The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-11-02

EOdu, "ulSl Ii IL
ommon road of to-day. makes life IN
country districts and smaller places
more expensive in every way; 1t de-
stroys social movement. it lnter1eres
with church and school, it robs the
people Of many comforts and attrac-
lions, and makes life narrow. In this
way it drives from the village ana
farm to the cities the young men ana
women, with their productive posi-
bilities. Its whole tendency is TO II
gest population in the cities, n more
than anything else has forced a ne
sided development in our National LIE.
These are some of the evils II the
burdens and the effects Of poor ROADS.
What of the influence and effect OF
good roads? Fortunately We do not
have to go to foreign lands, nor even
to other sections of u own country
for proof as to their ~desiraDlllty ana
for their value. They have reduced
the cost of farm production wherever
built, they have increased Il value OF
farm lands from twenty-five 10 lVo
per cent, they have made available
for cultivation wider areas OF territory,
thew have attracted immigration, they
have given to old farms thought value
less a good value, by enabling owners
or tenants to make them profitable;
they have made the village merchant
more prosperous, they have built rae
tories, they have aided in the growth OIL
cities; incidentally they have added
to the traffic of railroads. OF other
benefits of even greater Importance
they have made a better class of citl-
zens: they have brought about better
methods of agriculture; they have I'M
proved the schools by increasing pub
lie revenues and enabling teachers and
schools to serve a larger area; they
have added in every way to the COM
forts of the people. They have in a
measure turned back the tide toward
the city by bringing people from the
city into the country districts for
homes.
They may be somewhat startling.
What is there to support them: The
development of this country has al
ways followed the lines of easiest
communication, of the best transporta-
ton facilities. In early days the popu'
lation kept close to the waterways.
The building of the Erie Canal
changed the current of industrial ac-
tivity. Along the old roads built
down through the Southern States
nearly a hundred years ago were To-
Gated the most prosperous plantations,
the bones Of the South's most enter
prising and substantial farmers, and
along these roads were found seats
of social life under the old regime. The
building of railroad lines to the great
West sent to that region for invest
ment the capital Of the East, the most
ambitious Of the sons of the East and
South, and attracted there the millions
of immigrants from other lands, who
have done so much to develop that
section, to develop it while the South
lay quiet. Much is heard of the new
South. If the term be appropriate
the new South began when your rail
: road systems began to give you mod
ern trains and efficient service. SO
far as railroad facilities go, the Uni
ted States has had a remarkable de-
yelopment. No other nation has TO-
day so great, so efficient and SO cheap
a system of railroad transportation.
The roads serve, perhaps, take it all
in all, the people who live near their
lines as we'll as it is now possible. But
railroads, like everything else, have
had their limitations, as they have
their characteristic influences upon the
development Of the region. They have
naturally fastened the development of
the region lying directly along their
lines, while that of districts removed
from them has as naturally had their
DEVELOPMENT retarded. No n desires
to go to a place removed from good
transportation facilities If he can To-
cate where they are to be had The
tendency is always, and naturally, to
give the best advantages, the largest
returns to the people, the town or in
terest where there is the least burden
to bear, the least tax upon industry,
the smallest cost on the production or
traffic charges. So much cheaper is
transportation by water or rail thai
over common highways that produc'
ton has been lessened where distance
from rail or water is considered, meas
nred either in miles or conditions OF
highways. There is a point distant
from every line Of railroad beyond
which, under present condition of the
ordinary common roads, it's influence
in aiding production, acting as a dis
tributing agent, is Of little effect. The
railroad development of the country
has reached a point where its future
is comparatively limited. 1t will not
be practical, from a business stand
point, to reach q much wider area OF
territory. 1t is necessary, therefore
in order to give all sections the advan'
tage Of cheap distribution of products
to market to enable the outlying dis
tricts to reach the railroad station OF
the wharf at q cost which production
cannot only bear, but under which il
will thrive, and at all seasons of the
year. The ordinary road Of the Soutf
yes, of the whole country-puts a tar
if upon all traffic of twenty-five cents
or more a ton per mile, as against l.:
mills on the railroad. 1t is a burden
which effectually stiles production, ex
cept when all other circumstances ant
conditions are most favorable. Al