Mexico weekly ledger., 1904-04-14
WILL THE FARMER
CLAIM HIS OWN?
A Letter in the Breeders Gazette o.
Chicago-The Foremost Stock
and Farm Paper of This
Country.

Sooner or later the facts concerning
the Acknowledgement -building pro
position will sink into the minds OF
farmers. No sane man denies the
desirability of good roads. No level.
headed man questions the magnitude
Of the proposition to supply the coun.
try with main roads passable at al
seasons. 1t would be useless TO print
estimates Of cost. The figures would
be incomprehensible, so great would
be their magnitude. IL is not the
work Of a year. 1t is the work OF
generations to come. But the magni-
tude Of the undertaking should not
delay its beginning. A start must be
made.
Cost has retarded advancement in
road building. In certain sections,
chiefly those where suitable material
abounds, redemption has been won
from the abysmal depths of mud. At
least stone foundations have been
laid, which only await the finishing
touches OF modern road-making meth
DDS. But there Is more In road-build-
ing than merely keeping out Of the
mud. A smooth surface is an essen
tial to the highest perfection. A sur
face on a rock or gravel road, smooth
ed, compacted and cemented by the
use Of sprinkler and road roller fur
nishes the maximum Of comfortable
use and durability.
But eternally in the way OF all effort
stands cost. Whether the attempt
is to get out of the mud or to resur-
face worn and guttered gravel roads,
1t is the cost that kills effort. The
farmers vision is often too short
sighted, but ofttimes it is wholly i'm
possible for a community to contem-
plate the unaided building of per-
manent roads. There is no reason
why the expense Of road improve
ment should be borne wholly by the
AUDITING property owners or the town.
ship. The present generation is un-
der no obligation to tax itself poor to
furnish permanent roads for future
generations. Bond the county, the
the school district. Let
p~osterity bear a portion Of the cost; it
will receive most Of the benefit, This
to local effort.
The closest students Of the subject
have concluced that the problem Of
road improvement can best be solved
by the triune agency OF the national
Government, the State and the COM
munity. They are endeavoring to
persuade Congress to approve this
plan. 1t seems certain to do so, sooner
later. Constitutional bubble has
been raised, but 1t must be swept
lside. The memorable verdict Of time
las given constitutional interpreta.
ion-sometimes by ballots, once by
Hood. Against this Interpretation
nothing can prevail. 1t is immutable,
t is final. Precedent points the way
or national aid, long established,
ime-honored. 1t is a question Of ex-
'ediency. 1t is something more than
hat. The query into which the
natter has resolved itself is this:
win the farmer claim his own"
Read this from Congressman Brown
Ow, the most active and forceful ad-
iocate OF the national aid plan. He !
vas asked If the appropriation Of a
arge sun by Congress toad the states
n road improvement would not prove
tartling to the people as an entirely
ew line OF national expenditure. He
hus answered:
"That the proposition is new in one
ense l concede. The idea OF appro-
Rating Government funds to be spent
the rural districts for the direct
eneft Of the country people is decid-
dly new. Heretofore the principal
which the farmers have sus-
lined toward the Government is that
I taxpayers. But l think it is about :
me for that to come TO an end and Z,
l am not mistaken the farmers are
)ming to the same conclusion. "
"As TO the size OF the appropriation
want to say that l think it is a
cry small when compared with b
lie sums we are approprlating for /,
her purposes. This is a period Of u
rofound peace yet we are propos-
TO vote s7hOO0,0oO for the armyand
10000 900 for the navy to be expended
one year. My bill proposes an appro- :,
Of only 81, 900, 900 to be spent
three years, or 100000 a year, Z
st one-twelfth Of what we proposed '
spend on our navy. Nobody was
Irticularly startled last year when
appropriated over go, 900, 900 for =
and harhor mnrovonaone Al II