The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1903-07-31

creusing much faster In population
than the country. The best Drawn
and brain from the farm is going
to the cities because Of the isola.
tlon OF farm life. Man is a social
creature, and II he can't get as
ISOLATION in one place he Will seek
1T in another. The wealth OF the
nation depends largely upon the
farmers. They are the wealth
creators; and If we would increase
our farm products ard improve the
land, we must keep our young
men at homo Instead OF sending
them to the cities. They are leav-
ing on account OF the isolation OF
life, aud the way to destroy this
isolation Is TO build good roads.
One-fourth OF the population OF
Kentucky cannot read nor write,
and many thousands OF them aie
prevented from acquiring an edu-
cation because they have no roads
to the schoolhouse, and it is TOO
far to walk. Good roads would get
more Of the boys and girls into
the school and help to blot out
the stigma OF illiteracy. Bad
roads keep thousands from at
tending church and Sunday.school.
Not half the children of the Com.
wealth are enrolled In the Sunday
schools, because the roads to the
church are too bad the most of the
year for them 10 attend. We need
good roads to make life desirable
upon the farm, 10 Increase the
average Of intelligence by putting
people in close touch with the
world, and each other, and for the
advancement OF education and for
Christianity.
Good roads, like college educa-
tlop, cannot be had in a day or a
year, but require time, patience
hard work. You must first show
their value to create demand for
them. You must then stop the old
system OF warning In lands and
levy a tax to build them, or after
you have got good start bond the
county. Then you must start out
with the right things to build them
with. | would mention the road
grader, the rock crusher and the
steam roller as the three things
necessary to build good maca-
dam road, and no other road but
a macadam road is a good one.
The difficulties in the way are that
every man wants the first good
road built to be constructed by his
farm, and that the average farmer
does not know any more about
building roads than he does about
setting a mans leg, and the most
unfortunate thing about 1t is that
he thinks he does. Build the road
first that the most people use and
get a practical road man to build
it. know in many OF the counties
1t will be said that they are too
poor to build good roads. The re-
verse is true. They are too poor
not to build good roads,.
ADVOCATES FEDERAL AID.
Every country in the world that
has good roads has secured them
by national aid, and 1t is reason
ably certain that we will never
have a good system OF roads in the
United States without Federal as
sistance. There have been but two
objections made to Federal aid,
One is that 1t Is not constitutional
TO appropriate money for such pur-
poses. The answer to this is, that
the Federal Government built ma
tlonal roads during the days OF
Henry Clay when the idea of in
ternal Improvements by the Gov
ernment was much more unpopu-
lar than it is now. III 1t was con-
stitutlonal for the Government to
build roads sixty years ago, 1t is
certainly constitutional now. Con-
gress has appropriated 100000
to build roads in Porto Rico and
another million for the same pur-
pose in the Philippines. II 1t Is
constitutional to build roads In
these possessions, 1t is certainly
constitutional to build them in the
States. A Government approprla-
tion can be made under the gen.
eral welfare clause, buttho Consti-
tuition even gives more explicit
authority to Congress on this SUBJ
ject, as 1t is especially authorized
to build post-roads, and under our
free rural mail delivery nearly
every road in the country is either
a post-road, or, in a few years, will
be one.
The other objection is that Fed
eral aid will destroy local interest
in road building and that the peo-
pile will soon depend on the Gov
ernment TO construct their high
ways. The Brownlow Bill now be-
fore Congress, appropriating $780,
100000 for good roads, meets this