double or even treble their | trailer output this year. In 1936 the | trailer output was 35,000 coaches for | residence purposes. This estimate is the result of a behind-the-scenes sur- vey and s critical analysis of manu- facturers’ claims. Next year, it is esti- mated by the same sources, that out- put will soar to 70,000, possibly 80,000. The industry, while in the first stages of development, has been so spurred, however, by public demand that ex- | pansion is going on in all quarters, and | mass-production methods have already been adopted by some manufacturers. In certain firms, trailers are coming off the assembly lines like passenger cars, | presaging what is to come. This is the more surprising when one consid- | ers that up to two years ago every | trailer coach was, in great measure, | entirely hand-made—that is, built to | fill the specifications of the individual | purchaser, It has been estimated conservatively | Often you will hear the cynical state- ment that Pat never speaks on the Senate floor unless the gallery is full. This is sheer exaggeration. The vet- eran is one of the “cagiest” speakers in Congress and often- says a few deftly chosen words that save a bill which was about to die, In fact, in his important capacity as chairman of the Finance Committee, he has sneaked through many a tax bill tha that public demand for this year alone could absorb 200,000 units, and that demand is constantly growing. William B. Stout, a designer of mo= bile houses rather than trailers, pre= dicts “within 30 years half the homes of the nation will be mobile.” Roger Babson, statistician, believes “half the population will be living in trailers in 20 years.” The A. A. A has been quoted as stating that a million trailers would be in use during the next year, and a well-known manufacturer broke into print with the prophecy that that nume ber would be manufactured for the use of the American people during 1937. ‘While some of these statements may be construed as expressing the desire rather than the fact, they serve to show the trend on the part of the pub- lic. Individual concerns specializing in building coach passenger trailers likewise indicate that trend in their rapid growth and expansion, while in- quiries in all quarters interested in highway travel plainly point to a vital preoccupation with this new and ine triguing method of getting about. For example, at the A. A. A. in Washington, they tell us that during June and July, when trailer travel was at its height this last season, about 15,000 personal routings were given to trailer travelers across the counter, while it was impossible to keep track of the unprecedented number of tele- phone calls requesting trailer in- formation. ‘Whereas in other days requests for routings have been made to cover & few days’ or single day's trip from the Capital, this Summer’s requests from trailer patronage called for routings covering months of travel, and in some cases a year's suggested jour- neyings. There was a steady increase, on the part of trailerites, in interest in transcontinental travel, including tours of the national parks, and also many trailer owners inquired with in- terest about the recently opened Mexico City highway. At present there is an influx of visitors bound southward in trailers and the informa- tion has to do mostly with Florida routes, the A. A. A. states. “NJOTHING short of phenomenal,” this agency calls the interest manifested in trailer life, and it points out that while in the day of the homemade trailer more of the “gypsy” type of citizen went wander- ing, today’s luxurious “land yachts” have introduced a new element in life on the open road. Motion picture stars, writers, ex- plorers, students, professional men and women are numbered among the most enthusiastic owners of the mod- ern trailer coach. Some of these coaches are custom-made, with all the luxuries their individual owners find necessary. Hollywood has taken to the trailer in a big way. Numerous members of the film colony use elaborately built and designed trailers as dressing rooms while “on location.” Still others use them for week end “land cruises,” and such trailers are equipped with radios, bars, observation plat- forms, separate rooms, showers and bathtubs, and all manner of gadgets designed to make living easier and pleasanter. W. C. Flelds, Bernal Dyas, Ida Lu- pino, Joan Blondell and Sir Guy Standing are among Hollywood lumi- naries possessing trailers. Ruth Bryan Owen has toured Eu- rope and the States in her trailer, and her delightful accounts of the trip she made with Fannie Hurst in & trailer will be long remembered. Senator Robert R. Reynolds of North Carolina travels about the country in his well-equipped trailer, and it is said he whips up some , | pretty fine dishes on the little stove with a comfortable majority. ‘The Senator is a stalwart six-footer, with gray, curly hair. One of the best-dressed men on Capitol Hill, he is especially fond of oxford gray busi- ness suits. (Continued on Page B-2.) $ in his trailer galley. Carveth Wells, the explorer, was one of the “pioneers” in trailer travel. Ward Traver, distinguished portrait painter, has a “cruising studio.” Dr. Charles Mayo, younger member of the famed Mayo Bros.” Clinic of Rochester, Minn., takes extended vacations with Mrs. Mayo in his trailer coach. Vere non Kennedy, ace pitcher of the Chi= cago White Sox. spends bis time ont (Continued on Page B-3) < &