The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-18
PATHFINDERS HAVE
 MADE HARD TRIP AT BAD SEASON OF YEAR

Memphis, August 1T.-When the path finding Flanders electric. which is laying out the route for the national tour of the American Automobile association from Detroit to the city of New Orleans, the tour. reached Memphis. it had covered a7S.9 miles of the 1900 mile route and had heforo 1t problems that appeared just IS iusurmountable as did those of the sec ond week of the journey.
 From Mammoth Cave to Memphis, q distance of 400 miles. was pronounced an in possible route owing to the heavy rains which have prevailed all through the present year, but the pathinders, journey, and as Is the case generally found that opinions regarding road con ditions and the possibility of roads were at fault.
 From Mammoth Cave to Nashville is 10S miles, and the tourists will stop at Bow 4h1g Green, 6s.j miles, for dinner. From Nashville to Sheffield, Ala, Is l24 miles, and the tourists will stop at Columbia 4S,s mics. for dinner. This will allow q
 
 to Columbia is one of the finest roads on the trip to drive over. From Sheffield to Memphis, one days run on the Glid- den tour of two years ago. will be divided into two days running this year, the night stop out of Sheffield being at Rodgers Spring, with Corinth 63.i miles, as the noon stop. Rodgers Spring is a delightfully."- located health resort. with rustic hotel, which is a paradise. This point is 9Ss miles from Sheffield
 From Rodgers Spring to Memphis is. 7t miles, which will land the tourists i'll Memphis early on the eighth day of the tour
 Delays have been caused in the path finding trip by errors in the route as laid down two years ago when the tour went to sDallas. Tex, through much of this route, the necessity of corrections and of arranging fo" stopping places. noon stops and for gasoline and other supplies for the tourists
 Pathfinder Westgard is very exact and refuses to attempt to map the route at night and refuses to follow any other but the direct route as the lake-to-th gulf route will be one of the standard touring routes of the country for many years. The news that the tour was again coming throug h this section caused much activity with the farmers on the road building ef- forts and the pathfnders struck the country just at the time when miles of roads had been under course of construction for some time and road building down south means as a rule the throwing up of the dirt from the roadside, where it is gradually rolled into shape by traffic.
 Where hills have been encountered the rains have washed the surface to such an extent that detours have been cut through the woods, the stumps still standing dangerously high for low hung cars. The Flanders was seldom, If ever. in difficulty from this, how ever. and travelled steadily through country that seemed impossible.
 Tn every city and town entered the tourists in their novel coupe. which was absolutely noiseless and which travelled so steadily. attracted more attention than would have been the case with an ordinary car and the pathfinders were called upon to reply to countless questions wherever they stopped In the swamps which sur round Corinth Miss. where the tour ists Of 1910 were in such difficulty the electric found little trouble and other than spots where roads were be- ing constructed, made the trip easily
 The liveliest possible interest in road building work was found in county af- ter county during the week of travel and number of counties had appro- priated sums which in the total amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars for the construction of roads. The country was found aroused to the road question and good roads all along the route will follow as the result of the present pathfnding trip and of the tour itself.
 From Memphis the tourists will IL. Il ( .t. Mss. with a detour from that point to Vicksburg and then from Jack son to Baton Rouge and New Orleans When the pathfnders reached Memphis and stepped iron, their car for the welcome from several score enthusi- q stic motorists of that city. they were arrayed in suits of white and looked so cool and comfortable and withal so cleanly that hundreds of people stopped to look at their car and won der.