The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1928-02-23
olN
ROute mat Includes Washing
ton and Garrett County

Perhaps in a decade or two,
Americans will motor down into
South America as they do today
from coast to coast and perhaps
they will choose to motor over
that most beautiful and historic
road known all over the country
as the National Highway, the
beauty spots along the road be-
ing numbered by the thousands,
but in it's stretch from the At
lantic to the Pacific no section
contains more picturesque and
unfolding surprises and pleasant
charming and inspiring sights
than are to be witnessed from
Frostburg west through Garrett
county to the Pennsylvania line
near Addison.
Perhaps in 1898 we shall see auto
mobiles with license plates from Ar
gentina, Chile, or Brazil passing over
the roadway through Grantsville and
Keyser's Ridge just as we notice to-
day from many of the 48 states
in the Union, and it can be said with
out successful contradiction that al
most every day winter and summer
one may see such cars from many of
the far western and southern states
being operated over this highway.
By the year 1888 the greatest high
way system in the world will have
been completed, if the dreams and the
plans of Pan-American enthusiasts
come true. This would be the Pan
American Highway, stretching from
the Canadian border down through the
United States, Central America, into
every one of the South American
countries and as far as the southern
most tip of that continent.
The route would cover a total dis
lance of almost 10000 miles along the
west coast of South America, exclud-
ing it's various branches extending in
to the countries to the east.
Official recognition of this dream
has already been made in several
ways. President Coolidge heartily ap-
proves the idea, and adds that such an
international highway would be high
ly effective in bringing the entire
western world into more harmonious
relationship.
Bill Up For Road
Representative Mcleod of Detroit
has introduced bill in Congress call
ing for the creation of "Pan-Ameri-
can Peoples Great Highway Commits
sion," with an original fund of $780,
900 for arrangement of such an enter
prise.
The same subject was discussed at
the recent convention of the American
Road Builders Association in Cleve-
land. In fact, Antonio Madrazo, the
head of the Mexican delegation, re-
ported that the first link in the great
highway system, so far as his country
was concerned, would be ready by
1929. This would reach from Laredo,
Tex, to Mexico City and farther on
to Guatemala.
The Pan-American Union is highly
interested in the project and has ia
ken it up at several of it's confer
ences. AS a result, it organized the
Pan-American Federation for High
way Education, which is pushing the
plan still further.
According to present plans, the
Pan-American Highway would extend
from the Canadian border to Laredo,
Tex, and thence through the Central
American states to Panama. From
Panama, the road would follow the
Pacific coast to South America as far
as Puerto Montt, Chile. Then it would
cut across to the border of Argentina,
down to Puerto Deseado on the At
lantic coast and farther on almost to
the very tip of the continent.
| MuSu zap AlI0 Miles
From Laredo to Puerto Montt, the
Bureau of Public Roads estimates, is
total of 1867 miles, Gaps in this
extension, totaling 2175 miles, have
to be completed with new roads in
order to make this a continuous high
way.
A road from Valparaiso, Chile,
would run eastward to Buenos Aires
and then to Rio Janeiro. Another
branch would extend from Colombia
along the northern edge of South A
merica through Venezuela and the
Guianas, while another might be
planned to cut off from Chile at the
northern edge into Bolivia.
Thus every country in Central and
South America would be fed by this
system.
Coolidge for Cumberland
In North America there are var
ious good routes from Canada to La
redo, the point which is conceded to
be the best jumping off place" into
Latin-America. One would run from
Montreal to Detroit, down to Indian
apolis, through st. Louis, Little Rock,
Fort Worth and San Antonio to La
redo.
Another route, suggested by Presi-
dent Coolidge would extend from the