Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-12-28

the LinCOln HIGHWAY passes az .sS
braska are large and sparsely pcpulat-
Fed and naturally sums sufficient 70
construct hard surfaced roads are be-
lyond their. reach No difficulties are
| encountered in driving over the LIN
Icoln Highway today across iowa anu
Nebraska In dry weather, yet fve years
ago it was an adventure.
The condition Of the Lincoln High
| way in Wyoming Is, in the main, excel
| lent. The route there traverses hish.
| level plateau across the national divide,
and near Laramie, reaches its highest
altitude between the two coasts, over
| 5000 feet. There are no steep hills or
long grades. the altitude having peeH
reached by long gradual slope from
the Missouri Valley. In Wyoming the
amount spent on the Lincoln Highway
In the past two years has been more
than $40 per capita of the population
l,residing along the route. What TINS
means can he more readily appreciated
by considering that If so per capita
was raised for road Improvement along
the Lincoln Highway from New YORK
City TO Pittsburgh, Pa. distance APP
proximately equal to that across wy
ofning. the resultant funds would ba:!a
the entire Lincoln Highway in perma-
nent concrete construction from New
York to San Francisco twice over.
Presents Greatest Problem.
Before the days of the transcontt.
mental railroad. when all transporta-
ton, both passenger and freight, as
well us the government mail, went by
pony or stage coach across the Great
West. the great stumbling block, the
most formidable obstacle, the most
dangerous conditions were encountered
west of the Great Salt Lake, across
what has been called the Great Amerl-
can Desert and il Is here in this desert
region of almost no population That al
present is presented the most serious
problem of opening up across the Unit
cd States a thru, connecting transcont-
mental route of travel.
The Lincoln Highway in Utah. par
ticularly that section lying next 10 the
Nevada line. IS the worst section 10 hs
encountered anywhere between the two
coasts. The Improvement of this ROAD
presents an insurmountable difficulty
to the people of the state of Utah. It's
cost is far beyond their reach The
section is one of those which must be
improved. If il is to he improved at all,
by the force of outside sources of IL
nancial aid and il has been upon this
section of the road that the chief at
tention of the Lincoln Highway Associ-
alton has been directed during the past
two years in an effort TO find solution
of the difficulty and to secure suffi-
cient corporation to make possible the
IF q % a connecting
link across this desert for so long
troublesome barrier to all motor traffic
between the east and west.
Eastern Cooperation Secured.
The only really difficult situation
which has existed on the Lincoln
Highway in Nevada, and which has
caused the Lincoln Highway Associa-
ton and the people Of Nevada much
effort and careful consideration, is in
Churchill county, about twenty-five
miles east of Fallon, at the so-called
Fallon Sink. where for twelve miles the
Lincoln Highway traverses what was
once the bottom Of prehistoric lake.
The Lincoln Highway Association in
terested the officers and directors OF
the WHY'S Company, Of To-
ledo, Ohio. in the situation, with the
result that in June. 1916. the WHY'S
Overland Company authorized the Lin
coin Highway Association to offer the
state Of Nevada $4,000 for construc-
ton in this section, the money to be
provided by the WHY'S Overland Com
pany and equaled by fund raised
within the state.
A very large part OF the Lincoln
Highway in the state of California is
California State Highway. and as such
has been receiving the benefit Of it's
proportion Of the s1s.000,000 provided
by state bond issue for permanent con-
struction OF the state highways. A
few sections OF the Lincoln Highway
in California not vet permanently con-
structed in accordance with the state
wide plan will be taken care of with
the money provided thru the $4,000. 600
bond issue. which has just been passed
in that state by a vote of five to one.
A campaign has been started in CAL
ifornia backed by the most influential
of the state papers to raise $4,000 in
California to aid inot the improvement
of Nevada's Lincoln Highway.