Evening star., 1920-01-18

Long distance motor travel is no
longer a novelty in this country; it
is becoming the rule. A motor trip
of 1000 miles no longer creates com
ment.
Out-of -the-way spots inaccessible
by rail, once lonely trails whose
heaviest traffic not long since was the
occasional passage of the prospector
with his ambling burro or the native
on his swaying blackboard, have this
season swarmed with tourists from
every section of the Union.
The average American of these
days turns naturally to his motor car
when planning a vacation trip. and it
is even becoming more frequently the
rule for business men to make longer
business trips by motor on as exact
schedule as rail connections would
allow-this particularly in the east.
Rapidly Increasing.
The volume of tourist traffic in all
parts of the country is very difficult
to estimate. but traffic on the Lincoln
highway, where it is possible to OBJ
tain at many points very good sta
tistics as to its volume, may be con-
sidered as more or less accurate
measure of the traffic on all of our
through routes. Both passenger ana
freight this travel is increasing with
tremendous strides.
the Lincoln highway, as indicated by
careful count at points all across the
country, never failed to double each
wear. In 1917 and 1918, on account OF
the war passenger travel by motor
car was greatly curtailed ana tne
record of these two years closely ap-
proximated the volume of 1915, whlie
the motor truck travel on the route,
particularly in the east, where 1t was
used as federal transport route
Increased tremendously. ;,
During 1919 reports from an aions
which were received at the national
headouarters of the Lincoln Highway
Association in Detroit indicate an
other doubling of the total traffic vol
ume. -,
traffic volume on the Lincoln way in
the east, a careful traffic census made
ON the Lincoln Highway bridge over
the Passaic river, west of Jersey CITY.
by county officials showed the pas.
sage of 1000 vehicles in period OF
fifteen hours June % last. OF these
II 900 vehicles, $50 were motor trucks
and the balance passenger cars: TINS
volume of travel is a good indication
as to why the state of New Jersey IS
re reconstructing the Lincoln highway
of the heaviest possible concrete at
cost close to $65,000 a mile.
It is difficult at most points to sift
out through travel from the local or
interstate traffic. but the reports maze
from isolated desert ranches IN the
far west, where every car passing
must stop for food. water or supplies
and where records are taken lndlcat-
ing the state from which each car
originates, can be taken as fairly ac-
curate Indications of the volume OF
long distance travel.
Report From Ranch.
Hamilton Orr, Lincoln highway
consul at Orr's ranch, near the edge
of the desert in western Tooele coun-
ty, Utah. on the Lincoln highway be-
section. reports that 230 cars passed
his ranch during May. $50 during
June. 565 during July and 911 DUR
ing August. The vast majority OF
this travel originated from points
east of Utah or west Of Nevada. and
was headed for the Atlantic or Pa
cific coast. Five years ago twenty or
twenty-five cars a month in the pest
seasons would have been unusual
travel in this section. but continuous
connecting highway Improvement on
Americas first transcontinental road
permits an outlet for the average
Americans desire for travel and ex-
ploration, and is accountable for the
tremendous increase in coast-to-coast
driving.
more in the nature of guesses. in
formation available indicates that be-
tween 5000 and 10000 motor cars,
carrying between $4,000 and 10000
persons, made trips of 1900 miles or
more on the Lincoln highway this
season.
improvements on the Lincoln high
way this year, either already COM
pleted or now under way and, to be
finished this season. will cost ap-
proximately s13.Oo0.o 900, or practically
as much as the total amount Of i'm
provement accomplished on the route
during the five years ending Janu-
ary 1, 1919.
Construction has been under way
in nearly all of the counties trav-
ersed by the great road during this
season, and the end of next year
will find "a permanently surfaced
highway from the Hudson river to
the Mississippi. improvements in
Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and
Nevada will mean greatly improved
route next season. The rough spots
in the west, however, can never be
entirely eliminated until the federal
government extends needed aid to
these sparsely populated states with
vast areas and meager funds for
highway improvement.