The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1916-08-17
TRAIL TO BE BLAzfD
FROM MEXICO TO CANADA
Party of Three to Map and Photo
Route For Use BY Military Authori-
ties.

An item of national defense of par
ticular Importance to the entire west
ern portion of the United States, was
inaugurated at daybreak Wednesday
August 8, when Wilbur Hall, maya
zine writer of Golfers Weekly, Lieu
tenant Albert Gill Waddell, represent
ing federal interests and national mo-
tor publications, and Jack Griffin, of
the Maxwell touring bureau left Tia
Juana, Mexico, to blaze an .all-coast
trail to Vancouvere, Canada. The
party will endeavor to add to the
practicability of the tour by utilizing
an automobile that has already seen
much and vigorous service-the Max
well touring car, which some months
ago established a worlds record by
travelling 22,022 miles without a stop
of its motor.
The greater portion of the Pacific
coast is open to invasion. With the
exception of a short distance in Cali
fornia, and a portion of Oregon, there
are no roads over which a repelling
force could be carried to the scene
of a possible hostile entry. The com
ing of the motor car as a means of
transporting troops and guns in suf-
ficient quantities has answered one
phase of the question of defense, but
these troops and equipment cannot
be carried to their destination if
there are no all-year-round highways
over which to send the gasoline driv-
en- vehicles.
The Maxwell party will endeavor to
force a route which will be within a
few miles of the Pacific at all times
Its itinerary includes run up the
Pacific coast from Tia Juana to Los
Angeles.
Then the coast highway is again fol-
lowed for its entire length to San
Francisco bay. The route here leads
slightly inland, and the broad Paci-
fic is not in sight again until just be-
fore Eureka is reached.
From Eureka to Marshfield a coast
road has already proved practicable.
But from the Oregon city to Astoria
no continuous sea level highway has
ever been blazed, and it will be the
duty of the Maxwell trio to force its
machine through unexpected lanes
and into the virgin forests in an en-
deavor to pave the way for a Pacific
coast road that will lead from Mexico
on the south to Canada on the north.
The return trip to Tia Juana from
Vancouver will be over the familiar
and well travelled interior route This
will take the party through Seattle.
Portland, the Willamette valley and
over the Siskiyou mountains into the
Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys
of California. The inland feature of
the tour is 10 ascertain if connecting
links at frequent intervals cannot be
made with the proposed coast route.
For strategic military reasons ii is
necessary that these be planned in or
der to make the coast defense idea
feasible.
To more fully impress members of
congress with the necessity for fed
eral action in constructing the pro-
posed road, motion pictures of the
various points along the route will be
taken. A careful log of road and
typographical conditions will be kept.
and at the end of the trip the find
ings will be submitted TO the federal
army and navy officials good roads
and automobile clubs, and TO the peo-
pie of the country generally through
the medium of the national Maxwell
touring bureau, maintained by the
Maxwell Motor company 10 promote
interest in comfortable automobile
tOurings.
The idea Of the trip is to impress
the public generally with the fact
that the present day standard motor
car can be relied on to make the run,
regardless of weather conditions. and
could depeRdably transport troops
and guns to the scene of action
should our country be in danger of a
foreign invasion.