The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-08-21
FOR BETTER ROADS.
State Geologist Holmes Writes Well
Upon the Subject of Road
Improvement
D. L. RUSSELL.

Upon the Subject of Road
Improvement.
| Correspondence Of the Progre sive Farmer.
1t is gratifying to every public
spirited citizen to witness the sub
stantial progress which the movement
for better public highways is making
At last the American public in particu
lar is awakening to the fact that this,
greatest of nations, has the poorest
roads travelled by civilized man; and
that these poor roads are an important
factor in the agricultural depression of
the country.
The fruits from this awakening are
already beginning to appear. A few
of the more progressive States have
built, during the past few years, each
several hundred miles of modern stone
roads, and in every State in the Union
a few of the more progressive counties
have taken up the work with energy
and success. In practically every State
public meeting are being held in the
interest of this movement, where men
from different sections come together
and discuss from all standpoints how
we can best permanently improve our
public roads at least cost.
The National Good Roads Confer
enee held at Asbury Park, N. j., July
5th and 9Th, attended by representa-
tive men from 40 different States and
Territories, was doubtless the most
successful meeting of it's kind ever
held in this country. This meeting
brought out one important fact-that
in all the States the farmers were tax
ing deeper and more favorable inter
est in the movement for better roads,
and in many places are to day the
leaders in the movement.
In North Carolina there is abundant
ground for encouragement. Mecklen-
burg and Wake counties have taken
the lead; and already their good ex-
ample is being followed with varying
degrees of success by Alaman2e, Gull
ford, Cabarrus, Durham, Granville,
Chatham, Wayne, Edgecombe and a
number of other counties. Reports
coming in from other portions of the
State show that in nearly all the coun-
ties the question of better public roads
is receiving a considerable share of at
tention.
The recent successful road confer
ence at Chapel Hill had scarcely ad=
journed before calls were received from
several different sources that similar
meeting be held in Raleigh, at some
time during the present month, to
which should be especially invited the
road overseers, magistrates, county
commissioners and other citizens of
Wake and neighbOring counties.
1t is announced that such a me citing
will be held in Raleigh on August 23rd
and Oath, the objects of which will be
two fold; first, a thorough discussion,
from every standpoint, of the best
methods of improving the public roads
in the counties of middle North Caro-
lina; and second, to examine carefully
the stone roads which are being built
by Raleigh township the road machin-
cry being used, and the methods of
using convict labor in road building.
This meeting should be attended by
every road overseer and county com
missioner in Wake and the neighbor
ing counties, and the friends Of good
roads," like the friends of education, -
should attend the conference also.
District conferences of this kind, or
road Institutes, should be held in every
section of the State, and from all of
these more local meetings, as well as
from the counties themselves, repre-
sentatives ought to be sent to the meet
ing of the State Road Improvement
Association which will be held in Char
lotte on September 13sh.
J. A. HOLMES,
! Secretary North Carolina Road I'm,
! provement Association.