Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1913-07-10

Chasing over several hundred
miles in an automobile tour Is not
( all joy ride. II is all well enough
for the guests or the owners Of the
cars but the drivers who have to
look after their machines and keep
them in condition to stand day af-
ter day of steady running for a
month, through rain and shine, over
all sorts of roads. work for their
living. The Indiana tourists came
into Kansas City dirty and tired.
They had run through rain and dust
and their cars looked as If they had
seen hard service. When they
started across Kansas the cars had
been frightened and cleaned and
were again attractive. They left the
city in a driving rain with chains
on every wheel but ten miles out
dust was flying and chains came off
The Golden Belt road was selected
for the tour because 1t is the best
marked road in the west and the
tourists had only praise for its con-
dition and possibilities. The road
day, July 2, had made 1t as good
as possible and, as in this county
there had been work on every sec
ton to perfect 1t and make the
rough places smooth. Over the whole
400 miles this had been done and
it counted. But 1t needs permanent
roadmaking on many parts of the
road to give a road that will pass
muster the year around. East of
Topeka the sand was worst of the
entire trip and for several miles the
cars struggled through a road hat
tested tempers and heated 49, en-
gines. From Topeka to Bavaria, in
Saline county, there was fine
road; then three miles of sand again
on freshly worked road troubled
the drivers. The people of Kansas !.
must learn that the cheapest way
in the end to fix a sand road is
cover it with clay or gravel-then
it is done and needs only rainten-
ance to insure good service.
The impossibility of holding a
party of tourists to a schedule was
again shown in the course over this
state. The original plan was to
start each morning at 7 o'clock and
this usually meant 1880. 1t was
later than that when they left Kan
sas City Monday morning and they
went through Lawrence without a
stop, being delayed by heavy rains
and wet roads near Kansas City.
Then in the afternoon the tempera-
ture went to 106 and the fasteners
wilted. When they reached june
ton City at bedtime they took a
vote on the time of starting the
next morning Nearly half wanted
to start at o'clock the next day,
run during the cool of the morning. +,
and lay up until late afternoon.
Finally a compromise was made on !
s o'clock but they got away before ,
that. In consequence all schedules !
given out in advance by the chair
man of the tour, w. M. White, were
They reached Abilene
and Salina more than an hour be-
fore expected and made only brief 9
stops. BY ten o'clock the tempera- :,
ture was over a hundred and at
1t was at noon 107 Tires r
suffered and engines heated on the !.
hard pulls. In mid afternoon the ;,
mercury registered 10 and the
wind was a stiff breeze. So it was =,
4 mighty weary bunch that pulled :,
INTO Ellis about seven O'Clock. The :,
tourists were under no local man. J,
agement but took their own way.
This morning they Started early
rom Ellis and will be at Burling-
ON, Colorado, tonight.
Contrary to usual ideas of those tc
Who see party whizz through town ct
he running time of party is not in
asst. At no time did the cars ex- .,
,eed 80 miles and seldom more than N
.5 The average was about 20
niles. The cars are all loaded heav- n
" weigh with their passengers and
luggage around 5000 pounds each.
With tires that fairly scorch in the
lot sun and dust, with the neces-
ity of keeping well apart to avoid er
lust for drivers, 1t means mod M
!. In