Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1905-03-24

improvement does not happen to bt
right along by your farm? We must,
necessarily, begin somewhere with
permanent road Improvement il we
ever expect to have any. One reason
for the prevalence OF bad roads
throughout this country is lack of
agreement and united action among
the advocates of highway improve
ment.
Everybody prefers good roads to bad.
Everybody knows that the roads can
be improved only by the expenditure
of money and labor; but here the
agreement ends There is great va
riety Of ideas and schemes for securing
the desired object; some people would
rather travel through mud than to
have the road improved by any other
plan than their own pet scheme.
Holding conventions of this kind
will not in themselves build good
roads. We must unite in support of
a few general principles and go to
work upon some general plan. With
united effort we shall be able to ao.
oomplish much good in highway i'm.
proyement. But in order to unite,
some of us will have to give up some
of our pet projects as to how the work
should be done.
Better roads wall enable us to have
better schools; if we were to have bet
ter ronds we could have larger school
districts, better school houses and
have our schools better graded and run
for less expense per capita, than we
now do. One or more school districts
might be consolidated and have two
or more teachers in the same building.
Such a plan would lessen the number
of classes for each teacher and would
give them more time to devote each
class, than they now have. Better
schools will cause cause our state to
Fill up with a better class of people
and at a much more rapid rate than it
will without them,
Many good people come here from
the East with a view OF locating and
investing capital, but on account of
our bad roads some of them become
dissatisfied and return to the East.
They will not stop to consider the fact
that the people of the East have had
a great many years to bring the condi-
tion of their roads TO what they are
now, while in this section, the settle
meut of which dates back but 60
years, road building has but just be-
gun. They have been accustomed
to seeing certain conditions in the
state from which they came, and they
materially measure conditions in this
state by what they have been familiar
with there. OF course, this Is not
fair, but it is simply a condition that
we have to contend with; and while
we shall not be able to make good
public highways at once, if we begin
right away and make good start in
that direction, many of them will
conclude that the time is not far dis
tant when our main thorough-f fares will
be well improved.
An improved condition in our roads
will cause an increase in population,
and with it will come electric rail
ways and the development Of our num-
erous water powers and various re-
sources that will not be developed
until we get more people. As ia
whether or not many of our industries
will live or die, will depend largely
upon the cost of transportation from
our farms to our shipping points by
water aud rail. The tax of bad roads
becomes constantly harder to bear al
the people Of this state and nation are
brought into closer competition with
cheap labor and products of other
states and nations on account Of the
continuous improvement in transporta.
tion facilities, by water and rail The
people living in our sister states upon
the north and south are making greater
Advancement in the improvement OF
their public highways than we are
making in this state. Whatcom coun.
ty Washington, has already construo-
ted several hundred miles Of grave
and macadam roads they have voted
ten mill special road tax each year
for the past ten years, and are forging
ahead Of us in highway improvement.
What will be the result Of all this
Unless we keep pace with these state'
in the improvement of our public
highways, they will soon be shipping
products and supplies to our citizens
who live upon our railways and water
ways and sell them cheaper than oul
farmers can market similar product
and haul it over our bad roads; anC
the money that shall be- paid for sucl
products will 20 out Of our state ant
our farmers and our merchants will
alike become poor. Give our la
boring clssssemployment. AS soon al
they shall get money they will spend
it with the merchants and everybody
is pleased and we say "times ar,
good. II this class Of people fail tC
have employment with us, they must Rc
elsewhere in search Of il, aud oul
merchants lose the opportunity Of sup
plying them with good aud clothing.
Often a striDReucy in money markets
is due TO our bad roads. II the traffic
upon our public highways were 10 b,
stopped for thirty days throughout
this country there would be tho great