Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1897-11-13
FARM AND GARDEN.
EVERYBODY INTERESTED.
Kentucky Editors Comments ON,
the ROnd MOVement.

NhC
The movement for the improvement
If our country roads is one in which all
,itizens ought to take an interest. At
the same time, it is necessary to under
stand the conditions that surround the
question.
There was a time in the history of the
country when there was great contro-,
versy over what was called internal i'm
,rovements. This included turnpike
'oads. The right of congress to eNpend
federal revenue for such purposes was
strenuously combated. On the other
land, it was defended on the ground
that these roads were to be national
highways-avenue 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 The latter have superseded the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 supervision over these
highways of commerce, and there are
those who insist that it ought to pur-
chase or confiscate 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-
tance 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 worl; 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, IL 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.
1t seems clear that the federal gov
| ernment has nothing to do with roads
within the states, a 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 al
| local expense; others have none at all
or next to none. The same remark ap,
plies to states some portions of which
have fine systems of turnpiltes, provided
at their own cost, without state aid
while other sections have no good road:
at all. The injustice of taxing all parts
of the country alike for local roads is ap
parent at a glance.
| The agitation in favor of good country
roads is so important in itself that i
ought not to be complicated with eN
| traneous questions. The main point i:
to utilize the money already expended
1t is not the small amount O.
money and labor expended on our road!
that has left so many of them in baC
condition, but the want of intelligen
supervision and direction. 1t is not il
the interest of good roads to instruc
the people who need them to wait TO,
the federal government to come to thei
relief. To a considerable extent at leas
the same is true of the state govern
ments. These local roads can be bull
with local resources if they are proper
ly utilized,
AS to the use of convict labor for th
making of these, no doubt that is pos
sible in some parts of the country. II
this state, however, it is not possible
under the present constitution, whicl
provides. in section 253. that "person
convicted of felony and sentenced t,
confinement in the penitentiary shall b
confined at labor within the walls of tn
penitentiary, and the general assembl
shall not have the power to authoriz
employment of convicts elsewhere, eS
cept upon the public works of the com
monwealth of Kentucky, or when. duI
ing pestilence or in case of the destruc
tion of the prison buildings, they car
not be confined in the penitentiary.
County roads are not public works @
the commonwealth, and hence are no
within the exception. This, however
might be cured by n constitutions
amendment if the people desire to MAX
the experiment of convict labor o
country roads. There would still re
main, however, the difficult matter c
apportioning the eXpense.-Louisvill
Couirer-J ournal.