Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-11-04
GOVERNOR FLOWER ON GOOD ROADS.

The Farmer and His Market Must BE
Brought Into Closer Contact.
Governor Flower of New York, before
the Orleans County Agricultural so
ciety, had the following to say concern
ing the improvement of highways:
Icannot help thinking that it is the
question of cost which frightens the
farmer when he begins considering the
subject of good roads. 1t is too true
that many of our farmers are reduced
to that condition where the paying of an
extra dollar of taxation is harder than
having a tooth extracted. But the aver
age farmer is too sensible n man to COM
plain of taxation if the results are going
to put more money in his pocket and
make his life more comfortable. And it
may take some time to prove conclusive
ly to him that this is exactly what good
roads will do, but when he is convinced
he will be one of the most earnest agi-
tators in the movement.
1t has been shown by many statistics
and various calculations that good roads
are cheaper than bad roads. I tried TO
show in my annual message to the legis-
lature last January that the counties of
the state now expend in actual money
and in days labor valued at 81 day for
each man about $4,000, 900 a year upon
their roads, exclusive of the time and
money spent on road and street improve
ment in villages and cities. This is an
| average of $50. 900 for each county. That
amount of money scientifically expended
| each year would build over seven miles
of good macadam road at n cost of 81 900
per mile. Or if the county preferred to
build roads faster this annual expendi-
ture would pay the interest and provide
a small amount for the sinking fund on
an issue of bonds sufficient to construct
over 40 miles of macadam roads.
venture to say there is not county
in this state, which, if it would bond it
self for 81 ,000, 900 and invest the money
in the scientific construction of high
ways, would not in five years have in
creased the valuation of its real estate
twice the amount of the investment.
But that would be only small part of
| the gain. The greater part would be in
the saving of wagon transportation-a
saving in vehicles, saving in horses, a
saving in time, a saving in labor, saw
ing in risks, saving in markets.
Every farmer knows that bad roads
sometimes keep him from town when
prices of grain are high and thereby
cost him a good profit. Every farmer
knows how long it takes him to travel
over bad roads. Every farmer knows
how much larger a load his team would
pull if the roads were hard and smooth.
Every farmer knows what n consider
able item in his annual expenses is the
repair of wagons and harness whose
strength and safety have been crippled
by bad roads. Every farmer knows how
much more it costs to keep three or four
horses instead of one or two, as he might
with equal service with a system of
good roads. Every farmer knows that
his farm would increase in value if
by good highways it could be brought
into speedy communication with village
or city. All these things our farmers
know when they think of them, and they
know that the sum of these pecuniary
advantages in favor of good roads would
| vastly outweigh the cost of procuring
them.
But in spite of these advantages, which
l have heard or seen no man deny and
the demonstration of which is easy, good
roads are slow in coming, and we cling
| to our old fashioned habit of once or
twice year blowing up the sides of q
highway into the middle and calling that
road improvement. We have reached a
stage of development in this state where
a network of smooth highways is abso-
lutely necessary for future progress.
Our cities are becoming so big and re-
quire so much food that our farms must
be brought into close contact with them
or the farms of other states which have
good roads or better railroad facilities
in the agricultural regions will usurp
our markets.
The public schools in TftusviIIe, Pa, ar
oil country city, are making the experiment
this winter of continuous sessions from s:4i
a. m. to 3p. m, with an interval Of 80 min
utes at noon for hasty luncheon
A decade ago many German universities
Lad made no provisions for chair OF psy
chiatry, or the cure of mental diseases To
day the Importance Of this branch of medi
cine is so well recognized that only thre,
universities-R ostock, Giessen and kiel-
have 10 professors Of psychiatry.