Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-11
AUTO TO SPREAD
GOOD ROADS CREED
Ohio Car Selected to Make Trans
continental Run and Arrive
Before Christmas
BETTER HIGHWAYS URGED
Veteran Car of the MunSey Tour
Started Journey from New
York to Frisco Nov. rs
BETTER HIGHWAYS URGED

Starting from City Hall square, New
York, on Monday, November Il, a
party of four automobilists in an Ohio
car commenced long and notable
journey to San Francisco, covering
approximately 5000 miles of the least
frequented roads of the southern and
southwestern states. The trip will
take thirty-f1ve days at an average
speed of $50 miles day, the intention
being to reach the Golden Gate city
on Christmas day. The automobillsts
will convey Christmas greeting
from Mayor Gaynor of New York to
Mayor Mccarthy of San Francisco.
Two noteworthy objects have
prompted the Ohio Motorcar company
to undertake the trip-a thorough in
vestigation of road conditions in the
regions traversed and an actual DEM
onstration of the cost of maintaining
a car on a coast to coast run AT It's
conclusion the Ohio good roads and
economy test will take equal rank
in national automobile history with
the historic Glidden and Munsey tours
and the more recent good roads test.
The ROAD data collected will be COM
piled by an expert and furnished free
to automobilists, good roads assoc1a-
tions and others interested in the I'M
provement of the national highways.
The information relative to the cost
keen of an automobile on so long
run will be of the highest value to au-
tomobilists and manufacturers In view
of the fact that no reliable figures COW
ering this subject are now available.
The party will consist of Ernest l..
Ferguson representing the American
Automobile association, as official OBJ
server Guy w. Finney, representing
the Ohio Motorcar company; silent
Harry Mathews, driver Of the official
starters car in the recent Munsey
historic tour, and mechanician. Mr..
Ferguson has been the executive oft1-
cial of the successive Glidden tours
since the first year of their inaugura-
tion, the first New York to Atlanta
good roads tour and also this years s
Munsey run. He will collect the road
data and those concerning the cost
keep of lne automobile.
The"route will be south through New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vir-
gfnia, North and South Carolina,
Georgia. Florida, thence north into
Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, and
west across the Mississippi river into
Missouri and Kansas, when the course
will again be directed south into Okla
homa and Texas. Reaching the Rio
Grande river the route Will follow
northwesterly course over the arid
plains of Texas, New Mexico and Ari-
zona into California, with the windup
in San Francisco.
Included in the itinerary of large
cities through which the party will
pass are Jersey City, Philadelphia,
Baltimore Washington, Roanoke,
Greensboro Charlotte, Atlanta, Savan-
nah, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Mobile,
Montgomery, Birmingham. Chattanoo-
ga, Nashville, Memphis, Paducha, st.
Louis. ansas City. Topeka, Guthrie,
Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin, San An
tonic Houston Galveston, El Paso,
Phoenix. Los Angeles. Pasadena, Oak
land and San francisco, The stops
will be ,nly long enough for sleep and
meals.
Much of the territory covered viii be
over the worst possible roads, their
condition in winter making it extreme
1y dangerous for any except the most
skillful automobilist. This is especially
true in the south and southwest, where
many so-called roads have no exist
ence except in narrow and at times al
most impossible trails
In anticipation of road troubles, such
as being stalled in mud or sand or be-
ing confronted by bridgeless streams
the car will be equipped with wreck
ers complete outfit, consisting of block
and tackle. steel cable. hawser, hoist
etc Special charcoal stoves will be
provided for use in case of the necessi-
ty of camping out at night.
The car to make the run Will be the
famous Mud Hen, which served as the
starters car on the Munsey tour of
last summer. At the conclusion of the
trip, which will be the first three coast
tour ever attempted in an automobile,
the Mud Hen will be shipped back to
New York to be exhibited at the an
nual automobile show at Madison
Square garden in January Charles t..
Pratt. president of the Ohio Motorcar
company, who has long been identified
with the national good roads movement
as a sup. orter and contributor, is the
protector of this good roads and econ
OrnX run.