Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1896-11-12
FARMERS TAKING HOLD.
Crusade For Good Roads No Longer Linz
tied to WheeImen.

tied to WheeImen.
From the annual report of the secreta-
~ of the Wisconsin League For Good
Roads we take the following:
From a statement compiled by the
county clerk of Milwaukee county
in 1895 it appears that the seven
towns i'll his county, outside of the
city of Milwaukee, had collected
during five years the sum Of $275,-
600 Ill road taxes. This, of course,
was not paid in cash, but was worked
out under the old system. An expendi-
ture like this i'll a single county ought
to produce a system of roads equal to
the best to be found in Europe. But
these roads arc not to be found in Mil
waukee county nor anywhere else in
the state. 1t is safe to say that the i'm
provements made here i'll five years
might have been made by any contract
or for much less than half this amount,
with magnificent margin of profit
Similar computations were obtained
from tie county clerks of Brown, Doug
las, juneau, Marinette, Portage, Rock,
ShaWano and Walworth counties, and,
using the percentage of population as "a
basis, it was found that the state of
Wisconsin must have collected during
the five years in question some SO, $685.
600 IN road taxes, "A sum of money
abundant to create a magnificent net
work Of high Ways throughout the state,
but which, instead, has been squander-
ed i'll pathn..!sters' picnics at public ex-
pense.
Wisconsin raised in 1895, approx
mately, 1000, 900 tons of oats, 1,000,-
600 tons of corn and enough wheat and
barley to make at least $50, 600 tons
All this was marketed at all average ex-
pensc, as computed by the United States
department of agriculture, of $3 per
ton. This 50 per ton represents the val
ne of the time consumed by the farmer
with his team in driving between his
farm and his market town.
The total cost eff marketing these four
crops is thus found to be $3.50, 600,
and We are told, both by the bureau Of
road inquiry at Washington and by John
NJ. stahl. secretary OF the national
farmers congress, that tvo-thirds Of
the cost e marketing crops in this coun-
try n.iSht bn saved by the building Of
good, substantial, hard roads. When,
therefore, il ars that tWo-thirds of
this tremendous sum, OF 5,5o0, 600,
might be saved ty Wisconsin farmers
each year, ye&raf,ery year, upon the cost
of marketing these four crops alone, not
to speak Of what might be saved i'll
marx ting their other crops, we must
concid,:e that the agitation fer better
country highways is not Il selfish hobby
OF the bicycle rider, but represents what
is bound TO become and what, i'll fact,
already has become a great popular
movement or an important and essen
tial public Improvement, the benefits Of
which viii extend to all, but most par
ticulurly to the farming classes.
1t is ii pleasure to your committee,
and it must be to you, to know that the
leaders among this great class of our
people realize this and are beginning
to Join their efforts to ours. 1t is en-
cOuragiLE to see that the crusade for
good roads has ceased to be regarded as
simply and purely Il wheclmen's agita-
ton and that farmers who have long
denounced the good roads movement as
"a selfish effort OF the ''bicycle dudes"
are beginning to give the matter serious
thought.