NATIONAL COMMITTEE APPOINTED United States Highways.Adopted and Numbered
Xn keeping with the foregoing resolutions the Joint Board was appointed by the Secretary of Agrioulbure as head of the Federal Road Bureau* This. .Board, throu^rRecommendations from the 43 states, adopted a system of interstate or national travel routes to be known as "United States Highways" to bo built and maintained to carry overland travel properly at all times, and to be numbered and marked "U• S. Highway No.-----." These United States High-
ways will be through routes; the confusing routes so extensively promoted and marked will not have any official standing. The Old Spanish Trail route and the United States Highway designation are the same, so regardless of conditions elsewhere those complications as to name and number do not arise in our case.
Vfe have been advised the minutes of this Joint Board show the attempt was made to eliminate all names and fix numbers only, but some of the established national routes are too important for this action to prevail. We have also found some highway officials still confused on this subject.
The Lincoln Highway Forum article, reproduced on the inside cover page, discusses these questions and the problems and reactions that are arising. There are undoubtedly localities and prominent highways not so easily adjusted to this movement as the Old Spanish Trail. •
Thos. H. Mac Donald, Chief of the Fedoral Road Bureau, makes very clear hiB understanding and attitude that the names are not to be arbitrarily eliminated. Our work now should be to plan and put into effect the Old Spanish Trail marking and signing fo.r the good of this South country without concerning oursel'Ses with the problems in other sections.
Mr. MacDonald's letter follows;
UNITED STATES BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS WASHINGTON, D. C.
April 15, 1926.
Hon. Earle B. Mayfield,
United States Senate.
My dear Senator Mayfield;
At the first meeting of the Joint Board appointed upon the request of the American Association of State Highway Officials to consider the uniform marking of important ianteratato highways, consideration was given to the matter of the named trails and highways. It was the opinion of the Board at that time that the naming of highways was a matter entirely within the juris-diction of the.States, and if the individual States desired to perpetuate the names there would be no interference on the part of the Joint Board, nor would any action taken by the Joint Board prohibit the continuance of these names.