Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-09-07
e GOOD ROADS NOTES.


Principles of Good Roads Agitation.
Readers who see mentions of the
good roads movement" do not re-
alize that in this there may be one. of
the great national issues OF our poll
tics at some time in the future, pos
sibly within a comparatively short
time. This movement was started by
the wheelmen through their national
organization, the League of American
Wheelmen, and hundreds of thou
sands of dollars have been spent by it
in the agitation.
The principle of the movement, as
advocated by the wheelmen, is that
the common roads of the country are
as important as the railway systems,
the statement being made by them,
and being easily understood, that
there is not an ounce of any COM
modify hauled over the railroads that
is not first transported by wagons
over country roads and city streets.
1t does not matter if the commodity
is manufactured articles that are
loaded on cars at the factory; the raw
material has first to be hauled to the
factory. But the greatest hauling is
done in the farming districts, and
there it is that good high ways are
most needed
The subject has not been given the
attention and support it deserves, as
yet, for the simple reason that private
capital cannot become interested in
the building of common roads since
there would be no income from the
Investment such as there is in rail-
ways. Municipal, County, State and
the National Government have not
had the issue brought directly before
them in its full significance because
it is necessary to first educate the
people to the necessities of the move
ment. This is what is being done by
the wheelmen at the present time, and
it must be said to their credit that
they have enlisted the sympathy and
support of all the prominent farmers
organizations in the movement. With
the two classes working together it is
only q question of time until the
movement will be made a political
issue and then will come the desired
| improvements.
The argument offered in favor OF
the improved roads is, that they
lessen the cost of repairs, make it
possible to haul the largest amount OF
goods with the smallest animal
power, saves time and increases prop
erty valuations. No railroad company
would expect to do business if it's
tracks and roadbeds were in such
condition as to make it either impos-
sible to use the tracks at long seasons
of the year, or in using them have to
lose a great deal of time and have
immense repairs to make; and yet
that is what the farmers and others
using the common roads are doing in
comparative way every day in the
year.
They make the most impracticabls
attempts at road building and repairs
ing, and then wonder why there is no
profit in their products, which have
been hauled over bal roads at the
greatest expense. 1t has been esti-
mated that in the States where tho
stone roads have been built that the
cost of transportation has been de-
creased to twenty per cent. of the
former figures, and that the roads
pay for themselves within few years.
It has been further shown that the
amount lost in the different ways
mentioned will more THAI pay for the
building and repairs of these roads on
the annual assessments made fol
them, or that it costs no more each
year to have good roads than it doea
to have bad ones.