The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-01-31
THREE THINGS IN ONE
EMPLOYMENT, IMPROVED ROADS AND
A SUPPLY OF GOOD MONEY.

EMPLOYMENT, IMPROVED ROADS AND
A SUPPLY OF GOOD MONEY.
All These Are Embodied In the Good Roads
Plan Organized by an Ohio Man-"Judas
john Sherman Is the Only Out and Out
Opponent.
Perhaps few of our readers have any
flea of the enthusiastic Endorsements and
the enormous progress the j. S. Coxey
good roads plan is meeting with. Since
the American Federation of Labor, at
its Chicago convention, decided that the
proposition to petition congress to issue
$500, 000,0 600 for the purpose of build
ing and improving roads is worthy of
support, thousands of inquiries, indorse-
ments, requests for printed cartoons,
and filled out petitions are pouring into
the headquarters of the Coxey Good
Roads association of the United States,
at Massillon, o. The A. F. of L., Ohio
Trades and Labor assembly, the Indiana
State Assembly Knights of Labor,
Switchmen's Mutual Aid association
and long list of local labor, agricul-
tural and reform organizations indorse
the plan, and it would be simply i'm
possible to give even faint idea of the
great numbers of Endorsements coming
from men and women prominent in all
walks of life.
The j. S. Coxey Good Roads associa-
ton consists Of every human being in
the United States who signs the petition
and who wants good roads, plenty Of
work for idle men instead of charity
shadow soup and plenty of good money.
The object is to try all honorable means
to get congress to pass law author1z-
ing the secretary of the treasury to have
printed $500, 900. 900 in treasury notes.
a legal tender for all debts public and
private, in denominations of 81, 50, S.
and $40, and to be placed in fund, and
to be known as the General County
Road Fund System of the United
States,'' and to be expended solely for
said purpose. The secretary of war is
then instructed to take charge of the
construction of the road system and to
expend the sum of $40, 900, 900 per
month, pro rata with the number of
miles of road in each state and terri
tory. The rate of wages shall be not
less than $3.50 day for laborers and
$3.50 day for teams and teamsters,
and that eight hours shall constitute
days work. If the present do nothing
congress refuses to pass the bill, then it
is proposed to try to throw the vote of
this association to those candidates for
the next congress who will sign writ
event of their election
Mr.. Coxey seems to have struck a
popular chord by organizing this asso-
citation for the betterment of roads. And
when all the possibilities that this great
work has in store are given considera-
ton, one cannot help but indorse it. In
the first place, our roads are disgrace
to civilization, and travellers from for
eign countries never hesitate in saying
so. 1t is notorious fact that for at
least three months in the year country
roads are all but impossible, which re-
suits in terrible misuse and barbarous,
inhuman treatment of horsehesh. Good
roads would mean that the farmer could
drive to town to trade at a moment 8
notice and not be compelled to wait
until the wet spell" was succeeded by
a ''dry SPELL The construction of
good roads would mean that an i'm
mense army could be put to work, not
butchering other human beings, but in
improving the country and developing
it's resources. Hundreds of thousands
of unemployed men would become
useful, self respecting citizens, their
wants would be supplied, their families
would no longer suffer, and poverty and
crime would rapidly decrease. This
army of men would Immediately be-
come consumers of food and clothing
and everything necessary to maintain
life, and in few days every industry
in the nation would be set in motion,
the surplus labor would be employed,
wages would rise, hours of labor would
be shortened, an era of prosperity would
have dawned throughout the land, and
every one would be happy-except the
coupon clipping bondholder and gold
bugs of Wall street and Europe.
A mighty effort will be made to COM
pei congress to give relief or confess its
incompetency to deal with great ques-
tions, and to this end the officials Of the
Good Roads association have called a
mass meeting to be held in the city of
Washington on May 1, 1894, at 10 a.
M, on the steps of the national capitol,
at which all the petitions received up
to that time will be displayed, previous
to being given to the lawmaking bodies.
Speakers of national repute will be pres
ent, and men without work are re-
quested to try to get there, sounding the
slogan throughout the length and
breadth of the land, Ion to Washing
toni" Up to date only one man has
come out squarely in opposition to the
plan, and that man is John Sherman, as
might have been expected. This in it.
self ought to commend the bill to every
honest man. Judas JOHN" who bor
rowed money to pay his way to Wash
ington when first elected and who has
managed to become millionaire four