Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-11-11
FARM AND GARDEN.
EVERYBODY INTERESTED.
Kentucky Editors Comments ON
the Road Movement.

l A AAChtuCAy comments On
the Road Movement.
| The movement for the improvement
of our country roads is one in which all
citizens ought to take an interest. At
the same time, it is necessary to under
stand the conditions that surround the
question.
| There was time in the history of the
country when there was great contro-
versy over what was called internal i'm
provements. This included turnpike
roads. The right of congress to eXpend
federal revenue for such purposes was
strenuously combated. On the other
hand, it was defended on the ground
that these roads were to be national
ghways-avenues of interstate COM
merce. That was before the day of rail
roads. The latter have superseded the
necessity of building turnpike or other
similar roads for the uses of interstate
commerce. The federal government
has assumed a supervision over these
highways of commerce, and there are
those who insist that it ought to pur-
chase or confscate them all and operate
them. Conditions have entirely changed
since the time when it was insisted that
congress should construct turnpikes.
Our artificial highways for long-dis-
lance commerce are all railroads, with
the exception of few canals.
| When the good-roads convention at
Nashville, therefore, insisted on the con-
struction of country roads, partly at the
expense of the federal government,
partly at the cost of the states and
partly by convict labor, it appears to
have lost sight of the real work to be
done. All of our great highways for in
| terstate commerce are either water
routes or railroads. OF the latter there
appears to be a sufficiency, if we can
| draw any conclusion from the cessation
of railroad building. Roads are
now wanted to transport products
| to the railroads, to the mines, to the
| coast, or to other roads which lead to
| one of the three first mentioned. In
| other words, we need what are called
| neighborhood roads, and not roads en-
gagged in interstate commerce, or even
state commerce between distant points
The latter, as well as the former, is
carried on over railroads where water
! routes are not available.
It seems clear that the federal gov
eminent has nothing to do with roads
within the states, few miles in length,
! that are needed to reach longer lines en-
gagged in state or interstate commerce.
| If it had the power to construct such
roads, it would be difficult to do so on
an equitable basis. Some of the states
have many roads of this sort built at
| local expense; others have none at all,
or next to none. The same remark APP
| plies to states some portions of which
| have fine systems of turnpikes, provided
at their own cost, without state aid,
| while other sections have no good roads
| at all. The injustice of taxing all parts
| of the country alike for local roads is APP
| parent at glance.
| The agitation in favor of good country
roads is so important in itself that it
| ought not to be complicated with en-
traneous questions. The main point is
| to utilize the money already expended
| 1t is not the small amount OF
] money and labor expended on our roads
| that has left so many of them in bad
| condition, but the want of intelligent
| supervision and direction. 1t is not in
| the interest of good roads to instruct
the people who need them to wait for
the federal government to come to their
relief. To considerable extent at least
the same is true of the state govern.
ments. These local roads can be built
with local resources if they are proper
ly utilized.
AS to the use of convict labor for the
making of these, no doubt that is pos
sible in some parts of the country. In
| this state, however, it is not possible
under the present constitution, which
provides, in section 253, that persons
convicted of felony and sentenced to
confinement in the penitentiary shall be
confined at labor within the walls of the
penitentiary, and the general assembly
shall not have the power to authorize
employment of convicts elsewhere, ex-
cept upon the public works of the COM
monwealth of Kentucky, or when, dur
ing pestilence or in case of the destruc-
ton of the prison buildings, they, can
not be confined in the penitentiary.
County roads are not public works OF
the commonwealth, and hence are not
within the exception. This, however,
might be cured by constitutional
amendment if the people desire to make
the experiment of convict labor on
country roads. There would still re-
main, however, the difficult matter of
apportioning the xpense.-Louisville
Couirer-Journ
| CTARl AMI nAIDv