Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-02-09
rwEEDLEDUM AND TwBEDLEDEE
NEW WHATooM, Feb. s.

NEW WHATCoM Feb s.
EDITOR HERALD: Your report of my
opinion and views on the road bond
question is somewhat wide of the
mark. As the question is very i'm
portant one for the prosperity of our
city and county at large, and one on
which we wish to make no mistakes,
viii state briefly my views on this
subject.
we all recognize the great import
ance of good county roads. We have
probably as large or larger agricultural
area at our back than any city on the
! sound, but IL is "A forest, and to make
| 1t available and valuable, il must be
/ Drought INTO easy communication with
the commercial and shipping centers
and the market 1t matters little how
valuable farm man has or how fine
a crop he can raIse, if he cannot get
MS crop easily 10 market. To make
larm and crop valuable he must have
good roads 10 place Of shipment or 10
the market, one or both. Another i'm
portant consideration 10 the farm is,
II .he wishes TO be successful as "a
farmer, he must have his surroundings
pleasant and attractive to himself and
family. To do this, he must have
neighbors and facilities for getting
about among his neighbOrS and to and
from town. His children will not be
satisfied TO be isolated from the world.
if he is. Young folks want to get
together on occasions, and their great
est happiness and best DEVELOPMENT
require that they should, and nothing
will facilitate this much needed social
life and relaxation and fiji our farming
districts with intelligent families and
homes, like good country roads. Good
road communication between the coun-
try and the cities will build up alike
both city and country and prove bene-
fetal to each. II is hard to tell how
any intelligent, spirited and am
bilious man would consent to live on
even the best 40, 80 or 1860 acres in
Whatcom county, if he has to live in
the wilderness and separated from his
neighbOrs, station and town by roads
which are an embargo on social and
business life. DO we wonder that he
gets disgusted and leaves the farm and
that his children gravitate to the towns
and that rural life, the happiest and
most independent, is largely being
given over TO foreigners?
Whatcom county is blessed with
conditions of soil, climate and home !
market, which are calculated to make |
its rural districts among the most at F..
t1ctive and profitable Of any section |
or country on earth, and yet the |
Bay cities are dependent for their .
present limited demand of horti. /
cultural and agricultural supplies upon |
California, Oregon and Eastern Wash /
ingtOn, aud the rich and fertile nnd5f
4 A.
and inducements for settlement To the l
incoming immigrant Every reflective /
man knows that if we had good cOun-
try roads ramilying into our agricult-
ural districts, ten men would avail /
themselves of the inducements of set
tlement where one does now, and soon
the best portions of Whatcom county
would be settled by thrifty iutelli.
gent, prosperous and happy people,
alike 10 county and town
Yes, Mr. Editor, we need good country
roads if we expect to make WhatcOm
county what she is designed by nature
to become, the banner county of West
srn Washington, and the Bay cities
the leading city north of San Fran
cisco Good roads we must have.
But we have much TO learn about
road making in WhatcOm county. We
must 90 at it cautiously, prudently,
aXperimentally. My notion is TO make I
4 good beginning early this spring, and
after one seasons experience and eX-
pertinent push the trunk lines rapidly ,
10 a finish, aud let localities then feed ,
nto the trunk lines by short neighbor- ,
hood roads. ! am I'm favor OF bonding
he county for good roads and | do not
.hink the present residents should pay
or what will be of great benefit 10 gem .
.rations yet to come. Let the next
md future generations help TO pay the
debt, for they will share the
benefits. But while / am heartily in
n favor Of good roads / certainly think
{ wise to feel our way along i'm the
inc of experiment and spend no more q
han about 100000 at any one time
md of course limit our first bonded in
lebtedness to that sum-$4OO, 600 at one q
ell swoop looks rash and extravagant !
ll-advised and not i'm the interest Of
he county. Road building, whether
n the city or country, should be done
arly in the season and not at the edge /
# the rainy season, and 100000 is all A.,
hat could be judiciously used at any ,
me time, it seems to me, and If we ,,
we're assured that no greater sum would
'e borrowed or expended at any one
ime than 100000, | think the people 2
f the county would favor the bonding :
f the county to that extent for the :
ractical great good sure to follow
THOMAS SLADE. !
ts.l. .s.fH IL l.