The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-08-10
=. w. ABBOTT AND COL. RICHARD
SON SAY PEOPLE OF STATE
ARE ENTHUSIASTIC
WELCOMED BY CITIZENS
AT EVERY STOPPING PLACE
There Is Every Indication, They Both
Say, That the Trip of the Good Roads
Train Next Month viii Be Produc-
tive of Splendid Results Everywhere.

James w. Abbott, special agent of
the bureau Of road inquiry Of the
United States department of agricul-
ture, and Col. Richardson. secretary of
the National Good Roads association,
returned to this city yesterday from a
trip through Minnesota and North Da-
kota, along the line of the Great North
ern road, the purpose OF which was to
prepare the way for the good roads
construction train which will start
from ST. Paul over the Great Northern
road the first week of next month.
Public meetings were held at four of
the towns visited, and Col Richardson
and Mr.. Abbott report that they were
given a. hearty reception, and found
most earnest sympathy with their
project everywhere they went When
seen at the Ryan hotel by The
G o b e, Mr.. Abbott said:
The good roads work in the West
and the trip. of the construction train
are already an assured success.
Keen for Good Roads.
Everywhere We have gone we have
been eagerly welcomed and have found
the residents of the city and locality in
which we have happened to be, not
only ready but eager to do their share
in the work we had to propose to them.
In some of the. places we visited the
natural conditions were more favorable
for road building than in others-that
is, the material was more easily availa-
ble-but everywhere the city officers
and merchants and citizens generally
welcomed us cordially and entered
heartily into the good roads work. In
n6 yriv yn1sx 10xy
OF building roads is particularly great.
we find there is no suitable ma
terial close at hand. but the residents
of the places we have visited or heard
from are ready to secure the material
from a distance, even though they
have to send to the ST. Cloud quarries
for it. Those towns, most of them have
gravel pits within twenty miles or SO.
but what they need is the material for
surfacfng the roads,
Has Farming Fever.
Mr. Abbott was particularly inn
pressed with the agricultural richness
E OF the country he had just visited, and
dlgresslng for a time from the subject
roads, he said: II have Travelled a
great deal through the United States,
but now for the first time I have been
attacked with agricultural fever.
have never in all my life seen any
thing: like this section and particularly
the Red river valley. 1t is simply Won
derfui and even after all 1 had heard
ception OF. what it was like
Col. richardson, in reviewing the
: trip he and MrsAbbott had just made,
said:
I'VE held meetings at st. Cloud.
tuesday last, at.Fefgus Falls Wednes-
day, at Fargo Thursday and at Grand
FORKS Friday. and all of these meet
lngs We're most enthusiastic. and most
encouraging to US. In fact, we our
selves have gained new enthusiasm
from the people we have met and now
feel assured that the trip cannot but
pc a success in every way. Besides
the places at which we held meetings
we have visited many other towns
and have met delegations from others
ana the sentiment is the same eyery-
Where. They want us to come to them
with our train, and the difficulty
which now threatens is that we will
have too many invitations. At Litch-
field, Mimi, last Monday we met some
OF the prominent citizens and the CITY
officials and they most urgently in
r.Vlted US to come there with our train.
We met delegations from Crookston.
Larimore, Devils Lake and several
other places, and all were deeply in
teieSteu III our work and wished us
to come to their towns. We have been
receiving letters for some time past
from all along the route and all tell
the same story. The interest in the
good roads movement is great and ey-
cry town of any size that we have
heard from wants a piece of road
built
There is every indication that the
good roads convention, to be held in
this city in fair week. will be q great
affair, and we look forward to a grand
demonstration at that time That will
give the good roads movement in this
state a great Impetus"