The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1921-09-03
o. S. T. PAYING BIG DIVIDENDS.
(Lake chareI Amerlcan.Pressl

Lake CnaFSI AmeTtCaH-FE6SSJ
Harral B. Ayres, managing director
of the Old Spanish Trail Association
who spent several days while on in
spection work in Louisiana, said to a
group of friends that the hardest thing
to get over was the big cash value to
community of the transcontinental
highway like the OST.
Traffic soon learns" he said, "of
sections that are approaching compile
ton, and pour in on us even before
we are ready. We are beginning tC
get traffic counts of cars, also records
of spending averages per car per com
munity. We also know that the tourist
is a dividend,payer S65 days in the
year, for travel on the open sections
of the Trail continues and grows in
hard times as in good times. We have
100000 automobile owners in the
United States. The number is so stu
pendous a good highway can attraci
these automobile owners by tens o
thousands and make no appreciate
dent in these millions.
"A paved highway is built from San
Antonio to Austin, so miles. The en-.
gineers checked an average of So cars
daily on the old dirt road. When first
paved it carried 1,100 cars daily; now
our records show 1000 cars daily. Be-
tween s and 8 o'clock one morning re.
Gently SIS cars were counted coming
into San Antonio on this road.
Westward from San Antonio on
the 0ST we have paved for 80 miles
then we go toward that poorly popu
lated ranch country with well kept
dirt road. A count last month showed
in excess of 1900 cars daily, both di.
rectiOns, 20 miles out.
Eastward from San Antonio on the
OST in well populated and rich. sec.
ton, 40 miles out, with miserable
dirt road, the count shows about sol
cars daily.
Between Houston and New Orleans |
IS the richest and most populous sec.
ion of the highway. Estimates made
by me on recent driving trips, count
ing thee ars meet, shows a possible !
average never higher than 100 cars
day, and apparently nearer so cars
laily. Local and business cars arc
lot included. The ferryman at Sabine
River gives 80 cars as his daily aver.
lge the year around.
The Automobile Club of Southern
California made &C cunt on one road
n Southern California of cars going
INTO California with name plates of
Instant states; it was a tourist count
trictly. LOO was the check in
en- months, then snow blocked the |
Dad and the 0ST was the only one
eft open.
At one ferry between Arizona and |
california 900 cars passed in six DAYS.
"A west Texas town of 800 people
maintained a county fair for years
note for $4,000 in the bank was {
ever reduced. In 1920 The Old Span ID
IN Trail was finished through that
lwn. | attended that fair Labor Day
eek. 1t seemed to me | had never
cen SO many cars. When that fair l
nded that 100000 note was maid v
fuil and money remained for re- +
airs. The highway brought the cars
and tourist gold did the rest.
Last winter a tourist from Oregon
ported count Of over $4,000 peonle Nv
cars trying to get down on this ii
'uthern highway, and not half OF !,
EN- succeeding because of bad roads 4
2 did not reach the OST until Feb. q
airy.
Take the number Of cars our recent
unit shows as passing over the OST .
'st OF San Antonio. Allow $500 per
r per community. We have aver.
ed that from Houston here. This
pt up for S65 days per year figures H
S4z, 800 of new money brought inI IN
Z LETT, Take any unit Of money =
ending your experience suggests pa
whatever traffic figures in these 10
'orts you like, and thee onseQuent til
ult is beyond anything you ever h.
ught. Anew factory pay roll. q rice :,
P, or even deep waterway. cannot va
i you assets SO quickly reaIizabIe te;
community dividends SO constant tel
tnat OF the auto traveller Yon are
art OF the only transeontinentaI
1way that viii ever be built and
2 S65-day playground for the tour. att
and traveller, It is your bieres, at
Dsss 0st frs