The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-03-09
GOOD ROADS QUESTION.
People Everywhere Agree
That 1t Bears an Important Re-
latiOn to National Life.

The following communication to the,
president signed by more than 60 of,
the prominent men of the state Oh
Maryland, comprising county, school
and road commissioners, touches upon,
some vital points in the problem OF
road improvement: "The elements
that have hitherto constituted the
American race which has made our
country great are the ones most likely
to keep 1t great. To leave the fruit
OF our toll to be enjoyed by our chil-l
dren's children is more pleasing pros-
pect than to look forward to q time
when they shall vanish from the
homes we created and their places be-
taken by the progeny of those who
may come into the house after wa
have swept and garnished it. Nowi
large families are bred in the country.
The city kills them 1t has been
proved that five generations Of city
life suffice to wipe out any family thaS
receives no new infusion Of country
blood. We therefore applaud your
statement that it is a good thing to
encourage in every way any tendency
to check an unhealthy flow from the
country to the city, To that end you
point out the most effectual meansa
NO one thing can do so much to Offset
the tendency toward an unhealthy
trend from the country into the city
as the making and keeping of good
roads But why are country roads
bad? Because the entire burden of
building and repairing them has in
most cases been thrown on the farm
ers, whose means are not sufficient for
the task. This is unjust. Good roads
benefit not only the farmer who hauls
his produce over them, but also the
city to which it is hauled. Every large
city far exceeds in wealth the country
area which supplies it with food and
which in turn is supplied by it with
manufactured goods; yet the poorer OF
the two partners, city ard country,
has to bear the expense of keeping up
the highways of communication be-
tween them. What can be more evil
dent than that the cost of a public
necessity should be shared alike by
those who profit by it? Above all. the
paramount need for large families is q
national need, and hence every section
and every class of the nation is inter-
ested in having prolific families kept
prolific by inducing them to stay on
the farms. Under an equitable sys-
tenn, therefore, the state and the nation
must cooperate with the country in the
care of roads. This principle is en-
bodied in the Brownlow bill, which
provides that the national government
Is to bear portion of the expense OF
road Improvement. 1t is certain that
this aid, instead of lessening. will
,, greatly increase the amount which
farmers spend for roads, since they
can get increased aid only by increas-
ing their own expenditure. Moreover,
given amount of money spent under
this system of cooperation will pro-
duce far greater results, since it will
be devoted in large sums to perma-
Ient improvement under expert direc-
ton, instead of being wasted by mex
perienced men in annual patchwork.
annually swept into the ditches"
There can be no question that as here
pointed out and as stated by the pres
ldent In his message to congress, the
road question bears an important re-
lation to our national life. Our graded
school system and our free rural mail
delivery have undoubtedly come to
stay. In no other way can the rural
population be given the educational
advantages now enjoyed by the cities
or be supplied with proper means Of
communication. Their rights to both
are unquestionable and their main-
tenance will necessitate better roads,
Prairie Farmer