The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-14
coon ROADS ARGUMENT.


 A GOOD ROADS ARGUMENT.
 We suppose there is no doubt of tho fact that much loneliness and isolation tends to weaken the human intellect. and finally to destroy 1t entirely. In- stances are too we'll known of people completely shut ofr from all communi- cation with their kind going crazy and never recovering.
 A somewhat unusual argument on this subject was made at a recent Association. The speaker was Mss Alice Robertson, postmistress at Mus kogee, L T., and daughter of Mrs. A. E. W. Robertsogs one of the most famous teachers who ever located among the Western Indians. Miss Alice took the position, according to The Kansas City Journal, that the bad roads of the country were largely re- sponsIbls for the insanity of farm wo- men, and quoted statistics to show that 7S to so per cent of the insane fe- males are farmers wives Their de- ransement. According to her authori- ties, was directly traceable to the fact that the bad-Foads prevent them from communicating with tine outside world, and this Isolation, combined with the monotony Of their lives on the farm, acts as a crushing depressant upon their minds. a @
 We have heard and read many and strong arguments in favors of good roads, but we do not remember to have before seen 1t contended that the want of good highways may produce insan- ity. And yet the argument is evident Iy based on a good foundation. The Journal, for example, tells us that 'in many counties in Missouri last winter and spring the roads were so bad that the people were virtually kept pris- oners on tileir farms 4 horse would bog to his knees, .tog drive a wagon was impossible, and the farmers were often compelled to walk miles to the nearest town to buy their supplies, carrying them home on their shoulders. Tn some instances mail routes were abandoned on account of the inability of the carriers to travel the roads, and 1t was not an uncommon thing to see & farmer walking ten or twelve miles with a fifty pound bag of -four on his shoulder
 Bearing In mind the well known fact already stated that absolute iso- lation from human kind has often been known to result in TaginS madness, we can easily see that under such con ditions as those cited .byN The Journal the women, who are more completely shut off than the men are, may become deranssd. Keeping this before us we can understand that the theory, or the declaration of Miss Robertson. is not al all an improbable one, and we agree with The Journal, which says:
 Few .stroueer- arguments could be ad- eagced as to the importance of goou public nighways than this presented ey 5this young ~einan, EVstSy,is si.o on the, widely scattered farms or the West and sonth, has felt the terripls isolation ot whieh she complains anu m the estimation or sociologlsts thls fact alone Is sufficient to account for the constant gravitation of the boys and girls to Ine cities. Certainly m hiost other Faspeets country nIs is sweeter and more attractive than the tot of the poor workers In the crowded city; but the one fatal drawback IS the lack of human companlonship with those who might bring new influences ana -ssresh Interests into ~the lives [ of vouny people. As it is they prefer the cttYss ceaseless grind, living in gar, ret or tenement with It's pititully small tween their own lot of dependence and self-denial and the luxurious air and independent conditions of country life. And as Miss Robertson says, older per sons, especially women, feel the pail of this loneliness also itnd lose their poise and patience under its heavy load.
 While 1t is true that such condi- tions as those alluded to in Missouri, and which conditions are doubtless often to be found in Indian Territory and other newly settled portions of our Western country, the position taken by Miss Robertson is a strong argument m favor of good roads everywhere. Even if the women on the farms who are shut of from their kind do not lose their reason the fact remains that il is a brivation to which they should not be subjected. Tn the older sections of the country much is being done to re- move such unfavorable and cruel con dltions. The reaching out of trolley lines, the increased use of telephones and the establishment of rural free de- livery of mails will do much to banish the cruel, ruInous isolation of which Miss Robertson complains When to this is added the widespread mOve- ment in the direction of better country roads we may reasonably suppose that there is a much better time coming foI the residents of the country districts.