Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-22
AUTO TOUR CERTAIN
May Be Run from New Orleans
to New York.
CRESCENT CITY FOR START
In This Manner Bad Part of Trip
Will Be Covered at
Outset.

The Glidden tour, or whatever the
A \. \. national relia bility run will 10
called next time, Is not dead. merely dor
mant. There will be a tour OF some kind
next year and there Is very good chance
OF having II run from New Orleans to
New York city instead OF on the New
Orleans-Detroit line. II was the plan this
year to have the tour from Detroit TO the
Crescent City, but owing Ia lack OF in
terest-the A A. \. ascribed the post
ponement to the price OF wheat in North
Dakota or the scarcity Of caribou in
Maine or something like that--the contest
was called of. There were only four
actual guaranteed entries.
Now Detroit is perhaps a good city for
the start OF such "a tour. The Wolverire
A. &. had made arrangements Tor a good
send-on of the tourists and was prepared
to say goodbye with great cheertness and.
heartiness. But after all Detroit wasn't
so keenly interested in the tour and a lot
Of effort had to be made to achieve the
selection of Detroit for the starting point
Furthermore Detroit is maker rather than
consumer and the tour is partly TO help
selling.
Feared Electric Car.
The fact that an electric machine did
the pathfinding act for the tour was
another thing that hurt il. F-as was
extremely natural and likely any gaeo-
line car came to grief on the tour in
evitably this would be used as a point in
advertising the worth of the electric.
Gasoline car makers naturally fought shy
of entering the competition with such
chances hanging over their heads. and as
a result the starting field was small. X
was hard to get up enthusiasm along the
road, and i'm some cases IL was only after
the most strenuous work that single car
could be got from even big city In the
south.
1t is now urged that the tour run from
New Orleans north to Detroit In 1913
This would mean that the probable worst
roads would be encountered first on the
tour and later on the journey would he
fine. When 1t happens to rain there are
stretches Oh the southern section Of tn.
route that become impossible. What is
called buckshot mud, made up OF small
pellets, becomes so slippery that IL ism
like the deeply rutted muddy roads OF
the north. 1t is nearly Impossible to keep
car on this road when travelling faster.
say, than about eighteen miles an hour.
First Stretch Is Bad.
The first 400 miles of the road from New
Orleans to Detroit is level. not a grade OF
more than 4 per cent. 1t is bad except
when the weather Is dry. Under such
conditions it can be almost a boulevard
1t rests with chance whether the
early part of the trip is a torture or A
delight. The way as planned for the 1911,
trip, unless a change is made. is that
the first stage shall be through Baton
Rouge to Jackson. A side trip liz made
to Vicksburg and then back 10 Jacks on
again.
From here the route is north TO Mem
phis and then over through Corinth to
Sheffield. in the north part Of Alabama
This is a very rough road, filled In the
wet season with washouts and hard TO
negotiate at any time From Sheffield
the way leads to Nashville and Louis
VILE
There is stretch of eighty miles on
this road, a section of Telford pavement
more than seventy years old. which seem
ingly has not been repaired or touched
in all it's lifetime. There are big nubbly
stones sticking out on it which make this
stretch an agony to encounter. On one
trip over 1t a motorist had six blowouts
road is to Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and
Detroit. This is about 1900 miles all
told.
The suggestion that has been made 10
to go from jackson over through Mont
gomery to Atlanta and then strike
through the Carolnas into Charlottesville
Va. a very beautiful run through an ex-
quisitely picturesque section Of the At
lantic coast. and then to make Washing
ton. Baltimore and Philadelphia the
way back. This will cover a section dr.
ferent save I'm a few places. from that
touched i'm the Gliddon tour Of 1911, and
at the same time will take a tour through
a country live to automobiles and per-
hnrN laft ylxaf hal he har