San /\ntonio, Texas, February 20th, 1932
Mr. H. B. Ayres,
Mobile, Alabama.
Dear Harral:-
Yours of the 18th received this a.m. I think this is the best letter you have written me since you left here. You are just now beginning to get those people to see things your way. The big convention that is to be held in Mobile on the 20th gives you ample time to put over the biggest thing that ever happened to the OST. I thought it was to be February 20th. I am going to suggest that for this meeting that you get the district enginuers for the federal government for Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. I don't know how many divisions this affects but I know it is two and maybe four. If you can get those district engineers on the job you will have a much better chance of putting it over because you know things of this kind are just exactly what the government wants. I wouldn't stop at this. I would go after Mr. t* H. McDonald, Chief Director of the Office of Public Roads. Senator Craft can get him alright, and while I haven't met the new man that succeeds Fauntleroy for Texas and Louisiana,! am supposing that he is at the Austin Highway Commission meeting today. I am going up in the morning before breakfast, and will get Judge McCrory and Capt. Fauntleroy to help me touch him up on the Old Spanish Trail thru Louisiana since that is in his division,
I think we had better arrange for Dr. Johnston to come down at that time and bring somebody from Houston and our friend McDonald from Beaumont and Lea from Orange and let them boost the live-wires thru Louisiana, not so much for the number but good men who really stand for something. In other words, it is quality we are after now on this particular occasion.
If you think it would be possible to put on a Kiwanis run from Hcrmston we might try it. It doesn't cost any more ot take any more time to pull this big stuff (publicity) like Rountree is pulling than it does to fool with the "jitney"stuff and not get anywhere. From a publicity standpoint Rountree is as good as they make them, but I understand he is losing his grip with his own people and I feel just like Harry Locke does about his Phoenix stunt. Harry V/elch,who has been secretary for the chamber of commerce at Phoenix for the last ten years, is a personal friend of mine and I am going to send him a lot of OST clippings on the Mexican division. This will give him an opportunity to do us some good out there. I,f it is at all possible to get things in shape I surely would like to be out at Phoenix at that convention because I certainly would "fix his clock" on the stuff he undertakes to hand out on his Mt. Pleasant to Laredo dope. There has been nothing done on this proposition, except he has tried awfully hard to get organized but so far I have kept him from getting any support south of Waco. I am going to put the International Peace Highway thru over that route from Quebec, Canada, via Louisville, Kentucky; Poplar Bluff,Missouri; Little Rock, Texarkana,
Mt. Pleasant, Taylor, San Antonio, with optional routes between San