The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-11-19

So they burned discarded automobile
tires which they picked up during the
day, and cooked their food over that
fire.
THE tires made a wonderful fire,
but they gave the food the very devil
of flavor" Murphy says. And the
smoke of that fire-youd have thought
there was a national convention or
skunks. But we cooked It and we
ate it. Tires make a good fire. They
started easily from a little sage brush,
and burned steadily"
A Roadway of Solid Salt.
For forty-seven miles along the
Wendover Cutoff in Utah, the route
of the Victory Highway runs on bed
of solid salt from five to fifteen feet
deep. On fifteen miles of that distance
the road bed is as hard and smooth as
if it were of concrete. 1t was on that
stretch that TeZlaff made the fastest
mile ever made in an automopue.
The salt has no effect on the tires
at ALL" Murphy says. THAT is a Won
derful road till you get down toward
the lake. There it is little soft, but
the government is grading the road
now, and putting it in fine shape.''
In Nevada the Victory Highway
passes the quarry where the remains
OF dinosaurs and other extinct fauna
are being dug out in fossil form by
government explorers and paIeontolo-
gists.
There is a skeleton all wired to-
gether and placed at the entrance OF
the quarry" Murphy says. we took
little time off and went GOWN there
to see the workings
The Victory Highway west Of Den
yer goes out over the famous Mountain
Drive and Berthoud pass. It passes
within stones throw of Buffalo Bills
grave. The pass over which the high
way crosses the continental divide has
an altitude of 1900 feet = detach-
ment or United States army ENGINEERS
with steam shovels, is now working
on the Improvement of the pass.
Scenery Is Wonderful.
THE scenery thru there, and also
just this side Of Salt Lake CITY is
wonderful There is a great variety
of scenery along the roHta One of
the most remarkable stretches is thru
the Uintah basin, in Utah, where there
is no vegetation at all. and the plain
is littred with huge boulders in fan
tastic shapes" Murphy saws
Murphy and Doering are now work
ing between Topeka and Kansas City.
They will have finished their job to
Kansas City by Decent Der l, they be-
lieve, and will then start back to San
Francisco.
Yes. it's a good deal better than
Flanders or Siberia" Murphy says He
has hopes of being with the partv
6IAIAA NOnLAl1uGS the signing or the
route eastward from Kansas CITY to
New York City. The signing east of
Kansas City will commence next
spring, after survey of the route has
been made.
Ex-Service Men Get Jobs.
The officials of the Victory High
way association, in view of the fact
that it is to be a memorial to the men
and women who served their country
during the World war, believe in Civ
ing preference to ex-service men in
employment With very few excep-
lions the men who are working for the
| association, saw service with one of
the allied armies during the World
war. The staff includes representa-
tives of the American, the British and
the Canadian expeditionary forces at
the present time.
THE least we can do is to give the
ex-service men a chance at the jobs,
since the whole project is a memorial
To Them" George Stansfeid, president
( of the association. declares himself.
/ Whenever we can get an ex-service
man qualified for the job, he gets the
preference