The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-01-11
GOOD ROADS.

There are hundreds of roads in
North Carolina that are disgrace to
any free, civilized people. The same
thing may be said of New York, as we
have learned from papers on road
making we have seen published with
reference to the condition there. Gov
Flower SO much appreciates the neces-
sity of better roads for New York that
he is writing articles and delivering
addresses about it. Some time ago he
delivered very earnest address to the
farmers in behalf of good roads al the
Orleans County Agricultural meeting.
He tried to impress upon them the
absolute necessity of having good
roads. He told them that instead Of
being a tax they would put money
into their pockets. He said:
1t has been shown by many statistics
and various calculations that good roads
are cheaper than bad roads. | 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 a day
for each man about s., 100000 year
upon their roads, exclusive of the time
and money spent on road and street i'm
provement in villages and cities. This is
an average OF $50, 600 for each county.
That amount of money scientifically
expended each year would build over
seven miles OF good macadam road at a
cost of 81 900 per mile. | vent
ure to say there is not u county in this
State which if it would bond itself for
million dollars and invest the money in
the scientific construction of highways
would not in five years have increased
the valuation of its real estate twice the
amount of the investment. But that
would be only a small part of the gain.
The greater part would be in the saving
of wagon transportation-a saving in
vehicles, q saving in horses, a saving in
time, a saving in labor, IL saving in risks,
saving i'll markets.
Every farmer knows that bad roads
sometimes keep him from town when
prices of grain are high, and thereby
cost him good profit. Every farmer
knows how long it takes him to travel
over bad roads. Every farmer knows
what considerable item in his annual
expense 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 system OF good roads.
We make this long extract because
it is valuable, is full of sense and truth,
and is we'll worth pondering. We
have in our own way tried SO often to
present the salient features of this most
important question, that still remains
unsettled, that it is something of an
old song with US. The profit Of good
roads, as we'll as comfort, is all on the
side Of the farmer No outlay can
bring to him better returns. 1t not
only will save him much in the end as
to money, but it will enhance the
value of his real estate and make him
much nearer the centres of civilization
and the markets.
In New York, as we saw stated
some months since, the roads were
sometimes SO bad it was impossible
for the children to attend the schools.
Better highways are necessity and it
is suicidal to continue in the same,
deep, old ruts. Get out of them and
build roads that will last for genera
tlons.-Wllmington Messenger.