Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1909-07-14
Scouts Find Road Extremes in
Virginia Trip


Virginia Trip
The following telegram from
Natural Bridge, reporting road
conditions re seen by the scouting
party of the New York Herald ard
Atlanta Journal, appeared IN The
Herald Thursday,July 9Th, aud viii
he read with interest because OF tie
agitation now being made for the
establishment of the great automo-
bile highway between New York
and Atlanta:
NATURAL BRIDGE, Va, Wednes
day,-New experiences daily cen
front the scout care of the Herald
and the Atlanta Journal. Today
after having made a run of 156
miles under the most perfect tour
ing conditions, and after having
arrived within three miles of the
hotel at the Natural Bridge, which
was their destination for the night,
the good roads scouts found their
machines mired in brief stretch
of roadway which had recently
been worked preparatory to being
macadamized, and were in "a sense
the victims of their own propa
ganda, for the hotel corporation
had been zealously extending its
smooth, macadamIzed highway in
the hope Of making an easy ep
proach for the scouts.
For more then an hour the two
giant machines stood logged, for
the stretch of deep, soft mud was
on II steep grade. Finally, by lay
ing stones beneath the tires, and
with mud chains locked on both
cars, they managed to extrlcate
themselves by their own power.
Not one hundred feet away from
where they were stuck lay sn Doth
macadam road leading t. com
Portable summer hotel only one
mile and Ealf away.
From the eight O'Clock start this
morning from Winchester, until
the arrival here early this evening
the scout cas- traversed roads pre-
senting the extremes Of excellence
and crudity.
Over the splendid toll road from.
Winchester TO Staunton speed OF
from thirty to thirty-fve miles
an hour was easily maintained.
South of Stanton dirt roads pre-
vailed, and they were greatly III.
ferior to the Valley Pike, though
they are somewhat better than
whep the scouts traversed them
more than u month ago, after sew.
eral rains. Al that time little
popular interest was shown in the
subject of road Improvement in
Augusta, Rockbridge and Bote
tourt, the counties lying south of
Staunton. Today, however, these,
communities ere aroused over the
Importance of the Herald-Journal
national highway.
Five miles north of Lexington,
Va, Buick and Maxwell were
waiting to escort the scouts. IL
them were William r. Kennedy,
Mayor of Lexington; CD. Letcher,
vice president of the Lexington
Board of Trade; E. Il. Robinson, a.
Shields, Clerk of Court, and L.R
Miller. In Maxwell were Council
man Charles Pole and G. E. Wood
ward.
After being driven through the
campus Of the Virginia Military
Institute and being photographed
in front of the chapel of the Wash.
ington and Lee University, where
reposes the body of Robert <. Lee,
the scouts were informally, but
delightfully."- entertained in the
home of G. d. Letcher, the son OF
Virginia's famous war Governor,
John Letcher.
When the cars dashed up in
front of the Natural Bridge hote'
the band was playing and the
guests who had just finished din
ner, were seated on the porch
They crowded around the scout
cars, showing deep interest in theil
mission. Although the hotel was
crowded by the delegates attend
ing State convention of drug
gists, many of them with their
wives and daughters, Charles H.
Paxton had reserved accOmmoda.
tions for the good roads pilgrims
who ate hearty meal and ther
mingled in the informal gaities oil
a Southern summer resort. To
morrow the scouts expect to lunch
in Roanoke, after having devoted
al hour or two to inspecting the
beauties of the Natural Bridge by
( daylight.
BristoI's Four Hundred Unpur-