Evening star., 1917-10-28
MILLIONS FOR ROADS
NOT SPENT IN Vain
Auto Cruisers Report Highway Con-
ditions in Country After Nine
Months Steady Touring.

The millions that the government,
the states and other agencies have
| spent this year in good roads have not
testing tires for the Goodrich Rubber
Company, forty-two cars In all, re-
turning from every part of the country
after nine months of steady touring in
| which they made approximately $780,
| 900 miles-the equivalent Of girdling
the globe 200 times-report that there
isn't a nook Granny today that is
not accessible to the motorist. owing to
the volume of road improvement. Even
| the desert no longer holds terrors for
the autom obilist with nomadic tenden-
cies.
In fact. the glistening trails across
the Great American and Mojave deserts
haps. than any other two roads in the
| country.
| Condensed, these are the principal
| observations of the tire-testing feet:
Finest on Pacific Coast.
The Pacific coast has the finest roads
IN the country, and in consequence the
! motorists there get more tire mileage
ana use less gasoline per mile than In
any other region of the country
| Eastern highways are groaning un-
| der the weight of motor trucks engae-
ed in haulage-an industry sprung into
| being since railroad freight congestion
maoe the use of other conveyances i'm
perative: Particularly is this noted be-
tween New York and Boston
Prosperity in the farming states of
the west has never been greater. There
are not many farmers in the six big
farming states who do not possess au-
| tomobi1es. All the field work is done
| by tractors-the horses are used in
| bilIst.
The 2,ooo-mile run from Chicago to
in Los angeles IS the finest pleasure run
every ffty miles, and there is only
one tough spot in the entire route-a
| 1orty-mile stretch near Askfork Ariz
Maine the Most Backward.
Maine is the most backward in road
oetterment Along the seacoast the
roads are good. but in the interior
one is apt to encounter much trouble
The best single stretch Of road is
on the new ridge highway. built by
the great oil interests for travel be-
| tween Los Angeles and bakersfield
Cal. Millions were expended in con-
structing this great thoroughfare
Transcontinental travel has been
greater than in any previous year. the
| war Notwithstanding.
| Stones are the worst enemies of the
| motor!st They bruse the fabric and
| deterioration starts at once al
| though blowout" may not ocur for
| 500 miles afterward
The shallow streams crossing the
| Dixie highway should be bridged The
| sharp pebbly bottoms cut the tread
and make possible punctures. Aside
from these disadvantages, found more
| In Georgia than IN any of the other
states, the highway is much improved
Lincoln Highway Shows Wear.
The Lincoln highway between Phila-
delphia and New York is showing the
| effects of heavy traffic, IL being neces-
sary now to negotiate seven miles Of
| this short run in low gear
| However. the war has not contrary
| to expectations. lessened the volume
Of road building and improvements
states have been aroused to the neces-
sity of keeping up their roads, be
| cause the better roads the greater the
volume OF business There are at least
3.655.o00 automobiles in this country
He will follow good roads The more
attractive the roads. the more pic-
tturesaue the surroundings the greater
the community's prosperity. hence the
general alertness on the part of local
| governments.
| The west is striving to maintain it's
supremacy in good roads North and
South Dakota are getting busy and
| Georgia Is making plans that should
please the southern tourist