Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-05-24
Push For Good Roads.

In older countries than ours and be-
fore the advent of railroads, great pub
lie highways We're things of state inn
portance. Some of these works were
OF considerable renown. Even as far
back as two thousand years highways
were constructed in the Roman empire
on such durable plan that their re-
mains are visible to this day. England
and nearly every country on the con-
tinent are at this day well provided in
this respect. But in this country road
building can not be said to have kept
pace with either commercial advance
ment or the rapid development of ma
terial prosperity We are fortunately
in the possession of many rivers, and
we have supplemented these here and
there with costly canals, and. until lie
era of railroads, trade and population
naturally clung to their borders. But
the interior progress of our country,
especially within the past twenty-five
years, has been largely due to the mar
velous expansion and improvement of
our railroad system. This is not only
the fact as to those far inland systems
which open the regions and facilitate
the march OF pressing population, but
is particularly true of the thickly-settled
states that are possessed of special water
facilities.
But at some time there must be
limit 10 the multiplication of these feed
ers, which in turn must themselves be
fed by the public highways. In fact,
the country roads ought to be consider
ed as an essential corrective of the rail-
road system. 1t must be acknowledged,
however, that while railroads are con-
stantly improving, making quicker
time and lowering the cost of transpor-
tation, the common roads of the coun-
try have scarcely kept pace with the act
nal requirements of the public. We
have been so absorbed in the construc-
ton of artificial lines of travel that the
natural lines, the common highways,
have been neglected. Near cities and
large towns there are many exceptions
TO this remark, but elsewhere the situa-
ton is not much better than it was a
quarter of a century ago ago. In
many sections these roads are so DOGGY
in wet seasons as completely TO block
ade the transmission of produce to the
railroads, effecting often serious dis
turbance of general trade. This was
notably the case, it will be remembered,
during an excessively wet spring four
gears ago, when farmers of southern
Illinois and other northwestern states
were for several weeks in a state of mud
blockade, and, utterly unable to drive
their teams to the railroad stations, and
vast amounts of produce were left I'M
marketed at a time when they could
have been sold to advantage. Exper-
fences of this character, however, are
peculiar to no particular season. We
rarely take up newspaper that
has not complaint to make as
to the losses incident one way or
another to the impossible condition of
the public highways. An intelligent
sense of self-interest, it seems to us,
must soon apply the proper remedy.
We look to the farmers to begin the
work. If the dirt roads were we'll
graded, drained, and soldlfied, teams
could carry double what they now do,
and do it in half the time, thus saving
much 10 the producer as well as caus-
ing a more even current of commercial
circulation. Bad methods ought to be
remedied as well as modern improve
ments introduced.
There is also another phase of the
subject. Not only would such high
ways as all our railroad traversing
states ought to have be an advantage
to producers and "a boon to the rail
roads and to commerce, but they would
immensely enhance the value of lands
and homes. just as the railroads have
increased the value of lands through
which they pass. Roads well laid out
and kept in constant repair make an
attractive country, and a community
can make no better investment than,
in every possible way, to push their
construction.-NeU York Commercial
Bulletin.