The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-02-17
South Takes Great Interest in
the Proposed Meridian Road
Texas Commercial Secretaries and Business Mems Association
Sends Out Publicity Material Boosting the
Proposed Route

Every section through which thel
proposed Meridian road will run is
taking great interest in the scheme.
This road will run through Fargo.
The Texas commercial secretaries
and Business Mems association has
! sent out the following:
This is the day of high way improve
ment. The germ of good roads has in
fected the union from east to west and
from north to south. Everywhere is
heard the noise of the road grader and
the whistle of the steam pillow. AS this
is an age of great undertakings ii
every line, so it is in the road building.
The most ~stupendous tasks in the
building of highways are planned. and
it is gratifying to know that they are
not only laid on paper but on, the land.
They are not the dreams of Missionaries.
but everyday happenings in the lives
of realists. q
The magnitude Of the plans for
building highways has passed rhe
bounds of community and county lines
to assume interstate M wen inpe"-
national Importance. The transcon-
tinental highway, reaching from coast
to coast, will be some 1000 miles in
length, or more than eleven times as
long as the world famous Appain Way,
Nearly $140,ooo,ooo Expended.
approximately s14o,OoO,o 900 were ex-
pended in the United States las. year
for building good roads. This money
was disbursed in aiding the cause Of
highway construction under various
names, and from precinct roads a few
miles in length to highways traverslng
entire states. Some Of the most not
able highway projects arr the Trans
continental highwcy, the National
highway, the Jeff Davis highway, the
Red River to the Gulf ro4.i, the Wash
ington to Bristol road, the Lincoln
road and the Meridian road.
The Meridian road while not us long
as the Transcontinenvdl highway, is
oe no less Importance. This road
crosses the United States from north
to south, bisects the union almost
| equally, reaches nine states, with a
total area of 841,159 square miles, or
% per cent of that of the United States
and is approximately 1000 miles in
length.
Plans of Meridian Road.
The present plans of the Meridian
road call for. a continuous highway
from Winnipeg, Can, to Galveston,
Tex. When this is completed, it will
in all probability be extended south
ward to the City of Mexico.
As already planned, this road will
tap the most productive portion of the
union, the great middle west. This is
indicated by the table given below,
prepared from the thirteenth federal
census report, which shows that the
nine states touched by this road furnish
proportionally a large share Of the en-
tire farm production of the United
States, as follows: corn AZ per cent,
wheat 81, oats 46, hay and forage 40,
cotton "a. horses and mules 40, cattle
AZ, swine 43.
Travellers along the Meridian ROAD
viii pass from the waving fields OF
golden grain Of the Dakotas and Kan
sas to the virgin white cotton fields OF
Oklahoma and Texas; from the snow
clad plains of Canada to the sunkissed
orange groves of the southern gulf
coast.
Originated in Kansas
This proposed high way had it's in
ception in the sunfiower state about
June /, 1911. The Meridian road as
ISOLATION was organized to promote a
north and south road across Kansas
near the Sixth meridian. w. w.
Watson was elected president and
John G.. Nicholson, secretary. a. The
officers were instructed to proceed at
once with definite plans of the north
and south Dad and to enlarge the pro-
ject If possible, into q Winnipeg to the
Gulf road. Later the Interstate Postal
Highway association was organized at
EOklahoma to extend the highway
across Oklahoma, practically following
the Santa Fe railway.
Still later an organization under the
name of the Chisolm trail was formed,
which built a road across the state OF
Oklahoma, following quite closely the
Rock Island railroad. At Columbus,
Neb, was formed the Nebraska divi-
sion of the Meridian road. The Penn
bina Highway association with a route
from Winnipeg to the international
boundary line signifed it's willingness
to form a division of the road.
Red River to Gull.
One of the first moves to be made
was the organization OF the Red River
to the Gulf highway in Texas. Later
this last mentioned division resolved
itself into two roads, one on the east
side of the Brazos through Dallas, fol-
lowing the Houston n Texas Cen
trail railway, and one on the west side
through Fort Worth, following the
Santa Fe with crossoyers.
The necessity for a closer organlza-
ton and the recognition Of n or more
persons as the head Of such an associ.
alton was patent, Accordingly a meet.
ing OF delegates from each OF the states
and that section of Canada trayersec
by the road was called at Emporia
Kan, on Jan. II al Is. At this meet
ing which was also the date and loca-
ton of the state good roads meeting
a large number of delegates were pres
ent at Emporia. Samuel H. Lee OF
Pierre, S. d. vas elected president
Col. Sidney Suggs, Oklahoma City
Okla, vice president, and John G
Nicholson, Newton, Kan, secretary ant
treasurer.