The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-06
Declares for Good Roads, Along With ''Guod" Rivers, and Equal Distribution of
 Federal Benefits.

| that he would in a few days have Some | thing to say to the public on measures | that he thought would be of benefit to | this section, said:
 When I suggested in my announce l ment that had in view some measures | that believed would of benefit to | this section if enacted into law which | I would advocate in the event of my | election, had special reference to gov | ernment aid in the construction of q | comprehensive system of public roads | throughout the country.
 T can conceive of nothing in the whole | field of internal improvement which would contribute so much to the public welfare, and diffuse it's benefits so gen. erally and so uniformly as the building of a permanent and adequate system of good roads. While the beneficent effect of this measure would be first felt in rural communities. increasing the value of all agricultural and timber lands by making their products more accessible | to markets, making more pleasant as well as more profitable the home life | on the farm and at the mill, by bringing | the church door near the home and the | school-house within the reach of the chill l dren and by facilitating communication | in the neighborhood and with the out side world; these benefits would not stop
 
 the advantage. The macadamized road that brings the merchant his customer to buy commodities would at the same time bring produce to be sold to the next consumer; 1t would supply the manufacturer both with a larger and better market for his product. and with more abundant and more accessible raw material with which to increase his out put. The material benefits that would result are so numerous and so far reach ing that 1t Is impossible to enumerate or | estimate them, but so evident that the suggestion is sufficient. n 'To reap the full benefit of such a | measure it Is necessary, that these great | highways or public thoroughfares be | built throughout the whole country, and | this can only be successfully accom- | plished with the substantial aid of our Federal Government And well may the Federal Government lend helping hand | to such cause. Those In whose behalf this is primarily asked, are, and have ever been, the main stay and support of our national greatness. and bear a | full portion of the governments burdens, | contribute the bulk of its revenue, yet | have shared most meagerly in its benefits. l The fixed capital engaged in agricultural l industries alone is more than four times that engaged in all manufacturing in- 1 dustries combined. The interests other | than agricultural have enjoyed the fostering care of Congress from the in- ception of our government. It is time | that our greatest industries be recog- | nized.
 We have expended something like four hundred and fifty millions of dollars for the improvements of rivers and harbors, on the theory of providing public high ways for the facilitation of transporta- tion. If our water ways, which are of necessity available to only a small per centage of our population, are worthy of so much consideration, should we not pay some attention to the thoroughfares up- on the land which can be made accessible to every class and condition in every sec- tion of the whole country. We spend millions to dig out a harbor. or improve a port for the encouragement of foreign commerce and straightway blockade 1t with a tariff wall to keep out that very commerce, thus fostering favored inter- est with tariff or bounty which is last | ly paid by those who subdue the forests and till the soil. Would it not be more reasonable to provide our country with a net work of public thoroughfares to transport and multiply our internal com merce which is worth more than all the foreign commerce of all the nations com bined. It is true that the full accom- | expenditure of millions of dollars, but our government has many millions of revenue. and is fully adequate to this task. We are told that the Federal treasury has a surplus of some two hum dred and sixty millions of dollars, a large portion of which is loaning or deposit ing with certain banks without interest charge. Instead of allowing this great sum to lie idle and useless, or Instead of I oNttff ttu tain favored banking institutions. how infinitely better would 1t be to apply it to the building of a permanent system of good roads distributed among the sew era1 States in proportion to the rural population; 1t would soon find it's legiti- mate way back to these banks but not as gratuitous loan. from the government, but as the individual deposits of the men in every community that contributed the labor, teams. materials. implements and skill for the building of the road. Without further parttcularizing at this time. will say that this single appro- priation distributed throughout the Union on the lines indicated, would build more | than a million dollars worth of roads in this District and provide thoroughfare through each of the several counties com posing it. This much accomplished. the good results following would enable us to secure from time to time additional ap- propriation for the completion Of the en- tire system.
 This idea of Federal aid to road build If ing is not new Such a measure was ad- vocated by John c. Calhoun, and in his argument he fully maintained its consti- tut1onality.
 'It Is not arrogatlng to myself any un- usual degree of ability. to say that be. Iieve I could secure the passage of such a measure, If elected to Congress. It is evident to all who are familiar with our national politics that neither great party would oppose it. on the contrary both would have to favor it, if for no other reason, than to hold the doubtful vote in the close Central and Western agricultu- ral States.
 What the measure needs is aTf advo. cate that will earnestly and persistently press the issue. and 1t will win upon | It's own merits. Tn the event of my cleo ton the best, efforts that can command | will be devoted to the building of a com good roads throughout the country. with the aid of the national government"
 Freight Rates.
 1 Continuing, Mir. Graves said:
 The question of regulating freight rates on interstate transportation also greatly concerns the people of this dis trict, much more so than does the regu- lation of rates on freight within the State, for the reason that most of the pro- ducts which the district sells are shipped out of the State, and the bulk of the commodities which 1t buys are shipped into the State and whenever these ship ments cross a State line they become in-