Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-11-02
COL. ED. FLETCHER
BOOSTS HIGHWAYS
In ADDRESS HERE

! states are desirous Of maintaining an
all round, rans-continental high"
way" declared Col Ed Fletcher pres0
ident of the Dixie Overland Highway
association and representative of the
San Diego, Calf, Chamber of Com
merce, when he arrived in Douglas on
the last leg of his second record
breaking continental auto trip
Monday evening.
/ Southern roads proved the progress
Of the south during the, past week
week when Colonel Fletcher, his son,
Ed Fletcher, Jr., and two mecanics
drove from the Pacific ocean, at San
Diego, Calf, to the Atlantic ocean,
at Savannah, Ca, in II hours and Is
minutes, verified Western Union tim
ing, in the famEly Cadillac sedan,
beating railroad schedules by nearly
two days and the previous trans
continental auto record by II hours.
and 81 minutes.
The record breaking trip was not
made as stunt. Colonel Fletcher
declared, but merely in the COURSE of
fulfillment of regular business en-
gagements. Colonel Fletcher was ad-
vised that he had been elected pres1-
dent of the Dixie Overland Highway
association, which organization was
to meet i'll Savannah, Ca, three days
after his election to Office BY way
Of demonstrating the fact that the
east and the west are linked by an
almost perfect system of highways,
Colonel Fletcher set forth on his
record breaking trip, arriving in
Savannah in ample time to attend the
meeting to which he had been invited
In speaking of the Old Spanish
Trail, Colonel Fletcher, VINO is a well
known capitalist of San Diego, Calif.,
and an honorary vice president of
the San Diego Chamber of Commerce,
and who is considered to be one of
the leading highway experts of the
United States, declared that the time
has come for all sections of the south
interested in settlement and develop
inent to come together and help make
this southern trunk line nationally
the best known and the best i'm
proved highway in the United States.
The main objective of Colonel
Fletcher and his party IS to make an
official inspection of the Dixie high.
way and the old Spanish trail and
the early completion of this national
highway from southern California to
Florida. AS the road expert points
out, if the few missing links in this
coast to coast highway can be. i'm
proved, a golden stream Of automo-
bile traffic will be set flowing which
WILL add materially to the general
prosperity of all districts along the
route.
Colonel Fletcher and his party
battled transforms and wet roads
through Texas on their way to Doug.
las Monday, but made good time, not
withstanding. The party left Ell Paso
Monday afternoon and arrived in
Douglas at $3.50 o'clock in the eve
mig, despite the fact that in many
sections of New Mexico the highways
are under water
The members of the entire party
were guests of the Douglas Chamber
of Commerce and Mines at a dinner
given at the International club in
Aqua Prieta Monday night. Colonel
Fletcher was accompanied by his
son, Ed Fletcher, Jr, L. Kingsbury
William Graves and Harold Ayres.
managing director of the Old Spanish
Trail association. Ed Fletcher Jr.,
and I<ingsbury did all of the driv-
ing on the two record breaking trips
across the continent.
In an address before the directors
of the Douglas chamber of commerce
Monday night, Colonel Fletcher de-
scribed his two transcontinental trips
and brought home to his hearers the
Importance of connecting up the
missing links in the almost perfect
highway system.
Harold Ayres, who accompanied the
colonels party in the return trip to
the Pacific coast, also addressed. the d.
Douglas men and told of the remark
able work being done by the many
districts OF the south, which are con-
tributing generously to the perfection
of the all-year-'round transcontinent-
al highway.
In the course of Colonel Fletcher's !
transcontinental trips he stated that
he has distributed personally more
than 10000 attractive pamphlets de
picting the "Borderland" route from !
San Diego, Calf. to FL Paso, Texas.
This work is considered to be Of !
particular local value, inasmuch as