The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1915-03-12
COMMUNICATED

number of moneyed Americans have been
doing Europe by auto. When the great
storm broke last August there was tens
of thousands of Americans thus touring
Europe, and SPEEDING many millions of
good American money. Since that time
tourist travel throughout Europe has fall
| ed to interest our American scenic search
ers, and thousands of them are now earn
est advocates of the slogan. See Ameri-
cl first" and have pointed the prows of
their autos westward. Ho,
From New York to San Francisco
stretches the trans continental 3400 mile,
ten million dollar Lincoln memorial high
way-two years ago dream now a real
| ity, thrown open to travel; the dream
came true" through the backing of pri-
vate subscriptions, of three national and
many small organizations, and by every
state, county and town through which it
passes and by thousands of other towns
and civic bodies interested, considerable
help even coming from Canada. AL
though open to travel considerable fin
ishing work in the way of hard surfacing,
erecting of suitable markers, tablets and
scenic bridges is yet to be done, but with
out waiting for these last touches the
General Federation of Women's Clubs
with over a million members and affiliat-
| ed with hundreds OF lesser organizations,
are taking up the work of beautifying the
highway with 3400 miles of trees, shrubs
and flowers.
This season thousands of tourists will
| come west by auto over this road. In
the near future they will come by hun
dreds of thousands. Having seen Cali
fornia they will come streaming up
r
the wonderful valley of the Columbia
eastward, to the point where the big
river makes square turn, coming down
from the northand through Washington
into Oregon. Then it will be either strike
through the Blue mountains and eastern
Oregon and go back over the road they
came out on or find north and south
road-a connecting link, by which they
can reach the Pacific highway, that great
Canadian thoroughfare stretching from
Vancouver eastward to Montreal. This
rough mountain region has decreed that
there would be but one possible avenue
north and south, but one doorway that
could be opened, only one north and south
valley up which a road could be built to
form this connecting link, this tie that
you'd bind the Pacific highway, the pride
4 OF Canada, to the Lincoln memorial high
way, the result of the enthusiastic work
OF millions of Americans. And this door
way to be opened through which this
north and south avenue of travel must
pass, this keynote to the arch of friend
ship connecting the two great east and
west highways of two great nations, the
use of which would continuously cele-
brate the Hundred years of peace" is
the valley of the Okanogan. For the only
possible north and south road is up the
Columbia through the Wenatchee and
Brewster sections and by state road No
| 10 up the Okanogan valley and intersect-
ing with the Pacific highway five miles
above Orovile.
We believe it was this broad under
standing of road progress, national and
international, and also a keen knowledge
| of the physical contour of our state with
its great mountain barriers, that led Gov
Lister at last falls meeting of the East
ern Washington Good Roads Association
to heartily advocate concentration of
state funds and effort on work up the
Okanogan valley. State Highway Com
missioner Roy must also have had in
mind the benefit that would result, not
alone to the Okanogan valley, but to the
entire state, when, as reported by the
| opOkdIle papers, lie ldlu particular stress
| on the same points.
The tourist travel of the two countries,
of Canada and the United States, of a
whole continent, is fairly waiting at our
| door. Shall we open the door? If we
| do it means that each summer thousands
of auto tourists who come west over
one of the great highways will return by
| the other one, and to do that they must
| tbrorph ba
Of these thousands will have means many
of them will be people of culture. Some
Of them will be looking for investment of
| capital, others for summer homes. Many
| deploying for a few days on little camp
ing trips up Salmon creek, or Tunk creek
or the Bonaparte or that wonderful reg
ion, that hunting camping paradise back
| OF Loomis, would come again next year
and bring their friends
| The state road up the Okanogan valley
| truly means much to the state of Wash
| ington, and in local import much more
| to every citizen of the Okanogan region.
With an understanding of good roads
| agitation and progress as given, and with
the further knowledge that our highest
| state officials were broad mindedly advo
ting Okanogan valley road betterment,
the officers and the valley Welfare com
mittee of the Tonasket Commercial and
Good Roads Club, early took up the work
OF securing for state road No. 10 up the
IOkanogan valley the $35, 900 appropriation
| that would be available for this section.
Our efforts were heartily supported and
approved by our club membership at en-
suing regular meetings, and we are glad
to report that this move that would mean
SO much to the entire Okanogan valley
has met with the most sincere support
and cooperation of every commercial
club from the Canadian line to the mouth
of the Okanogan river and beyond.
| GEO. BAILEY,
| L. b. GRINNELL,
| j. PARKHURST DOUGLASS,
Valley Welfare Committee of Tonasket
Commercial & Good Roads Club.