East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-12-10
PER|LOUS TRIP
BY AUTOMOBILE
PROPOSED RACE FROM
NEW YORK TO PARIS
Motor Car Enthusiasts Plan Trip via
Chicago, Canada, Alaska, Behrlng
Straits on the Ice, Siberia TO Mos
COW and from that Point I'm on the
Pellln-Parls Route Already Ira
VeTscd.

New York, Dec. 10.-Automobilists
In New York are manifestlng great
interest in the proposed $4,000 mile
motor car trip from New York to
| Paris, arranged by a leading Paris
/ newspaper. While, on the face of 1t,
! the project looks like an imposslbility,
/ experts declare that II is feasible.
/ The worst parts of the trip have al
/ ready been conquered In the Pekin
I to Paris race. in which the automo-
/ bies successfully negotiated the per-
! lis of the parched Siberian deserts,
/ the apparently impossible hills and
/ mountains and the savage natives.
/ The only part Of the proposed route
which at present is causing worry is
/ the rough country between Vancou-
/ yer, b. c., and Skagway, Alaska.
this portion of the qjourney traversed
/ It is believed that the rest of the haz-
/ arduous trip would be comparative
] ly easy While the autos would prob
ably cross Behring strait by boat 1t
is possible that they might be able
to do so on the Ice.
An expert New York automobil st
thus estimates the perlls and diff
cuties to be encountered on the 49,
| 900 mile trip:
"The cars will have to climb
mountains several times to an alti-
| tude of over 10000 feet. and drop
down the sides of mountain ranges o.
] ErxI,
I impossible, even to the sure-footed
| beast of burden The drivers will
| have to go through rivers which In
many cases will completely cover
the wheels and flooring of the car.
and the motor will have to do it's
work at a temperature OF 100 degrees
/ as we'll as so degrees below zero. In
fact, the automobile will have to
withstand the difficulties which no
present day locomotive, no electrical
| engine. and no beast Of burden can
! stand for such a distance or such
| time"
Despite these dire predictions,
! preparations for the race are going
forward, and It is likely that within
a year the great trip Will have be-
gun. According to present plans.
yhe start will be from New York the
route leading thence to Chicago.
From the Windy City the motorist
will face northward to Canada. fol-
| lowing the line of the Canadian Pa
citic railroad across western Can
ada to Vancouver, b. C. Thence the
racers will go to Alaska, crossing
the Bchring straits, and then through
Siberia TO Moscow. From this point
| Pekin- Paris route will be followed,
passing through Berlin. 1t is possible.
however, tina a change OF route may
be made, causing the contestants to
cross the continent TO San Francisco
thence going northward to Vancou-
yer and Alaska.
According to the Canadian authorl
| ties the most feasible route to Bear
ing strait would be from Regina,
| Saskatchewan, to Fort Saskatchewan.
! proceeding thence over the new Yu-
kon route to Dawson City. This
road, 1t is stated, IS thoroughly ca
pable of being negotiated by auto
mobiles. 1t is the regular postroad of
the northwest mounted police. From
Dawson the best route is said to lie
direct west to Nome. through United
States territory,
That large number OF American
manufacturers viii enter cars in COM
! petition with the European makers is
now certain. Several concerns are
now considering plans for machines
that would be able to withstand the
hardships of such a journey, and
there is a feeling of confidence that
the United States will win first hon
ors In this, the blue ribbon event OF
automobile history.