Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-12-30
OUR HIGHWAYS.

question OF country rOsls OF more I'M
portance than here In Utah. The
physical structure OF tho earth here.
about inclines strongly to the rugged,
there being fully as much uuinhabit-
able as habitable aud u great deal more
uuinhabited than inhabited. The
topography "a n vast series OF noun.
taius aud valleys with few desert
plains In the extreme west, the valleys
In every instance being more or less
thickly populated and extensively
cultivated. Communication between
these Is attended with considerable
difficulty at times and occasionally is
suspended altogether, As has been the
cnse In places n number OF times this
winter. Railroads are not numerous
enough to make connections com )lete
throughout and are not likely to be
In this generation; but even II
the Territory were perfectly grid
ironed In this manner, we should still
have use and great use for good wagon
roads; as It 10, the demand therefor 10
irresistible.
An effort Is being made througho ut
the country TO have cabinet DEPART
ment Of the government at Washing
ton relating exclusively to this subject,
aud 10 this end blanks headed by n
petition have been circulated broad
cast throughout the land. That these
will DO abundantly signed goes with.
out saying; a petition for almost any
thing, practicable or impracticabls,
would be. The object, ms stated In the
petition Itself, Is to "promote knowi-
edge In the art OF constructing and
maintaining roads," This provokes
some very caustic criticism In places,
and IL received with but very
little favor by any OF the great news.
papers, the Louisville Cowier-Journat
and Washington Poa being psrticu.
larry hostile. The former thinks that
while the matter OF good country roads
Ia one OF such Importance that II Is the
inclination Of many to give their sup.
port to any sort Of movement that has
for Its object the improvement Of our
highways, II should nevertheless be re-
membered that the very Importance
Of the subject makes II all the moro do.
sirable that there should be no mistake
in the means adopted. The most ap.
proved method Of not getting good
roads In Maine, California or Texas,
and VIZ might as well add Utah, Is to
rely on cabinet officer at Washington
to furnish them. In the art Of show
not to do 1t" this method would be
able to discount the British Circum.
locution office immortalilsd by Dick.
ems.
The proposition OF our brilliant
Louisville contemporary thus ends with
u negation, or show not do It," leav-
ing US In the dark US to how to proceed
"to do It," that 10, In the dark 30 far
rs any suggestions OF its own are con-
cerned. Luckily We OF tho far West
know something OF a practical nature
regarding the subject, and can make,
repair and maintain highways; but
candor compels US to say that they are
not Nil as good US they should be, and
that there IL lack OF system In either
the construction or maintenance Of
highways is painfully apparent. The
thing to be done, therefore, Is 10 ex-
pend less money in theorizing and
circulating documents and more In
work OF u useful character. A.
bureau In every state and terri
tory having this subject In hand
anu being charged with the full re-
sponsibility OF 1t, would amount to
very much more than an executive
department at Washington whose &C.
cupanis might or might not know
something OF the matter committed to
them and who, under any circum-
stances, would run 10 largely to red
tppe aud gold seals that little good
would be- accomplished. II ever there
was anything strictly practical IN
this life--a thing In which neither
romance, theory, poetry nor the fine
arts could aud "a Judgment anywhere
that thing is western wagon road
And yet the consequences OF such roads
has never been fully comprehended
They are not only the ayant'Courlesi