The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1911-05-18
Consulting Engineer on the Trail.

full share of attention this week.
Monday morning Engineer MacDon-
aid, of Ames, accompanied by the Of
fetal photographer of Waubonsie's
trail, C. R. Babcock, left Shenandoah
for Nebraska City, Neb, and Tuesday
morning they started out to traverse
the entire trail from river to river.
Mr.. Macdonald is secretary of the
Iowa Highway Commission and he IS
making a preliminary inspection of
the trail, making rotations on every
tenth of mile, suggesting fills cuts,
culverts, crowns, drains and drag
ging or anything else his extended
experience as road builder suggests.
Mr.. Babcock Is making views of
the trail which will later be used by
Mr.. Macdonald in making his detail
ed report on the trail. Also views of
any places that may possess special
interest to people living along or
who may pass along the trail.
A summary of the work suggested
and the conditions found by Mr.. Mac
Donald will be published in pamphlet
form as soon as the report is made,
and copies concerning the work in
each township and county will be
furnished to the Waubonsie trail
trustees and others interested for
their help or guidance. In those places
where concrete work or engineering
skill is required the highway COM
mission will furnish competent men
for consultation and advice, and as
the new automo blie law will make
available a considerable sum of
money in each county this fall for
just the kind of work Waubonsie's
trail needs, so it stands the friends
of good roads in hand to prepare for
economic use of that money.
AS announced in the daily papers
last week Waubonsie's trail is now
located entirely across the state OF
Iowa and extends into Nebraska on
the west and into Illinois on the east
and already the automobile journals
are referring to it as the shortest and
most direct route between the east
and Denver. We who live along Wau-
bonsie's trail and who have taken a
part in it must brush our clothes,
shine the shoes and get ready to look
pleasant while the strangers glide by
on the best dirt road that crosses the
state Of Iowa.
D. Ward King, the inventor of the
road drag idea, writes Mr.. Reininger
that one of the big railroad systems
of the east wants to send an inspect
ing party over one of Iowa's good
roads and Mr.. King wonders if Wau-
bonsie's trail is ready to receive Wis
itors.
Some sections of it are now ready
for inspection. From Nebraska City
10 Shenandoah, along about 35 miles
of road over hill and dale, across sand
and gumbo, the road is in such con-
dition that Tuesday night of this
week Mr.. Reininger rode in a friends
car and the trip was made between
IL and 1 o'clock in the night in ore,
hour and twenty-seven minutes.
That's going some even for Waubor-
sizes trail and at the midnight hour.
too
The Motor Age contained an ex-
tended wrteup Of Waubonsie's trail
last week and illustrated a number of
the scenes on the famous road. Yes,
even If it is young it is already fam
Gus.
One county already reports three
farmers making ready to move their
homes from the side roads onto
Waubonsie's trail. That's what is
aimed at. The short way back to the
farm.
The Waubonsie salute is becoming
generally recognized. 1t is given in
this manner: You meet a gentleman
ly stranger, one who courteously
shares the road with you or who is
glad to show you some little atten-
ton, and you wave him a salute with
the right hand. This means, II thank
YOU" When you meet the other kind
of fellow you dispense with him
with a wave of the left hand and let
him put his own construction on it.
Fremont county in the western
part and Van Buren, county in the
eastern part of the state of Waubon-
sic possess some of the best ex-
amples of concrete bridges and Gull
verts construction in the state. A
part of this credit is due the Iowa
Highway Commission and big Sec
ond part is due to those county SUI
pervisors who have recognized the
Importance of permanent waterways
crossing the main travelled roads.
The new automobile tax law will
return to each county in the state
an average Of three thousand dollars,
which the law says must be used on
defined and marked roads wherein
grades have been established. This
is the best piece of road legislation
Iowa has passed in many years and
it will mean a steady improvement
all along the line on the "Short Way
Back to the Farm"
All the towns traversed by Wau-
bonsie's trail should put up, warning
signs at the entrances to their thick
ly settled parts. These signs are a
necessary thing if speed ordinances
are to be enforced, and it is the lack
OF these signs that leads to disre-
gard Of the rights Of foot passengers
and people in buggies, wagons and