Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-07-27
Journals End of Highway Will
Be From Roanoke South
Through Salisbury, Charlotte,
Spartanburg, Greenville.
SEVERAL PROBLEMS
YET TO BE SOLVED
ON SOUTHERN PART
Route Lies Through Beautiful
Piedmont Section-Final De
tails Now in Order in Prepare
ton for Tour This Autumn.

It's the middle route. The middle
route from Roanoke south TO At
lanta is announced as The Atlanta
Journals selection for its portion Of
the great north and south highway.
over that route The Atlanta Journal
New York Herald reliability contest
win be made south of Mason and
Dixon's line next October. Along
that route the national north and
south highway will lay. The mid
die route gets the highway.
Before making this announce
ment The Atlanta Journal has given
the whole situation thorough and
exhaustive study. AT great expense
10 its treasury and the Drawn and
brain OF its stan men, and with the
assistance OF two of the best cars
and the best drivers in the south,
IL has gone over every foot OF the
territory since the first OF last May
and has tried out every feasible sug-
gestion. travelled every logical alter
native. Its scouts and scout cars
have pushed their way through roads
that seemed impossible and nave
bowled along over highways that
have no superiors in the world
And in making the announcement,
therefore, The Atlanta Journal is
well and reliably informed at first
hand in the premises, so that its de-
cision is as fair as fair could be. IL
mas been influenced by no other con-
sideration. absolutely. than that OF
selecting the best route for the ma
tional highway and for the endur-
ance run to pass through Dixie TO
Atlanta this fall. BY the selection
OF the middle route Through Ander-
son. Greenville, Spartanburg, Char
lette and Salisbury to Roanoke) 1t
places its stamp upon what the
scouts Of the paper and the drivers
and mechanicians who have travelled
with them consider the best OF all
the routes they have Travelled.
DECISION NOT DERoGAToRY.
This decision in no way operates
against either the capital-to-capital
route or the Bristol route. 1t
simply means that, as they are at
present. the two other routes are
surpassed by the one that lies be-
tween them. The capital-to-capital
highway from Atlanta to Washing
ton and New York may in time be
built from end TO end of its length,
for there can be no man more pro-
gressive than Leonard Tufts, or
Pfnehurst, n. c., president OF the
Capital-to-Capital Highway associa-
ton. and there can be no more har-
monious- or determined body than
that which he heads. The western
f
tanooga. will doubtless be realized
in the very near future, for The
Journal scouts found the influential
citizens along that route deeply
stirred by the possibilities that lie
within their reach.
But for the present the middle route
alone is feasible: and the middle route
becomes the official highway.
on each OF the other routes the repre-
sentatives OF The Journal encountered
beautiful stretches Of road But those
we're more than offset by other stretches,
scusetimes a hundred miles long, Of roads
that were hardly traversable.
ROUTE Is NOT PERFECT.
Nor Is the middle route perfect through
out its length. for otherwise there would
have been no great reason for the scouts
70 travel 900 miles more after they I'm
fshed their original survey Here ana
there in its length there are bad places
which viii either be put In good condi-
ton before the endurance run OF they
viii Re avoided. In publishing the ten
tattve map Of the middle route, The
Journal reserves TO itself the right to
make any change where such change Is
rendered imperative or advisable But
the arising Of such contingencies Is not
Anticipated Nor is 1t believed that the
route VII show any stretches by next
Octoher that are not in good condition for
tourfnc-that are not only practicable
roadways. but good roadways. Lexing-
ton county, y. c.. for example, which
has been notorious in past years for the
miserable public gullies'' within its Dor
ders viii vote a half million dollar bond
issue within a few weeks for the i'm
provelnent of those same roads. So Lex
fngton county's bad stretch-One OF the
worst encountered by the scouts-is to
be supplanted by at least the foundations
for one OF the best portions OF the whole
route before the endurance runners next
fan roll through that county. Other in
stances OF improvements that must be
made or are already arranged to be made
are more Isolated. Some bad fords are
70 be bridged. TO make them 1T for winter
trave, as well as for dry weather travel
on the whole. however. the middle route
Il substantially good as it stands.