The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-06
a PLEA FOR FEDERAL AID.
President of Good Roads Association Be
Iisves In National Assistance.

HSNSS III NdttCHdI fNSSiSIdIICS'
| To the Editor of The Globe:
In your issue of the 18th of February I
| notice an able editorial on "The Good
Roads Cause"
In this article you reproduce and in
dorSe every argument used by the good
roads advocates to advance the cause OF
highway betterment, except in the matter
of national cooperation; and on this
point you take the position that the state
alone should construct it's highways, and
that we should not call on the federal
government for aid in this work until we
had exhausted our own resources, and
shown our inability to complete such a
system as Is demanded by the best in
terests of the state and it's people.
| Following this line of argument we
might ask: Why should the county call
for the assistance Of the state. or why
county or why should the individual
land owner call upon the town for such
help. The answer would be because 9TH
| that the roads are to be built for the gen.
eral good of the public and that the pub
lie should assist In raising the necessary
funds. and further, if the policy of every
man for himself were adopted, and only
those highways were built where local in
terests demanded them, and individual
funds paid for them, It would be many
a long year before we would have good
roads in this or any other state.
The history of highway construction In
this country shows that the greatest
progress in the improvement of the pub
lie highways has been made in those
states which have adopted the principle of
state and local cooperation; and that a
complete system of public roads has never
been constructed In any country, except
by the aid of the general government of
that country AS stated by Senator Lati
mer, of South Carolina, in his speech be-
fore the United States senate on this sub
ject, on JAN IA, 1904: There is not a
nation on earth that enjoys the benefits
of good roads, except where the govern
ment has taken hand in it, and taken
control
Ali European countries lead in this
work. and almost without exception the
main roads Of such countries are not only
built but continually maintained by the
government. In the argument before the
senate committee on agriculture the ques-
ton was asked: ''Why should the federal
government aid in the construction of
the roads 2"
This question was most ably answered
by Senator Latfmer, from whose speech
quote: Because the revenues Of the
government are raised largely upon arti-
distributing taxation equally. and, as all
the people should contribute to the con-
struction and Improvement of the roads,
It is only BY ad ffds s G1 o o
the federal government to bear its just
proportion Of the expense, for the con-
struction and improvement Of the roads
which it uses for the delivery Of the mails,
and for military purposes in time of war,
and which are the arteries of interstate
commerce." and because better roads
Germ the general welfare of the nation,
and are therefore a proper object of ma
tional aid" Hundreds of millions OF dol
lars have been expended by the federal
government in aid of rivers and harbors.
and on irrigation schemes, largely for the
benefit of the states in which the work
was done Nearly zoo 9eoGeO acres ;Iee. d OF
besides guaranteeing their bonded in
debtedness, amounting to s138,0OO,O0o,
This zoe, 100000 acres was free gift
the last acre by the men who settled the
great west, and who paid s1.25 per acre
more than the established price of gov
eminent land for every I'VE acre acre or rana IN
Even those who enjoyed the free home.
stead right contributed eighty acres OF
such right to reimburse the government
for the cost of this royal gift, an en-
pire in extent. And now these people
who gave $3.50. 600 to help push the
star of empire westward come back and
should ask, that a small portion of this
involuntary contribution be returned to
them that they without imposing too
great a burden on themselves se may aye De
system of intercommunicatlon
This return would be but small por-
ton of the money advanced by them, to
aid In the building of an empire west OF
the Mississippi river; less than the inter-
est on the amount invested; less by
hundred times than the present value Of
what they have contributed, for the ben
eft of western civilization and develop
# is to be regretted that our state
usually so forward to advance the inter-
cts of its citizens. has not adopted meas.
ures so ably advocated in your paper, and
lust as much to be regretted that the
nress of the state has not with greater
force urged upon our Legislature the ne
aassitx- ~ passino BWs that would en-
able US to carry out the plans of the adj
yocates of good roads.
President of Minnesota Good Roads Asso-
Minneapolis, Mimi, Hsrch 9. 1904.