Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 242, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 October 1915 — FOUND BAD GOING OVER ILLINOIS ROADS [ARTICLE]

FOUND BAD GOING OVER ILLINOIS ROADS

Motorists On Dixie Highway Trip Not Pleased and There is Talk of Ye* Changing the Route. Indiana may yet get the Dixie highway. It is understood that Allen C. Rankin, who is one of the head men in the locating of the road and the steps taken to get the selected route improved, is very much displeased with the progress made in Illinois and he has issued a “Get Bdsy Illinois” order and unless the route from Chicago to Danville is materially improved it is probable that some other route will be selected and that the Hammond, Crown Point, Rensselaer, Lafayette route is the most practicable. It is 40 miles shorter to Indianapolis than the route chosen via Danville.

Many of the cars that started from Chicago Saturday to accompany the ten booster cars as far as Indianapolis, returned to Chicago Monday over this route and they were frank to say that it has the selected route beaten forty ways for Sunday. N. C. Shafer, of the Main Garage, who -has been one of the most consistent of the boosters for the route through this city and who favors steps for the improvement of the route because of its practicability and shorter distance, says that it is a great shame that something is not done to improve the road north of Virgie, which now gives the entire route a black eye. Mr. Shafer thinks it would be a good thing is a “repair” day was settled upon and volunteers went to Virgie and put in a day on the road. Even grading would greatly help and this should be done within the next two weeks. There is no doubt that much motor travel will follow the official route, but there is no doubt on the other hand that there will always be a lot of cars to takt the shortest route and Mr. Shafer is right in urging that steps be taken to put the “airline” route in such good shape that Illinois can not catch up in ten years.