Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1891-10-17
DEMOCRATIC TICKET.
For House OF DELEGATES;
For Accolnac:
d. FRANK WHITE.
For Acconac and Northampton:
Hon. S. S. WILKINs.


We arc not alone in our cry for il: :
,,~oved roads. All over the country
the people are moving. Among the
many who ere preaching the gospel
CT economy, profit, and thrift in the
plan in general. and especially agri.
cultural progress, is Mr.. Isaac B. Pot
Ter, Of New York, VINO addresses the
farmer particularly i'll pamphlet
entitled "Thc Gospel of Good Roads
One of his metho,;S of argument is by
Tie camera. Tie las the American
farmer with team doubled and light
weight mired in the ordinary roads;
While hy, its side is the single team,
drawing several times tie American
1oad. passing swiftly over the Euro
pean loads. l.nG 1t is full CT trr tn.
lie says:
You viii agrec with me that Your
,.rads are lad You may not know
nat they ere the very worst i'll the
world. but YOU havo never seen or
3,eard Of worse ones; nor, alas, per-
laps Of better. You live on the main
road in an important county. saw
ycu one day last srring trying to
drive Your best horse through the
nasfv depths of that mysterious streak
Of public territory, and while the pa
iienr beast was pulling the harness
il, two IN his efforts to lift You and
you scant load onto the little bridge
: ear The lnill. your, photograph was
,sken. = There were 1000
ann horses in Your county on the
GAY when this photograph was
raker. and FOR about four weeks all
/ g county roads had been in just
y is condition. Teamins was out Of
lie question. 10 haul load TO town
WAS impossible, ard the 10000 farm
horses stood in their stalls eating
their heads off, At What cost TO the
farmers? Assume that the cost OF
Keeping each horse is twenty-five
cents Per day, including labor, food
Il, d all other items, and in half a
:u:nutc we compute that it costs
800 dav, S11 $50 per week and eX-
.ctlv sc, COO for the four weeks that
1lese hcrses lave been starding prac-
rically idle. i bad read, you zee, is
N expensive thing.
1t is expensive NOT alone TO tie
;a1mers of Your county, hut to the
armers of the cnrire country. The
avera.c rainfall in the United States
is something over forty inches per
.,,.5 -, ark. 1,nc
:erty odd inches Of water, freezes and
,l'aws, Cries, pulverizes. changes from
paste 10 powder and hackagain frolu
I.owGer to raste, end for weeks at a
time is practically impossible. Farm
IA. nic is tied up. You have produce
10 sell, purchases TO ma he. grain to
Grind. timber TO haul, bills to collect
md obligations to meet, but all these
!. ust wait bec:use your only avenue
O! travel is taking its annual soak" "
Near the close of his talk he says:
II think you will agree With me
that wagon roads should be much
better than they are, and the main
difficulty thrt troubles yon believe
] can understand. You are wonder
ing how Won arc to get the better
roads which will give YOU the same
advantages that are given to the
farmers of England, France, Italy
and other European countries.
The answer is not difficult. 1ou
are simply TO insist that the main
roads in your country shall be re-
constructed and kept in repair at the
expense of the State at large instead
az by tax directed against the farm
crs alone. end then YOU ere TO send a
man to the legislature who believes
in the same doctrine and will stand
up for it. Don't start at the prospect
of more taxes; you are not to pay
more, but less"
You are not to pay more, but less
Scs. Undcniably. Bad roecs by
tI,eir destruction of the farmers
teams, wagons, carriages, harness,
and not least his temper, not only in
crease his taxes, and that in the most
erect and killing way. but also makes
he distance to market greater and
more expensive III extra team, less of
time, and loss in bulk of load. On
the other hand good roads save wear
and tear of the farmers horsefesh.
rolling stock, harness, leather; put
him close to market or railway sta
ion, and by making easier the work
Of each horse his capacity for useful
:css is increased and thus way is
opened to buy less teams to risk and
feed. This to say nothing of increased
land values. SO instead of increased
taxes to build and maintain the roads
we must have, by the decrease ir
wear and tear, by reduction in num-
Der of animals needed, by bringing
us nearer to market, by increased
land values, we shall make a heavy
profit and thereby not ''ray more,
but less taxes.
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Last week we published what we
thought TO be the real plans Of Gen.
Nfobnpa. fills Iyppk Wn call the at.