The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1905-11-24
BEGINS AT THE FARM
And not at the Station-Transporta-
ton Does-Tom Richardson's
AUuISSSs

Col. Tom Richardson, manager
of the Portland Commercial Club,
was among those who attended the
annual Good Roads Convention. A
number on the program at the ops
ening session was his address.
Though brief. it was an address re-
plete with good suggestion, and in
full text is worthy of everybody's
perusal.
Mr.. Richardson is an active, in
telligent and persistent promoter of
Oregon and things Oregonian. He
is the nan who planned the late
excursion of Portland businessmen
into the interior. His address be-
fore the convention was as follows:
1.-The cost of transportation be-
gins at the farm and not at the sta
ton" 't
II believe that motto should be
emblazoned upon every piece of
good roads literature that is circul-
ated, upon the 1etterheads, envel-
opes. cards and circulars used daily
in the good roads propaganda.
1.-The commercial bodies, the
railroads and the newspapers r
bending every possible effort to se-
: cure immigration, in other words,
to attracsthe attention Of the solid
and substantial h~omeseeking ele-
ment and bring themhere as home
makers and there is not one thing
that will induce them to: come and
cause them to stay more than good
J roads. - =
1.-THE Willamette valley would
have had more than double its pres
ent population had more attention
been given to this subject. Real
estate men in all parts of this valley
will tell you that in many instances
they have located good farmers
from the older states but on account
of bad roads and the utter =impos-
sibility to get. around, the women
folks got homesiek and blue and
urged their husbands to 60 bach to
the old home where they could get
out occasionally to see their neigh
bors, or to go. to church in comfort.
There are other things that are
Just as much needed as the agricul.
tura1, horticultural and stock-grow-
ing development Of this great valley.
Life without social relations makes
communities dull, and it is a fact
that many people find their way to
the insane asylum because they are
isolated at home and brood over
their troubles until the mind is shat
tered and the balance of their lives
is worse than a blank.
care you aware that one Of the
chief inducements to the settlement
of Kansas and Oklahoma was the
splendid natural roads, and that
Texas and other Southern states
are finding today that they can put
a great deal of money into better
highways with profit, for the land
along good roads always increases
in value many times the cost Of
good roads.
"Visit any portion ofthis country
or Europe and when you return
home even the grand scenery, mag.
nifcent cities. the splendid edifces,
the marvellous groves and beautiful
flowers, inspiring waterfalls and
majestic rivers, sink into forgetful-
ness in comparison with the pleas
ure you enjoyed by being carried
over a smooth, hard road.
Even though you induce the
farmer from Illinois to come out
here and let him make three or
four times the percentage on his
farm that he did back in the Older
state, let him enjoy our magnifcen1
climate, he will become discouraged
and discontinued unless he car
have the advantage of the same
character of roads to which he ha:
been accustomed.
Gin speaking of good roads I al
so mean to include good sidewalks
and good streets. In order to Sc
cure prosperity and happiness eth
er in the city. town or country, WI
must have good roads for the ped
estrian, the buggy, the wagon, tn
automobile. The modern idea o
3 laying out'a an addition or improv
+ ing a given section of any city i
most successful when the street
and sidewalks are built in advance
and in making such improvement
the real estate owner not only get
a profit on the land he has for sal
: but he gets a profit upon the i'm
provements he makes, and he Is er
titled to it. The investor or home
seeker who gets into such an add
ton or locality shows good sens
because he krOws he doec not how