The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1903-01-21

Ilme5 Ilme6 over, Oy tue Drlck track
road system by which the besi
roads in the world can be built fol
cost which should not exceed an
average of $1,000 mile. The in.
terest on this sum of So, 900, 600, 0OC
at 4 per cent. would build all the
| mainly travelled roads in the coun.
try in less than ten years at cost
of only 40 per cent. of the increas.
ed farm value.
From this it appears that we
would receive benefits from i'm
proving our main roads in the in
crease of farm values alone equal
to two and one-half fold, or 25O
per cent. of their cost.
ga direct saving of 5000, 10000
a year figured at per cent. inter-
est, would carry a cost of S12, 00o,-
100000. This over six times, or
600 per cent. of the necessary costs
of the main roads for the entire
country.
IF the direct comforts, benefits
and savings will equal the direct
saving. we will have another item
of S600,OO0,090. This makes the
total benefits from good main roads
equal to something like S3O,OOO,-
100000. or fifteen times their cost.
The interest from this sum at Z per
cent would pay the cost of build
ing the finest and best main roads
in the world throughout the entire
country each and every year.
These benefits are SO enormous
that it is difficult to rightly COM
prehend them without making
some comparisons. The benefits
of $30,OO0,OOO,OOO, for instance, are
nearly 100 times the amount of the
cost of the Spanish war. iand GER
tainly appear to make this the
greatest economic question before
this country at the present time.
Now, what is being done to
meet this enormous problem? In
the early part of the past century,
when our country was new and our
resources small, Congress sppro-
priated some Sl5.OO0,OOO for ma
tional aid in road building, since
which time most of our roads have
largely taken care of themselves
and their deplorable condition and
have attained a worldwide repu-
tation.
ITO meet this enormous and i'm
portant problem Congress at its
last session appropriated the trifl-
ing sum of $4,000 and only $780,
600 the year previous, at which
time an increase of that sum to
$4,000 was defeated by a close
note by the energetic efforts OF our
progressive chairman of the sgri-
cultural committee.
"At the first session of this
Fifty-seventh Congress the lament
ed Mr.. Otey, of Virginia. intro
duced bill for 100000 for road
improvements. This seemed a
very modest beginning to meet
the enormous interests involved
in the road question, which appear
to reach values nearly 300 times
that sum. The bill is still in the
hands of the committee.
"The first bill presented TO the
House at this session was by Mr..
Brownlow, of Tennessee, for a
very comprehensive and practical
system of improving our country
roads and appropriating the small
sum of S20,OOO,OOO to be used with
equal sums paid by the localities
or States in which the roads are
improved. If this bill becomes a
law it SHOULD inaugurate a road
movement which, in short time
would result in thislcountry's hav-
ing the finest and best roads to be
found anywhere in the world, and
save hundreds of millions of dol
lars to the people of the country
each year.
at is evident that, if this stu
pendous question is to be rightly
met in the spirit of economy, pro-
gress and enterprise 30 characters
tic of the people of this country, it
will be necessary for our legisla-
tors to give it much more compre-
hensive and careful attention than
heretofore.
"The idea of hesitating to spend
SlO0,000,000 or several times that
sum in order to attain benefits sew
eral hundred times as great is con-
sistent with broad minded states
manship, especially when the en-
tire nnflav ShouId ba sayad - N