The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1918-08-15
MIR. MOE TELLS OF
TRIP TO STEVENS

A. d. Moe, who accompanied by
Mrs. Moe and TWO daughters. Misses
Florence and Frances. and Mrs Noes
sister, Mrs Laura Clapp. motured the
latter part Of last week TO Fl. Stevens
{ for visit with his son. Sgt Forrest
L. Moe. declares that he had an eNper-
ience in Astoria that sorely tried ais
fund Of patience.
Mr.. Moe. eager 10 get back 10 Hood
+ River and his newspaper plant. run
] uing with a war time shortage of help,
+ left Astoria AZ day break Monday morn
i ing.
1t is no small task To get through
/ the town of Astoria at the present
time. SAYS Mr.. Moe The streets
are being repaired, and the driver who
negotiates the alley trails and lumber
/ ward detOurs successfully can be rated
as fine driver. For comparatively
long distances one has to steer his ma
chin along passage only wide enough
/ for a single car. The road has been
I built Of heavy planks, and in numerous
places heavy trucks have broken huies
| in the timbers When your car drops
/ donw into these depressions the bump
| ing is terrific.
Monday morning We had just about
/ completed this winding detour through
/ the city and were emerging from the
/ wards Of the Hammond Lumber Com
/ pany when drop into one of these
holes broke a spring hanger Oh my
| car
There we were, two miles from
.
/ took look at the damage, and il
/ made me SO sick that couldn't relieve
my feelings by any strong ejacula-
1 tions. A spruce division guard gave
us false hopes. He said they had
member Of one of their crews, a fine
mechanic, who would arrive about 6. 30
and whoEcould probably help US out.
We waited in vain. Finally it was
suggested that we,might get help from
the company's blacksmith shop Af-
ter breakfast. given US at the officers
mess room at the plant hotel, we held
a conference with the manager, who
advised that we get in touch with a
garage in the city. Apparently the
telephones of garages were not work
ing.
but finally we got the car lacked
up and got back into town. The con
diton of things at blacksmith shops
and garages, however, was discourag-
ing. They are SO short of help in AS
toria and have so much work ahead
that YOU insult a man by offering him
more work.
Mr. Moe was unable to get garage
to touch his car His pleadings finally
won the ear Of a blacksmith. BY af-
ternoon, with new piece replacing
the broken part, he was able to head
out again for home.
Except for probably 80 miles, the
road between Portland and Fort Ste
yens is in fine shape says Mr.. Moe.
"BetWeen Scappoose and st. Helens
we encountered a stretch of disintegrat-
ing macadam that was full of chuck
holes and very hard on tires Five
new bridges are under construction.
and it is necessary to detour around
four of them. AT points construction
crews are at work, and the tourist Is
retarded by their activities. AS baG
! road as any of the poor stretches is
that two miles Of detour through AS
tora lumberyards All Of the bac
\ points between Portland and Astoria
( are as bad as or worse than the incom
! pleted stretches of Highway between
4 Cascade Locks and Hood River.
Mr.. Moe marveis that cars are able
to stand the fast pace set by some
drivers He says that he saw number:
J Of big machines making rate Of 2
i miles an hour over the bad roads
None Of the way, he says, Is danger
Gus If drivers travel at sane rate o'
speed and use care.
'At the rate Of construction between
Portland and Astoria, says MIR, Moe
"it Will be two years before that Worf
i is completed. Small crews are fount
y at intervals, working slowly on th'
new work When the two years arr
i up. believe they will have to begin
Il all over again to replace some Of tn
Il macadam stretches of highway.
Il Mr.. Moe says that rapid progress i
II now being made on the Columbii
Il Highway between Cascade Locks am
Il Hood River
II II measured the graveled surface
II out from Cascade Locks, he says
/ and four miles We're completed Whel
/ we returned. They We're graveling th
Il road at the rate of about mile a day
Il Grading between Cascade Locks am
/ Viento is practically complete. II j
Il my opinion that the road Will be il
Il pretty fair shape by September /.