WAYS AND MEANS 261 



The strain imposed by even a $10 transportation charge upon half of 

 the country's population, with an income of $1,000 or less a year, has been 

 noted. The hard fact is, under present conditions, transportation cost 

 alone bars a large portion of this country's population from using the 

 national forests for recreation. 



For those who can afford to go, what does it cost? Only general esti- 

 mates are possible. To drive from 15 to 20 miles for a family picnic costs 

 more nearly $2 than $1 for a family of four. This counts in costs of wear 

 and tear on the car. Almost the entire cost is for transportation. The cost 

 of the food would be approximately the same as at home. 



For camping, the cost runs a little higher; one has to be equipped with 

 tents, blankets, mosquito bars, and so on. 



What of summer homes, built by special permit on national-forest 

 lands? Rent for the site is small, but the permittee has to put up the 

 building. Amortization on the cottage amounts on the average to $70 

 per year, annual maintenance runs roughly $35, the annual permit fee 

 averages $15, and taxes probably also average $15. With about 3 weeks 

 of use for a family of four, a fair average for national-forest summer homes, 

 this would amount to $1.50 a day for each individual in addition to 

 transportation. It is a cheap vacation, as vacations go, but far beyond the 

 means of most Americans. As for private resorts, on or near the forests, 

 the lowest charge runs around $2 a day for bed and board per person, or $8 

 a day for a family of four. 



Who, then, can and does use the national forests for recreation? More 

 than 32,000 forest visitors filled out questionnaires in 1937; and more than 

 25,000 of them, heads of families or independent individuals, stated their 

 incomes. 



In sum: 18 percent were persons with $1,000 a year, or less; 49 percent 

 had between $1,000 and $2,000 a year; 22 percent, $2,000-$3,000; 8 percent 

 $3,000-$5,000; only 3 percent were persons with more than $5,000 a year. 2 



The figures indicate that moderately poor people make the most use of 

 the national forests for their ease and pleasure, but that relatively few of the 

 poorest, who perhaps need it most, are able to do so. It is not the purpose 



2 The complete returns are compiled and appended on page 293. 



