The Forrest City times., 1904-01-29
Over Five Hundred Representative
Citizens From All Parts of the
State in Attendance.
PAST YEARS WORK MOST GRATIFYING
Resolutions Adopted and Proposed
Legislation Outlined - Convention
Endorses Brownow Bill for Nation
al Aid-Newly Elected Officers.

|
for better roads, and are gen
erously aiding toward accomplish
ing the desired end, is evidenced
by the interest taken in the good
roads convention held in Little Rock
last week, which was attended by over
five hundred of the state's most sub
stantial citizens. Politics were en-
tirely eliminated from the proceedings
of the convention, and measures and
not men were discussed Hon w II.
Moore, president of the National Good
Roads Association, and Hon. J. B.
killebrew, special agent of the ma
tional governments good roads depart
ment. were among the speakers.
After the usual welcome address
and response, the convention got
down to business by electing Hon. s.
@. Sewer of Camden president, and
Hon. o. G. Ludwig Of Little Rock, sec
rotary. On taking the chair Presi-
| dent Sewer reviewed the work for
good roads the last year He said in
part:
During the past year our own be-
| loved state has been partially organ
| lied and the results are clearly visible
| here today. Good roads advocates
have carried on war of education,
which is beginning to force the minds
of the people and the results in a short
time will be SO great that it will be
asked, Why for SO many years has
this idea of improving the local high
ways been overlooked?'
when it is fully realized by the
great masses of the people that the
| good roads association aims simply
at lessening the cost of interior trans
portation and adding to the comfort
Of country life, there will be a loosen
ing of the state and national purse
strings.
Look over this house and scruti-
nize the delegations from the various
counties. Go into all of the other
| states and look over the good roads
| conventions, and there read the pro-
gress which has been made. These
conventions are vivid and lasting Illus
| tratiOns, telling the story more elO-
Guenuy and more forcibly than | can
Look over the public records of your
state and see the dawning of a new
era in road building by taxation in
the levying of road tax by counties,
and in the forming of Improvement
districts for the purpose of building
and beautifying streets.
The old method of warning out
hands to spend few hours at a time
for few days in drinking branch
water and cracking jokes on the
country highway. ostensibly improving
| 1t, is doomed, and in few years it
will be memory Why? Because it
is cheaper to be taxed and have your
roads built with ready money than to
work and build them with warned
road hands Taxation reaches every
body, every corporation and every in
terest, While warning ont hands means
a few giving their time for the benefit
of all. Ready money brings the best
results because it secures the best
labor and leaves the farmer the la
borer the artisan and the manufac-
turer free to apply his earning capac-
ity to the work in hand"
Secretary Brown reported that the
past years business consisted of a
systematic course of educational
work. A vast quantity of literature
was distributed gratis to citizens ir
all sections of the state, and the inter
est in the movement is very crafty
ing
In discussing road work Hon. w. H.
Moore, president of the National Good
Roads Association, said the first
thing to do was to buy the right kind
of machinery and use the right kind
of material. Touching upon the prop
ositiOn of national aid. Mr.. Moore out
| lined the plans Of the national asso-
citation to ask congress to provide for
a series of great national highways,
that of the central diisvionKtS yg
that of the central division starting in
| Chicago and running to Galveston,
| Tex, a distance of ,090 miles, via St
| Louis. Little Rock and TeXarkana
| The Atlantic coast division. beginning
at Augusta, Me- and extending to
Miami, Fla. embraced LILO miles; the
| Pacific coast road from Vancouver to
San Diego, Cal, l ,493 miles. The
northern, or lake division. road. New
York to Duluth. 1880 miles; the cen
trail division, east and west. Washing
| ton to Sacramento. $50 miles; the
| gulf, or southern division. road, Day
ton to Corpus Christi, 1860 The
plans involved an expenditure of
s63S 900 for each state
In his address Hon. j b. Killebrew
stated that he had attended conven-
tons in many states, and nowhere had
he witnessed a greater interest than
was shown by the large attendance at
this convention He pointed out what
he conceived to be needed reforL } In
order that the greatest good may be
brought about in road improvement