Evening star., 1926-04-25


~ are beckoning TO the motor
"A tourist. 1t is the season fol
a America to enjoy itself in out
door paStimeS and to renew
ecquainrances with the countrys nat
ural beauty.
There is reawakened impulse tC
sci on by motor car to the place.
where nature is at it's best and one
can roam at will through forest ol
farmlands. with time and inclination
the only restrictions
The car owner has become the in
nlVldual genuinely devoted to outdoor
lie, putting the automobile to 1t.
most humanizing use-the enjoyment
of parks or forests or open country
where there is a horizon unmarried BY
towering structures and where the
sun rises and sets for its observers ir
reality and not by implication.
Win the touring season al hand
the gasoline trail is making an in
sistent gesture to thousands of dew
otees of the open road, who have
begun to sha pc their plans for occa
slonal jaunts or longer trips that will
take them farther afield. AS this
"lanning nears reality. the question
oi highway conditions up and down
the country assumes more and more
Importance. Not only how to reach
ones stopping place. but what will be
encountered on the road to make the
going quicker and more comfortable
Is of considerable moment to the motor
wayfarer.
Many New Roads Built.
Motor tourists do not easily forget
their experiences, particularly those
which have been most discomfOrting
The recollection most capable of mar
ring the joyous expectation of a pleas
ant touring season is that of rough
stretches of road which have caused
inconvenience or. perhaps, new springs
when last encountered.
Much has been accomplished in the
way of road building since the dust of
western roads last was washed from
the Eastern tourists car. From 80, 0,00C
10 $4,000 miles of hard-surfaced road
ways were laid down in this country
during 1925 and this mileage is being
duplicated this year. Approximately
$4,000 miles have been added to the
hard-surfaced total since last Autumn.
This additional road construction,
of a. type which can turn a siX-day
journey into a vacation tour. was
made possible by the combined efforts
OF Federal, State and county road
making agencies. and the total indi-
Gates that the United States now is
carrying on this task with an annual
TO 6nClTcI1IS In6
earth with one long thoroughfare.
Progress during the last few years has
brought the country's aggregate high
way mileage to almost 100000.
Uniform Markers Soon.
Before the close of the 1926 touring
season designation of many of the
principal routes throughout the coun-
try by means of uniform markers.
which will distinguish the United
States system of highways. probably
will be well under way According to
information received by the United
States Bureau of Public Roads. 20
States either have placed orders for
the signs or have started manufactur
Ing them.
Transcontinental touring has come
TO the fore al the source of enjoyment
for many more motorists than for
merly. East and West have been Joined
by highways that have made long dis
tance travelling a comfortable. health
full and satisfying experience.
Many sections of the country have
benefited from highway improvement,
according to touring specialists of the
American Automobile Association, who
indicate that the outlook as the sea
son is about to open is one TO en-
courage the car owner who contem-
plates the tour he has promised him
self or repetition of a recent trip
under more favorable circumstances.
An outstanding improvement in
transcontinental touring facilities dur
ing the last year was the authorize
tion by the Missouri State highway
department to pave route No as far
as Kansas City. This road is approx
mately 270 miles long. OF this stretch,
216 miles have been completed and
the remainder is of gravel. which will
he replaced with paving in the near
future.
Ends Old Drawback.
The forging of this great link in The
xranscontinental highway chain is of
she utmost importance. since it elimi-
mates one nightmare in the Ocean-to-
pecan journey and removes the odium
which has attached to the State of
Missouri by reason OF It's muddy roads.
completion of this stretch of highway
will make it possible for tourists from
Boston. Albany, New York, Philadel-
rhia Washington and other Eastern
Eities to travel as far as Topeka with
kut once having to leave hard-surfaced
highway.
Another milestone in the direction
of highway progress, benefits Of which
we're felt first by the tourist last sea
Great Salt Lake desert. This is a 40
mile stretch across a barren country.
construction of which was furthered
b. the Federal aid plan. 1t removes
length of the road across the CONT
nent which has been a thorn in the
side of long-distance travellers for
nearly century The '49-ers. In cross
ing to the gold country. followed the
route of the cutoff and ii was along
this portion of the trail that the great
ess number perished.
The National Old Trails road offers
g paved route for the ranscontinental
motorist as far as Kansas City. From
Kansas City west to Los Angeles the
construction of the highway is princi-
pallv gravel. natural earth roads. with
short stretches of pavement. This
route carries the bulk of transcontl-
mental travel in the Spring and Fall.
on account OF the excessive heat. how