Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-03-05
OTTAWA TRAIL IS
LAUDEO BY WRITER
CHICAGO NEWS SCRIBE PRAISES
ROUTE AND MARKINGS FROM
METROPOLIS TO STARVED
ROCK STATE PARk-COMPARE
WITH LINCOLN WAY.


Ottawa ingenuity and financed by OF
tawa money, was the subject of lau-
datory article published Saturday
night in the Chicago Daily News.
Lambert G. Sullivan. the writer, in
arguing for we'll defined and cleared
bazed trails, of the Starved Rock
route. says
Every automobile trail in the United
States, however, insignificant it may
be, ought to be marked with same
care as has been used in marking
thoroughfares like the Lincoln high
way, according to Thomas J. Hay, 10
cal distributor for the Chandler and
one Of the veterans of the local auto
mobile row. Mr. Hay, who is an en-
thusiastic good roads booster declares
that marking should be done even
before the trails are completed, for
he believes that marking these trails
will lead to their early repair
Stretching across the continent and
linking New York to San Francisco is
highway only partly completed, but
completely Marked said Mr.. Hay 1T
is composed OF hundreds of separate
units-city streets. country roads,
desert paths and mountain trails
but it is so clearly marked that no
one should lose his way on it. re-
fer to the Lincoln highway Its signs,
painted on telegraph poles and even
rocks and fences. mark it out SO
clearly that it is impossible for any
mctorst to lose his way
Most of the Roads Unmarked.
There are other national and state
highways in the United States that
are similarity identified. In Illinois,
for example, we have the Starved
Rock trail, road from Chicago to
Ottawa and La Sale, that is easy to
find and easy to follow because it has
name and is well marked. But the
Starved Rock tran is the proverbal
exception to the general rule. Where
there is one Starved Rock trail there
roads in the state that have q place
on the map, but no place in the minds
OF the motorists, They start from
here and 90 to there, but their routes
are a mystery except to those forum
ate persons living on them or close by
them.
"In the age of automobile travel ev-
cry road, no matter how short and
insignificant should have name and
a marker Of some sort; every rural
road should be as easily identified and
followed as is the Lincoln highway or
the Starved Rock trail. We are i'm
proving our highways and maintaining
them. but this is not enough. We
must identify them. OF what advan-
tage Is it to me and thousands of 9th
Ell motorists to know that there is a
ten mile stretch of new concrete road
between here and Elgin, for example,
when we don't know how to find it?
Wants Highways Identified.
Names and markers for all roads
should be the slogan of this and Other
states, Rural roads should be identi-
fled the same as city streets. Until we
do this we are depriving the farmer OF
the privilege of definite geographical
location. The naming of the road on
which he lives and the numbering Of
the house in which he resides is a
right to which he is entitled, the same
as the resident of the city, but to date
this right has been denied him. We
are sending the motorist out to follow
blind trails and cheating him of the
opportunity to travel over better high
ways because he does not know how
to locate them.
"The naming and marking of coun-
try roads in this state would not be
difficult or expensive undertaking,
and the resultant benefits to the far
mer, the motorist, the merchant, the
telegraph and telephone companies
and the rural mail delivery service
would more than compensate for the
labor and money expended A com
mission should be appointed to take
charges of this important work, for sys-
TEN and efficiency are needed just as
in the highway Improvement cam
paign.
How They Could be Designated.
"A plan could be devised whereby
two central highways would be desig
mated In Illinois. one running east and
west, known as Central road, and the
other extending north and south, call
cd Central highway. All thoroughfares
running east from Central highway
and paralleling Central road could be
named in order, as follows; First road
cast second road east, third road east
cughfares running west from Central
etc. Following the same plan. thor
highway would be first road west, Sec
onlf road west, etc. North and south
thOrpughfares could be named first
highway north or first highway south,
aceprtling to whether they extended
north or south from Central road
9The details of nomenclature, how
ever, make little difference. The
roads might be named for patriots,
lust as in the city we have Washing
ton street and Lincoln avenue In
fact, there Is scarcely a road in the
country that does not possess a name
of some sort. It may be the Base