Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1911-08-24
The Present Automobile Trip to
Arcadia.
ST. LouIs. August 1ath. t91t.

6lEH-pOSts-duQ money MOTo x
actly, it means nothing but good
roads. For the good machines of
to-day have almost abolished dis
tances, and a roundabout way,
due to lack of proper maps or
sign-posts, is of very little impor-
lance to the automobilist. And,
finally, good roads will cut down
the expenditures of the present
automobile trip to a very marked
degree. Since, under common
weather conditions, the trip from
St. Louis to Arcadia may be easily
made in from six to eight hours,
its expenses limit themselves
practically in the wear and tear of
the tires, which is in indirect pro-
portion to the condition of the
roads. Since a single casing (tire)
of the better, heavier touring cars
comes as high as $50 or $40, one
may truthfully say that under the
present road conditions a trip to
Arcadia may cost from $500 to
S200--a sum out of proportion to
the enjoyments and advantages
gained by it, and an expenditure
which mars to many people its
pleasures very decidedly.
MAPS AND sIGN-PosTs.
Another draw back-in the pres
ent condition of the roads-is the
lack of exact maps. Those of
Uncle Sam r of course still the
most reliable ones. But unfor-
tunately these are already partly
antiquated; partly do they not
cover the whole territory to be
transgressed. For the map of Iron
county is not yet published, ex-
cept a geologic map ofthe Arcadia
region in the year of 1890. But
even in possession of good maps,
there seem to exist two disad-
vantages almost unconquerable to
the human mind. Firstly, the con-
sultation of maps during a trip
with an average speed of 10 miles
is a pretty difficult work and may,
when carried through, enforce
such a slowing in the speed that it
will delay the trip almost as much
as the continuous inquiries did,
which we had to make. The re.
plies to them, by the way, were
not infrequently misleading. The
necessity of repeatedly stopping
and interrogating about the COR
rect road, particularly whilst
passing through larger places like
De Soto, Flat River, Pennington,
etc., has caused us a loss of near
ly an hour of the real automobiling
time. This latter fact-passing
through towns with many streets
renders at once the second dis
advantage of proper maps mani
rest. No map useful for an auto
mobile trip could be made on such
a scale as to serve as a reliable
guide, through towns particularly.
These places offer to the stranger
more difficulties than open coun-
try roads. | know only of one
remedy that would benefit the
happy wanderer, as well as the
bicycilist, the horseback rider, the
wagon driver and the chauffeur,
and take from their minds the
worrying and pleasure-diminish-
ing uncertainty as to the correct
road, namely sign-posts, made OF
cement, at every b%ifurcation of a
road and proper street-signs with
in the limits of towns.
ROADS.
And now as to the roads we en-
countered. They were those along
the route laid down by Pathfinder
Poland. We were not fortunate
enough to get in time the official
log book published by the Mis-
souri, Automobile Association fol-
the intended "Three Days En-
durance Rum from st. Louis to
Arcadia and back over Ste. Gene
We've. Not until we had reached
Pennington (within % miles,
about, of our point of destination
we were lucky enough to get into
its possession through the kind
ness OF a court official of that pref
ty town.
The general outline of the route
was published again and again in
the metropolitan newspapers: St
Louis, st. Louis county to the
bridge over the Maramec, (sicl)
Jefferson county with the leading
places, Hillsboro and De Soto, st
Francois county with Flat Rivel
and Pennington and finally IroI
county.
The trip through Jefferson coun
ty as far as De Soto is scenically
most beautiful, the prettiest one
even not excepting the last 15 mile
of the route. 1t owes its fascina'
nation chiefly to the high hills anc
deep valleys which the very sat.
isfactory road transgresses almos
vertically. II makes use Of tn
fret, northeasterly located Wagon
bridge built over the Marame
and was surely selected for tina
reason. 1t is 80 immensely hilly
that | risk to foretell Of q rout
that will follow more the tracks 0
the Southern Frisco and Irol
Mountain railroad, thereby facil
itating in the highest degree al
automobile traffic, an object of tn
near future.
The route to De Soto, as it
mapped out now, amounts fror
the residence district of Sc. Loui
(say Kingshighway and Wash
ington Ayenue) to Az miles, al
most identical with the distanc
from the Union Station to the D
Soto depot. OF these AZ miles Ii
approximately 10 miles within til
CITY and 81 miles represent coun