Transport: Local Lovers

To speculative motorists who often wonder how the thousands of roadhouses and tourist camps which line U. S. highways make a profit, the sociology department of Southern Methodist University last week gave an answer. Most of such resorts, according to S. M. U., are chiefly used as places of assignation.

S. M. U. sociologists made an exhaustive survey of tourist camps near Dallas, Tex., discovered that nearly 75% of the patrons were not tourists at all, but local couples who used the cabins few about an hour. Many proprietors admitted that “couple trade” was the foundation of their business. Some even admitted discouraging legitimate tourists because they stayed all night, brought less revenue than local lovers. In one camp, a series of “couples” rented one cabin 16 times in one night. In ten weeks, one camp was patronized by 254 “couples,” 109 of whom came from Dallas. Only seven gave their right names, but S. M. U. snoopers took their automobile license numbers, discovered their identities. These were not disclosed, but a map showing the location of their homes was circulated, caused tremendous tumult, for most of the “couple trade” came from the better parts of town. Concluded S. M. U.’s investigators:

“The growth of these institutions and their toleration by the community are evidences of a changed public attitude toward nonmarital intimacies.”