."an Ant nio, .'ay 23, 1923.
:'is3 Florence Sterling, roman*s Vie .point.
Houston, Texas.
Hoar 'lisa Sterling,-
I enclose information relative to the Old Spanish Trail and the action cf tbs :i:ijJw;i-:rpJl-rtarl;lont in officially designating the Old Spanish Trail frar.
Orange, thru ileuston, San Antonio. Mol Rio, to 131 Paso and bow Mexico as the "Jefferson Mavis "oooriel Highway.11	'.’ho	037	organization	of	course	w5.ll
not sub.o.lt to this, but it will be bettor of courso if this action ie corrected before things arc said that will hurt.
i do not mod to repeat that for ten years 03T men c. id women have been building thla works hkdy have expended over '100,000 and time beyond calculation.
It appoaro r. littl- group of women, who have given neither time nor money to the develop:-eat og the highway and probably never will, want before the Highway Commission aal that body yieldvl to thair flinoyrpcgtct&oa.	These women
dishonor the nowe of Jefferson Mavis when they attempt t seise the work of others, and a work so roll established} they also dishonor womanhood for women ere not building thor.aelveo into the recognition thoy ora attained" bv piracy of this sort but by the works they tho-nselves are doing. The minute any at empt io mad© to rs-nark this highway, and thus destroy the Old Spanish Trail as n nat.lci/loI tr: .acontinor.tal trunkline, I will personally load a. fight that£'11 bo without reserve.
Attempts to confer earn© local sentimental name on a highway should bo restricted to purely state highways. it isea.no the destruction of a national highway to do ouch, a thing, National hight?cy3 depend upon acceptance by tno pooele of all tho states not.only of the name but of the plans and policies.	The Old
Spanish Trail at the coats of years of hard work has attained this.	A national
highway also depends fer its success upon recognition by tho people, papers, magazines and organisations of the United States. Tho Old Spanish Trail lies aioo attained this. The people of the United States and of the other OS? states will not accent the name of Jefferson Davis. If Texas destroys the Old Spanish Trail as a national highway she will be guilty of a breach of faith to the other statesj nh© will destroy a recognition and a goodwill north millions to the state as people are drawn to tho state by the appeal the Old Spanish Trail holds for everyone, and settlement, investment and development follows*
Inasmuch an th© real womanhood of foxes, I believe, do not understand I think you can exorcise a worthy and constructive influence in this matter.
Sincerely,
ilarral B. Ayres, OST Managing Dir