distributor solenoid purpose?

dan, I have read through that article but one thing that confuses me is that the wire runs directly from the starter relay wire to the advance canister on the distributor.

Fer serious? That's weird. In that case, the only purpose it could serve is to alter the timing in one direction or the other (advance it or retard it) during engine cranking to improve ease of starting with whatever basic ignition timing setting was used.