The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-05-18
BAD ROADS CAUSE Discomfort
They Have Done Much to Destroy the
Glory Of New England Homes.


Glory of New England Homes,
Good roads are of paramount i'm
portance to every citizen. but to the
farmer especially. For the past few
decades the farmer las DEVOTED his
attention to the problem of produc-
ing crops of the best quality in the
greatest abundance at the least cost,
and in the solution of this problem
he has succeeded admirably. But
the longer and the better and the
cheaper his product, the poorer, APP
parently, does he find himself to be
at the end Of the year, Others
seem to gain the profit; loss falls to
his share.
One cause of this state of affairs
is not difficult to find. The average
farmer has not yet comprehended
and solved the problem Of exchange.
The expense of getting his produce
to market and of returning those
commodities for which he has ex-
changed the products of the farm
falls as a heavy burden upon the
agriculturist. The cost Of carriage
of crops one way from the farm to
the railroad station 5 to 10 miles
distant, and of fuel, fertilizers, ma
cnlnery, commercial feed stuffs,
furniture, clothing and provisions
from the markets to the country
home has been so great as to reduce
the value of farms, a little distant
/ from the centers, so to 100 per cent.
causing them in many cases to be
abandoned.
For example, a farm of Is acres
of arabic land in square lot con-
tanning pretty house of five rooms
IN good repair, barn, plenty of
fruit trees, located in the midst of
magnificent scenery, on main
road, II miles from Amherst col
lege, Massachusetts,, within two
miles OF two stations on two rail
roads, hardly mile from church
and school house and store, has
beer for years offered for sale with
out a purchaser and has often been
vacant, while many have paid $50
or 800 more for tenement of five
rooms il. second story of village
house than was asked for the rent
Of the whole farmhouse, barn, gar
den, orchard, pasture and hllage.
Poor roads are an efficient factor
in producing the discomfort OF our
rural population. Dusty and stony
in summer, muddy and deluged in
spring and autumn, rough or slip
perry or drifted with snow IN the
winter, poor roads are dangerous
to life and limb, constant tear
upon horses and harnesses, wagons
and carriages. They isolate the
farmers family from the school,
from the church, from the post
Office and all of its educational IA
cilities, from all the social centers
of thought and advancing ciyihza-
ton. They have done more than
any other single factor to destroy
the glory of the New England home
of olden time, to produce the abnor-
nal growth Of the city, with its in
creasing evils, and to make agricul-
ture unremunerative to the farmer,
What can be done to show the
farmer the necessity of good roads?
Poor, bad, abominable roads are
common. A piece Of road properly
constructed upon which the farmer
might drive his teams would do
more to convince hlm of the value
and economy of good roads and to
send him annually into the town
meeting and his representative into
the legislature demanding good
roads in return for taxes assessed
than any amount of pamphlets and
pictures and speechmakiNg. Rev.
G. S. Walker IN Good Roads.