THE BUSINESS OF RECREATION The Growing Importance of Recreation.—Recreation is rapidly giving rise to some of the chief kinds of business. People not only entertain their friends and go to movies, theaters, concerts, and parties, but engage in out-of door sports and recreations and travel widely to visit the marvelous scenery which is so widespread in the United States and elsewhere. In advanced countries it is no longer necessary to make excuses for time spent among the hills, on the water, at the bat, or in the saddle. The Saturday half holiday is now extremely com mon. The war helped to convince Americans that sport generally means health and strength and thus improves the moral fiber of the people and increases their mental power. If the sports and recreation of a nation are a barometer of its progress, it is a good sign that two of America's chief contributions have been baseball and the city playground.
It is as yet impossible to form even an approximate estimate of the amount spent in the development, direction, and enjoyment of sports, holidays, vacations, and amusements. The total, however, certainly runs well into billions each year. The moving-picture industry is now said to be fourth in importance in the United States. Many stores have sport departments, a large share of our magazines and books are pub sished solely to furnish recreation, and many al~e devoted to special forms of amusement. Phonographs and other musical instruments are sold by the million, while enormous sums are spent on museums, parks, pageants, expositions, and conventions where recreation is one of the main objects.
Kinds of Outdoor Recreation and Their Geographical Distribution.— The chief outdoor games, sports, and recreations of the United States fall largely in the following groups: Baseball, Football, Golf, and Tennis.
B. Snow-shoeing, Skating, Skiing, and Coasting.
C. Hunting and Fishing.
D. Nature Study and Photography.
E. Walking, Riding, Bicycling, and Motoring.
F. Boating, Canoeing, and Yachting.
G. Racing and Athletic Contests.
A. Baseball, Football, Golf, and Tennis.—Baseball arouses more popular interest than any other outdoor American sport. More than any other it is also the sport of cities and towns. On the whole it" is much more active in the northeastern quarter of the country than in any other part. In order to be most successful it needs not only eighteen players, but enough onlookers to arouse enthusiasm. Although the reports of prices paid for players in the major leagues are usually exag gerated, the expenses of maintaining this sport 'are great. For example, the New York Americans, one of the most expensive clubs in the coun try, is said to cost $600,000 a year for maintenance. Since there are sixteen major baseball clubs and numerous small ones, as well as thou sands of amateur baseball teams connected with educational institutions, factories, churches, clubs, and other organizations, the total amount of money spent on the sport and the number of people who take part in it both rise to large proportions. In 1921, the attendance at the games of each of the major New York clubs amounted to over a million, while , the numbers were 900,000 in Cleveland, and 500,000 in Philadelphia. The World's Series at the end of the season netted a little over $900,000 for the eight games and approximately 270,000 people attended.
Football is preeminently a game of educational institutions. There its receipts are often depended on to make up the deficit incurred in other sports. Crowds of 10,000 are common and those of 60,000 to 80,000 are sometimes reported. Football has probably been respon sible for the building of more unique structures than any other game. The great Bowl at Yale, the Stadium at Harvard, and similar structures at many other colleges are a distinct feature of American architecture. Football is so strenuous a game that it is not adapted to southern climates or to the warm weather in any climate.