The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-01-10
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N=I OR many years the Federal
N-i1i mn mn Government has been max
Ill|ll II IIIIl ing large appropriations
,nlNN--lyly ,nlNN lyly for river and harbor i'm
EXAy2X provement. The theory
upon which this has been permissible
Is that the Improvement of Transports
ton facilities is matter OF vital pub.
lie concern, and that the people will
get enough good therefrom to more
than warrant the expenditures. The
acceptance of the soundness of this
contention must carry with it the en-
dorsement of Government aid IN the
construction and Improvement of
wagon roads. These highways afford
transportation facilities which. after
all. most directly affect and come clos.
est home to the greatest number OF
people. The produce which forms so
large part of the freight carried by
the railroads must first be hauled By
wagons from the farms. This Is large
item In the aggregate, very much larg.
er than is generally appreciated. be
cause so widely distributed and be.
cause each individual haul. taken by
itself, is a small affair. The General
Government is supposed to have an In
terest in the welfare Of all the people
and a willingness to improve and pro.
mote it whenever aud wherever possi-
BILE. If this view obtains the General
Government cannot long withhold its
aid to road improvement along the line
of the Brownlow- Latimor bill now be-
fore Congress. for certainly wagon
road conditions affect more people
than any and all other internal i'm
provement projects. The main argu-
ment in favor of river and harbor inn
provements is that they promote the
general welfare, and that the improve
ments entail an expense too heavy to
be borne by the people of the localities
most directly interested, and hence
would never be made If the Govern
ment refused to foot the bills. The
same arguments apply with equal
force to the Improvement Of the public
highways. 1t is equally certain that
this great work will remain undone,
as it has through Il century of our his
tory. If the whole burden of the eX-
pense Is left to be carried by the farm
ing classes of the States The farmers
are the producers of the wealth of the
country, preserving the balance of
trade in our favor year by year. Sec
retary Wilson has just given us some
astounding figures as the result of
agriculture for the year 1905. The
people who create this vast national
wealth are certainly entitled TO the
nations consideration. The enormous
cost of bad roads to the farmers is not
only destructive of the profits that
should be saved to them: but is sick
ening to agricultural ambition and dis
heartening to increased effort. Bad
roads form the greatest menace to
farm life, and by their hur,ful influ-
ence are driving young men from rural
communities to the cities. Nothing
can be more harmful to the national
welfare. The farm home is the bull
wark of the republic. Everything pos
slble should be done to encourage the
farmers of the land. Nothing that this
great Government can do would be so
profitable at this time as 10 extend its
aid TO highway improvement. and
that the people can do for
themselves is more important than TO
demand OF Congress the enactment
into law of what is known as the
Brownlow-Latlmer Good Roads bill.
This paper urges the measure as one
most essential to the national wel-be
ing, and we hope our readers will in
stantly take the matter up by personal
letters and petitions TO our Senators
and Representatives in Congress.
Hon. w. p. Brownlow will be pleased
to send n copy Of the bill TO any one
who writes for it.-Brooklyn Uptown
Weekly.