South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-05-22

this afternoon.
CHATTANOOGA. May 22-Indiana
orators Friday told the Dixie highway
commission here just how the great
thOrOughfare should be routed through
their state. Carl @. Fisher and Thom-
as Taggart. commissioners represent
ing Indiana, learned things they did
not know about their own common
wealth. Kentucky presented its claims
this morning and then Indiana, with
seven routes to offer, was summoned
before the commission TO have her
say. W. II. Grimm and Judge NJ. B.
Hotel, with maps and OratOry, de-
picted the glOries of the route from
New Albany to Salem, thence to Sey-
mour and Indianapolis by way of
Brownstown.
Perry McCart of Paoli. close ally Of
Mr.. Taggart and Robert Miller of
Bloomington, mounted to OratOrical
heights in supporting their theories
thatthe best route for the Dixie high
way from New Albany north is
through Paoli, Orleans Mitchell, Bed
ford. Bloomington and Martinsville,
to Indianapolis. Frank Gardner es
poused the cause OF Henryville and
Scottsburg as the direct line north
Mard from Louisville and New Al
bany to indianapolis.
W II. Lincoln of Columbus put up
a business mans talk for the Sey-
mOur-C Columbus route and remained
neutral on the Salem and ScottSburg
routes Either way would suit Sey-
mOur and Columbus. but Lincoln
could not see" the Bloomington
Bedford idea The hottest fight in
Indiana is being wased by the fac
tons representing the so-called air
line" route through Lafayette TO Chi
cago and LOgansport- South Bend IN
terests.
Congressman Will r. Wood of La
fayette waxed warm in his speech for
routing the Dixie highway from In
dianapOlis through Lebanon, Lafay
cite, Rensselaer, and Hammond TO Chi
cagO, designating it as the air line"
route. w. II. Johnson of Crawfords-
Vile, urged that the road be made TO
touch at Charlottesville and then pro-
ceed northward to Chicago.
Loaded With Maps and Figures.
Rufus MCGEE. Logansports repre-
sentative, argued for routing the high
way by way of Logansport TO South
Bend. Milton Kraus Of KokOmO urged
that the road run nOrthward from In
dianapoliS through kokOmo and Peru,
the route known as the range road.
Each speaker presented a mass of fig
ures and maps, each additional eX-
hibit only serving to make the ques-
tion more puZzling to the cOmmissio1,-
1t is expected that the Dixie highway
commission will conclude its route
fixing Iabors Saturday, and that the
road will be definitely pinned on the
map. Michigan's delegation continued
its fight Friday for recognition In the
commission, but no agreement was
reached. Michigan offers TO add 400
miles TO the Dixie highway If the road
is routed through South Bend, but
there is a strong faction faVorlng chi
cago as the northern terminal of the
thoroughfare
Kuhns vs. MurdOck.
When the commission went 10 bed
last night. following the big parade,
! there was a confusion of opinions in
all their brains The fact that Indl-
ana has four fights on its hands play
ed a part in the threatened aban-
dOnment of the plan 20 touch Indiana
at all. Sam Murdoch of Lafayette,
representing the LebanOn-Lafayette
route, and L. Louis Kuhns of South
Bend, had a lively argument over the
merits OF the two routes. and Muir
dock. although admitting that he had
| greater financial interests in South
Bend than in Lafayette, stood for the
! Lafayette route. as he said, for senti-
ments sake. He denied having any
pecuniary interest I'm Lafayette.
MurdOCk's Attitude il Puzzle.
Why" said MurdOck. the road
would not even pass one OF our farms
in Lafayette district, and we have
| large holdings in traction stock at
South Bend" MUrdock's attitude was
a puzzle TO Kuhns. and he frankly
! told him so. Yet MUrdock clung to
| the old home town, Lafayette. He
now lives in Indianapolis.
Former Gov. Cox of Ohio, and Carl
| G.. Fisher also had a warm argument
over the Indiana-Ohio routes last
night, and Fisher accused Cox Of not
/ being able 10 look at the big idea IN
building national highways by direct
routes. The Ohio crowd got out bull
etins yesterday. in which they attempt
/ ed 10 prove that Chicago was almost
/ a hundred miles nearer the gulf or
/ Mexico by way Of Cincinnati than by
way of Louisville. Fisher defied them
10 prove the statement. They merely
answered the charge with the declar-
alton that the figures merely were es-
/ Inmates.