Mexico weekly ledger., 1921-03-10
FACTS ABOUT
NORTH STAT
HIGHWAY HERE
(Moberly Democrat)

The friends Of the North Cross
State Highway realize the value and
Importance to the state Of well
formulated state system Of highways.
If these roads are to have any distinc-
tive value they should meet the needs
and requirements Of the farming in
terests that form the backbone of
Missouri and the Nation and to do
this most effectively, they should
traverse each and every county of
Missouri in manner that will best
connect the smaller as well as the
larger market centers. These roads
should be located to serve the best
interests of thepeople Of the state
irrespective Of whether or not such
roads represent the present estab-
hshed avenues for interstate travel.
The North Cross State Highway
passes through and serves eleven
counties an dthis population in this
section is 29S,595 omitting the COM
bined population of Kansas City and
st. Louis. The Ocean-to-O Ocean High
way passes through and directly
serves only nine counties and the
population ofthese counties is only
166.031. The value Of farm property
on the North Cross State is 1884,
657, APO. The value Of farm property
on ocean-to-Ocean is $3.50, ,O27, ,054.0O.
The value Of farm crops on the North
Cross State is $40, O,2O1 $1,000 and on
the .Ocean-to-O Ocean, $2O,S54, ,219.0O.
The assessed value of lands and town
lots on the Ocean-to- Ocean, including
the cities of st. Joseph and Hannibal,
is $91, ,462, ,793.0O, against $12S,284.-
250.00 on the North Cross State ex-
cluding Kansas City and st. Louis.
The North Cross State directly
serves forty-fve towns, cities and
villages with combined population
of 60,Os5 excluding Kansas City and
st. Louis, while the ocean-to-o Ocean
directly serves twenty-five towns
villages and cities with a poulation,
, excluding Hannibal and st. Joseph,
of 34,164.
The Way of Least Resistance is the
practical route to take in crossing
the state east and west. To those
who have crossed the state over the
North Cross State and the Ocean-to-
Ocean, it is needless to speak of
grades, the hills to be reduced and
the valleys to be filled. It is mat
ter Of common knowledge that the
Hannibal and st. Joe Railroad has
for years been in a quandary in de-
Gliding what to do with their line of
road, which parallels the Ocean-to-
Ocean Highway, and finally decided
that rather than double track their
present line, they would enter into a
working agreement with the Santa
Fe for the construction Of what was
termed a water level line between
Carrollton and Mexico, and there con-
meet with the present Burlington line
to st. Louis. They have purchased
the right-of-way and had not the gov
ernment taken over the railroads,
trains would now be running over
this line which practically follows the
North Cross State Highway in which
the grades are reduced 30 minimum
What better evidence than this is
needed? The judgment of the best
railroad construction engineers Of the
country is that the North Cross State
is the way of least resistance. If q
new double track road can be built
through new country cheaper than
an additional track can be added TO
q line already built, surely that is suf-
ficient reason why the driver of q
motor vehicle would choose the North
Cross State in preference to the
Ocean-to-0cean in crossing the state,
provided the construction was OF
equal character. In fact if all the
routes from st. Louis to Kansas City
were built of ike material, the top
ography Of the road would invariably
throw the traffic over the North
Cross State Highway, the way Of
least resistance.