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Show I OCEAN TO OCEAN AUTOJIGHWAY H r. If one knows Carl G. Fisher, presl- H dent or the Indianapolis speedway H corporation, and James A. Allison, his H partner, or has heard of their wor H in and for the automobile industry, tho H talk of these two men about building M an automobilo highway from Now York to San Francisco can be taken H seriously and believed Their project H is so gigantic that those who are un- H acquainted with the men may think M It equal to John Law's scheme which M terminated in tho explosion of "their H Mississippi bubble," which was some H A booklet has been issued which ex- H plains the "what," "when and "why" H of the scheme. This booklet In in- H leresting as an intelligent and abbre- H viated explanation of a big enterprise. H A sparkling introduction redundant H with punch greets the reader on the H first page. It follows- H "There has been enough talk of H good roads. H "Talk has been tried but it doesn't H construct good roads H ""Pretty pictures, pleasing stories, H lectures, lantern slides, lamentations H and futile profanity all these hato H been tried. H "But what is needed is money for H crushed rock and labor and an organ- m ization that actually will put that H money to work. H "Of course that fact has been rec- H ognized. Good roads advocates have H tried to get monc from the national H and state governments H "The net results of it all have been H very little progress, plus a deraon- H ( stration of tho fact that the political H wrangles and incapacity arc still the IH ball and chain on the whole proposl- M "One thing Is cejtain If we of tho M automobile world want the good roads M Mint mean so much to the whole In- H nustry, we've got to do the thing our- Hj "Well, we've started. H "The lnn i. ready and the contri- H hutlons alreadv have begun pouring H HJ "What is wanted," continues the M booklet, "is an ocean to ocean high- M way from New York to San Francisco. fl "At first contact this may sound 1 large. The only novelty in the plan H k the method of getting It realised. H The idea of a coast to coast highway H not Hj "In the very beginning of the re- H public our forefathers planned a na- M t'onal highway that would pierce the H western wilderness. In those davs the fl ooen road was the only arterv of traf- H fie and communication. H "But with the coming of the rail- Hj road,, tlie telegraph and all the Invcn- H tions which made travel and qommun- H ication quick and easy, fie national H ' highway ceased to be an important! H project. 1 1 "Enter the automobile! Of all the H running devices of, the human brain, H nothing has ever equaled it in its ca'- H i paclty'io serve- the need the conven- H i ience and the pleasure of mankind, H "Withhold for a momcnl your first H ' idea of the posslbllttv of making this fl , dream copip true. We'll get to iHat M point shortly H "First consider this H K "Willi one magnificent national; H highway in actual existence the proc- j i - tcss of constructing gopd roads tributary trib-utary to it will commence autornatica'.-ly. autornatica'.-ly. Local interest will do that much. "Oue good road begets another "Give tho farmers of America one actual example of a really good rond and tho standard of toads everywhere every-where will le elovated more than by all the agitation that could be conceived. con-ceived. "Give the automobiiists of America a taste of the satisfaction that come-from come-from an American 'Appian way" and tho clamor for good roads everywhere will make good roadB a living issue instead of merely a pleasant subject for day dreams "Some reasons why you ought to he,lp are because: "The automobilo industry still is In Its swaddling clotheB. "The sale of cars has, it Is true, spread beyond the limits of cities and taken root In the smallest villages and on the farms. "Put the growth yet to be attained "makes all our progress thiw far seem but a beginning "Roads that encourage, instead of discourage, the, sale and use of automobiles au-tomobiles will not only help the Industry, In-dustry, but are, in fact, vital to its larger possibilities. "This is a matter that affects not only the pride and pleasure, but al3o the" pocketbook of every manufacture of automobiles and accessories and every dealer as well." Concerning how to get it: "This plan for financing and building build-ing an ocoan to ocean highway from New York to San Francisco has been I for months under consjdoration of i Carl G. Fisher and James A Alliaon "The plan was announced by them at a banquet given to the automobile and other commercial Interests of Indianapolis In-dianapolis Tuesday evening, September Septem-ber 10 "Within thirty minutes approximate- J ly ?300 000 had been nledged to tho I enterprise by Indianapolis concerns,' the bulk of course, coming from manufacturers man-ufacturers and a gratifying proportion propor-tion fropi tlet retail dealers ' Within, two days the commercial Hubs of the fetale began indorsing both the purpose and the plan, pledginc their support. And the newspapers of Indiana, many of which have been ac- ' lively battling for better roads, h.v.e I hit upon this ocean to ocean highwa I as a definite project for which to contend. "Briefly,, the plan is to create a fund by subscription from motor car and accessory manufacturers and dealers, each subscription to equal 1 per cent of one year's gross earnings of the subscriber. These subscriptions will be' divided Into thrco or five annua payments, as decided l)v a nationa eommlttee to be later elected by th subscribers. "The fund thus pledged should easily eas-ily exceed $10,000,000. "Still further revenue is anticipated from memberships issued to individual automobile owners -a -;5 membership, a $1 00 membership and a $1,000 membership mem-bership for which an ocean to ocean highway bptton will be issued. With the $1,0C0 ember fund it is planned (o erect mile posts, guide boards, -tc. Already these membership contributions contribu-tions haic reached a snug total. It is also planned to have twelve-inch' twelve-inch' medals cast, one of which will lie given to each dealer who contributes contrib-utes his 1 per cent to the fund. "Mr. Fishi' and Mr. Allison purpose pur-pose to pay all the expenses incidental to the promotion of this plan up to the point where It is either a success or a failure - |