The Washington herald., 1915-08-28
THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY
An Address by Gov. Frank B. Willis, of Ohio, at Ohio
Northern University, in Connection with the Lincoln
Highway Celebration at Ada, His Home Town."

Mr.. Chairman, and my Fellow Citi-
zens: 1t is with an unusual degree Of
pleasure that 1 find myself again In
the midst of my friends and neigh
bors. My friend. the chairman. has
suggested that in the brief time that
1 shall speak I may have something
to say upon the subject of highways
in general and the Lincoln Highway
in particular.
I want to say a word about the
Lincoln Highway. AS the chairman
of the meeting has properly suggest
ed, this highway that goes through
our little city is the greatest line OF
traffic in the world. Not simply be-
cause it connects great market places,
but because it realizes in some degree
that sense of unity which is charac-
teristic of the American people. I
think it was an exceedingly happy
lUOuShl lEdl Sdlu llldt liiio 6ASoS AieA
way connecting the east and the west
should be called the Lincoln Highway.
because the mightieA force making
for unity in this republic. the force
uniting North and South and East ana
West, is the memory of the tender
heaft and great soul of Abraham Lin
coin. 1t is a fitting thing that this
highway, which is to be the bond Of
union between East and West. and
through the building of branches
which will be encouraged by its con-
struction, a bond OF union between
the North and South. it is fitting. I
say, that this highway should be call
ed the Lincoln Highway. I am in IA
vor of it. 1 think practically every
patriotic American is in favor Of the
Lincoln Highway. and SO far as lies
in my power, every influence and
every resource of the government of
the State shall be directed not only
to the Improvement of highways IN
general, but to the improvement Of
this great highway in particular, to
the end that the Lincoln Highway
across Ohio may be completed at an
early day with the best piece of work
that the country has ever seen. That
is the way 1 feel about the Lincoln
Highway.
wonder if it has ever occurred to
you what a tremendous loss rests
upon the shoulders of the producers
of this country through improper and
inconvenient methods and means of
transportation. If it has not occurred
to you. if you had been with me on
my trip over here last night, you
would have had An ocular demonstra-
ton of the need of better highways;
and Hardin County has very fair
roads at that, but not as good as We
are going to have. 1t does not need
much of an argument to convince any
sane person Of the necessity for bet
ter highways, but I want to direct
your attention to the economic phase
of this matter. Are you aware that
there are carried upon the highways
of Ohio every year something like
six million tons of freight. the prod
uct of the farms of Ohio? Do you
know that reducing that to ten miles
we carry in this State forty-seven mil
lion tons of freight, figured on the
basis of a ton mile? That is to say.
we carry forty-seven million tons one
mile, or one ton of freight forty
seven million miles, whichever way
you want to figure it. Do you know
that in many countries the cost of
transportation per mile is only some
thing like 10 or II cents? But did you
know that the average in this coun-
try is probably Is cents per ton mile?
If we can reduce the cost of trans
portation through the building Of i'm
proved highways, II we can reduce
it 10 cents per ton mile. and we ought
to do that, should take it we would
save the farmers Of Ohio s4,700,o00
in the cost of transportation every
single year. And IL we can devote
that sum to the building of Lincoln
Highways and Dixie Highways in
Ohio. after five years there would be
the stLpendous sum of twenty million
dollars which we are actually paying
now in the loss of that commerce to
US through the increased cost of
transportation. In other words, simply
as an economic proposition. putting
sentiment aside. putting mere pleas
ure aside, putting aside the conven-