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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1914)
ar-TTrr--rTxin nn iim mii mi nu :m mi iui ;m mi -U4 I tfe GOMTRIBUnI y Athens, Nov. 4, 1834. HPO THE County Commissioner's Court for the County of Sangamon: We, the undersigned, appointed to view and relocate a part of the road between Sangamon town and the town of Athens, respect fully report that we have performed the duty of said appointment according to the law and that we have made the said relocation on good ground and believe the same to be necessary and proper. JAMES STROWBRIDGE, LEVI CANTRALL, A. LINCOLN. Here is the map the Court may allow mc the following charges if they think proper: 1 day's labor as surveyor $3.00 Making map .50 $3.50 THE OCEAN-TO-OCEAN HIGHWAY By General Harrison Gray Otis 111 jjlN MANY years nothing has come to the American public with I7 a stronger appeal than the projected Ocean-to-Ocean Highway. Y The very idea of building a continuous public road from the Atlantic to the Pacific is inspiring; but when this mighty work is carried to completion under the name of a Lincoln memorial, it has an added appeal and one that urges the co-operation of the United states government. Why not, indeed, a Lincoln memorial? The convention which in I860 nominated Abra ham Lincoln for the Presidency adopted, among other resolu tions, the following: That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean is imperatively demanded by the interests of the whole country; that the Federal Gov ernment ought to render imme diate and efficient aid in its con struction; and that, as prelim inary thereto, a daily overland mail should be promptly es tablished. And later the first overland railway came out of this and other efforts in the same direc tion. On these ample grounds Congress may well be called upon to favor the construction of an adequate national pike across the continent. yVHEN an automobile was driven from Los Angeles to New York in 1912 to prove an ocean-to-ocean highway feasible, President Taft, 28 Senators and 176 Congressmen approved of the project for Federal aid, and it was agreed that the Govern ment might appropriately pay one-half the cost of construction, the other half to be borne by the states through which the high way may pass. They are Cali fornia, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illi nois, Indiana, Ohio, West Vir ginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and New York. Some scoffed at the good-roads enthusiasts when the plan was first given publicity, and many people were doubtful as to whether such a tremendous prop osition could be carried to a prac tical culmination. Its success is now assured. Upon the initiative of then Governor James N. Gillett, Cali- FOR that tired morn ing feeling and that tendency to oversleep. Big Ben 7 inches tall two good alarm clocks in one a five-minute long alarm, a ten minute intermittent alarm. Hie Hen is made in La Salle, Illinois, U. S. A., by Wkstclox. He's easy to wind, easy to read, and pleasing to hear. Price anywhere. fornia voted bonds to the amount of $18,000,000.00 to be spent in im proving and laying out state-long highways, so that the army of motor ists, who in a few years will come dashing along the trans-continental boulevard, may travel with ease through all parts of Cali fornia. Los Angeles has pledged itself to raise $100,000 to help complete the Cali fornia segment of the road. HPHE Ocean-to-Ocean Highway Associa- tion has been energetic in stirring up interest, formulating plans, and in pushing the work. From the west the trail has already been laid through the Colorado desert, and has been ballasted along the southern shore of the mysterious Salton Sea. It is now possible to tour from Los Angeles to Yuma, a distance of 306 miles, without difficulty, whereas, before, that route was not only dangerous, but was even considered impassable. In Arizona the highway will pass through Phoenix and Globe by way of the great Roosevelt dam a United States government structure and the picturesque scenic effects of that section are claimed to excel those of the most famed highways of Europe. In some of the states the rout ing ot certain portions ot tne highway has not been settled. The purpose is to build it along the lines of least resistance, as far as is compatible with a route that is intended to include striking scenic effects. It is probable that through the Middle West the highway will follow the old Santa Fe trail. Other routes have, I under stand, been under consideration but in view of the excellent natural advantages of what may be called the southern route, here described, it offers the clearest and most natural passage for ve hicular travel from sea to sea. It should prove the ideal ocean-to-ocean route. This unique highway, when completed, will be of value not alone to motorists. Settlers and farmers, merchants, traders and freighters will also be immensely benefited, for statistics show that under our present system of roads it costs the American farmer twenty-three cents per ton to haul his goods one mile. In Europe, where the system of roads is much better, because of steady improvements for centu ries, it costs the farmer but seven cents per ton to haul his goods one mile. IS NOT the justification for the A public building of a great traffic highway across the continent in 1914 (and thereafter) as com plete as was the justification for the Government construction of the first overland railway nearly half a century ago? 2- 6 fiiVTKSTS cnl'MtllillTMl 1UH 11V T1IK I1I1HTT A HUH." .S 1 OMP S V