Warren sheaf., 1903-05-14
GOODS ROADS REFORMATION..
Present and Past Views of Judge q.
H. Thayer, OF lows, Are Worthy
OF COnsidl ration

Present and Past Views Of Judge 3.
H. Thayer, OF Iowa, Are Worthy
OF Consideration.
{ It has been said that progressive
movement in any direction is like in-
fention in this that when the
thought of it is running in one mind
It is also running in many minds;
and all the signs of the times tell US
that the time is coming for a gem
eral forward movement for good
roads throughout the union. For ten
years the most progressive citizens
N all sections Of the country have
oeenl devising ways and means for
the permanent improvement of the
public highways, and it seems that
all good roads reformers are of the
same opinion with reference to a
general system of cooperation be-
tween the government, the states
and the counties. Among the present
5leadersinthe good roads reformation
is Representative Brownlow, of Ten
nessee, who recently introduced q
oil in congress providing for. na-s
.Aonal cooperation in road improve
ment.
Judge E. H. Thayer, Clinton, Ia.,
has just written a letter to Col.
.Brownlow in which he unhesitatingly
approves all the provisions Of the
bill, and says that he was the pre-
siding officer Of the first national
good roads convention ever held in
this country, Chicago, ILL.,, 1892. Judge
Thayer. made a speech at that con-
vention in which he presented
proposition that. is practically identi-
cal with that running through the
he said:
"The constitution provides that
Congress shall have the power to es-
tablish post offices and post roads
1t has appropriated millions of dol
lars from the public treasury for es-s
tablishing post offices, but in the last
half of the century it has appro-
priated comparatively nothing for
establishing post roads. There is not
an inhabitant of Iowa but is entitled
10 have his mail brought to his
home, no matter whether he lives in
the country or in the city. Tt is graft
flying to know that the free delivery
system is being extended to the
small towns, although the postmas-
ter general writes that senlarging
free delivery or anything like univer-
sal free delivery will have to be
postponed until there are better fa-s
cilities Of communication through
the rural and sparsely settled dis.
.tricts.' Just so. But must the state
and the county and the township be
required to make those better facil-
tiles by the expenditure of vast sums
of money, and then invite the gov
ernment to put mail carriers on
them? That cannot be the meaning
of the constitutions To establish
post roads must mean something
more than merely using the roads
for postal service after somebody
else has built them.
UP to the first day of July, 1892.
there has been paid into the federal
treasury from the sale of Iowa lands
the sum of $13 ,O31, ,90O.17. More than
half of this amount was for lands
sold in 1s54-5. There has been do-
mated to railroads 4,91O,937 acres of
land. Now then, in the present state
of the public mind on the necessity
of building good roads, with popular
opinion favoring government aid,
would it not be a reasonable, proper
and legitimate thing for congress to
return to Iowa at least an amount
equal to one-half of the proceeds de-
rived from the sale&of Iowa lands, to
be used in establishing post roads in
this state? This would give as gov
ernment aid, in round figures, $6,5OO,-
600.
The older statessseeHtr tributed no.
lands to the common national fund;
but Iowa lands We're sold to make up
q portion of government expenses
which all the states alike ought to
have contributed to. When the west
with pardonable enthusiasm, runs
wild after railroads, and congress.
donated almost 100000 acres of the.
best rand the sun ever shown upon
to help build those roads in this
state, had there been the same inter
est taken by our people in good
roads that there is now. and had the
state then asked for "a similar
amount of lands for road purposes,
no doubt congress would have com
piled with the request. For precisely
the same object, but more directly
in the interest Of the state, let Iowa
appeal to congress for an appropria-.
tion equivalent to the donation
made to the railroads. Z
STRONG CIOn MAcHEP