The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-04-01
RAPID rRANsITIN THE COUNTRY
1t Would Have as Good an Effect there

people bail with delight every saw
ing of a minute in either the trans
portahon of their property or OF
themselves. Houses and land near
rapid transit lines are worth double
he money as those situated far
from them will bring. Not so much
IS the wasting of a second will be
tolerated in the town.
Why should there be such vas,
difference between the town and the
suburbs? Is the time of clerk
worth more per watch tick than the
time OF a farmer?
The idea that it is so is absurd.
Yet the clerk husbands his time
with the greatest care, while the
farmer wastes his with the most
complete indifference. Hours ever,
lay he throws away with no benefit
to him or anyone else. lie is con
tent to jog along through mud and
lust, quagmlres and ruts. so slowly
that his hours for work and recrea
tIon arc materially curtailed. lie
reads in the papers about rapid
transit for the cities. but he doesn't
realize that what is so very good for
the towns must be good also for the
country. The idea Of rapid transit
Tor the country never occurs to him.
Going always has been bad most
OF the time on the roads around his
home, and he doesn't stop to think
that it eyer can be better. 1t never
Will be If he doesn't help better 1t.
If rapid transit is desirable in the
city, why isn't it also desirable in
the country: Il rapid transit ena-
bles city sellers to make more money
on their sales because they can get
them to market sooner and cheaper
thereby, why shouldn't it do the
same for the country sellers If
rapid transit adds thousands to the
value Of city property, why shouldn't
it have similar effect on country
acres?
There is no reason whatever why
all these results should not as surely
come among the farms as they do
among the factories.
But how can the country have
rapid transit? you ask. Surely ele-
waited railroads and electro cars
and cable systems aud street car
lines would not be practicable IN
the country. No, nor would thew
meet the necessities of the case if
they could be built and maintained.
What are required and what are
perfectly feasible are hard, smooth,
broken stone wagon roads. More
over, such roads would mean not
not only rapid transit. but cheap
transit; not only cheap transit, but
comfortable transit. They would
cost considerable money, but they
would not cost as much money as
the vile, mud stuck roadways that
now keep the country from progress
and keep 1T in poverty. The oues-
ton of highway improvement has
AS serious bearing on the future
of American agriculture as has the
question of free trade or protection,
free coinage or restricted coinage,
There are many thoughtful men. in
TACT, who consider road Improve
ment the most important issue that
now confronts the farmer.
A few very simple calculations
will show wherein the Importance
OF road Improvement lies. 1t is
easy to see how the farmer might
save a vast amount of time every
year if he and his men were not de-
layed by being forced to drive slow
ly over bad roads. 1t is equally
easy to see that If roads were smooth
and hard he would be obliged to do
less teaming to accomplish the same
results-he could get his produce
to market in half the number of
loads, because he could haul twice
as much in each load. To carry
this line Of reasoning little farther
1t becomes evident that if the
farmers teaming were reduced one
half he would need less horses than
he requires now, and would be ena
bled to save not only the purchase
price of the saperfoous animals.
but the cost of feeding them and of
hiring men to care for them aud
drive them.
In this connection Isaac b. Pot
ter. III his "Gospel OF Good Roads,
figured that the farmers of the U.
:. have upon their farms draft
administrators, mules and oxen
numbering 53,393, SSS. lie saws.
Making the most liberal allowance I
in favor Of the farmer and granting
the necessity for the liberal use of |
horse power IN the maintenance of I
agricultural traffic, it is easily Ger.
tam that the farmers of this coun. |
try are keeping at least 1000, 900 |
horses more than would be necessary |