Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-06-30
WHAT IS A DETOUR?

Considerable discussion arises year
ly in the summer of each year as to
what "detour" means, the purpose of
the word and its origination. This
discussion, as a rule, is found most
frequently among people who drive
automobiles, those who ride with them
and residents of those portions of the
country benefited by the so-called
"detours." The word, some investi-
gators say, represents a contraction
of two words, the first syllable being
a contraction of the word "discour
age" the first and last letter used,
while the last syllable is simply the
first syllable for the word touring.
Thus we have in "detour," short
and snappy substitute for the words
discourage touring" Detours are APP
parently used by highway commission
ers to "break in" secondary highways
and in this they are highly useful
Some of the most effective detours are
on what might truthfully be called
country lanes. Used for detour pur-
poses a sufficient length of time during
a busy season these lanes sometimes
become transformed into broad high
ways, the width being largely deter
mined by the number of times passing
cars have to go into the ditch and rub
hub caps with fence posts as they
travel to and fro. Some of the most
effective results are obtained on de-
tours by dumping numberless loads
of gravel in the road just before it
is used as detour. Accommodating
drivers make leveling of the gravel
unnecessary by amy means other than
the sloughing of their cars as they
try to work their way through it. This
is a commendable economy on the
part of the highway commissioners
and a splendid spirit of helpfulness
on the part of the tourists. Tourists
are always willing to contribute some
thing to a detour, sometimes it is
only few stone bruises, other times
it is a blowout, occasionally a bent
axle, smashed wheel and not infre
quently a broken spring 1t has been
suggested that inasmuch as this fine
spirit prevails among motorists that
it might not be a bad idea to have
few extra road drags at each end of
a detour which accommodating tour
Sofry 10 haa1x nf fhniF
cars, enabling them to drag rne road
to the other end. Motorists delight
in detours because it gives them exer
cises unattainable elsewhere than in
a gymnasium 1t is said a consistent
user of detours need never invest in
breakfast bran, while the value of a
detour as a means of hardening"
anyone contemplating engaging in a
football or basketball game, cannot be
underestimate Automobile dealers
too, are keenly interested in the
said inasmuch as it guarantees rath-
er steady income for their repair shop
and makes it possible for them to
sell new cars more frequently. The
army plans, it is said, to recruit
division for the tank corps for de-
tour riders, it being said that man
who has survived a season of detcrrs
is in a condition that mal,es MIN i'm
mune from the shocks that come with
a iaunt through shell holes and cratefs
that are common on modern battle
fields. In all the detour is wonder
full thing. Making good highways out
of bad ones, stimulating the repair
end of the auto game and giving the
touring public much needed, if un-
asked for, exercise, and training men
for tank WAR not beer) service, they
seem extremely valuable. The next
step, we would suggest, should be to
move the markers from the highways
on to the detours. If this is done the
present Highways can be kept hidden
and perhaps saved for posterity. A
move that has its merits when we con.
slider that we don't get much emporium
ity to use them now anyway.-Ex.
change.
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