Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-08-08
WHY GOOD ROADSPAY
MAKE LAND VALUABLE AND CREATE
HIGH AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE.
Striking Instances of Importance of
Having Improved Highways Told
by an Arkansas Man-seriOus Eject
of Bad Road Tax on Farmers.


Arkansas Good Roads association held
at Fort Smith, H. z. Kelley, according
to the Goods Roads Magazine, spoke
on Good Roads-Why They Pay"
saying in part as follows:
Roads are the foundation of civili-
cation They form the means of COM
munication between people, and there
is no better index of the intelligence of
any community than its roads. Good
roads pay. They make high land val
ues. and in time they create high aver
age intelligence in the country through
which they are built. Perhaps no bet
ter example Of this can be found than
In New Zealand, where the general
government undertakes the building
and care of all roadside railroads as
well as the wagon roads. The country
of New Zealand is much like that OF
Arkansas, but the government adopted
a development policy which is very
effective and highly profitable. One of
the main lines OF business conducted
by the government of New Zealand Is
In real estate. 1t acquired by purchase
VI A&AA AAANSS VA AHAAAs
The first thing In the way Of develop
ment was a highway built through the
property. Along this the government
sells out to settlers on long time and
easy payments land in suitable sizes
for farms and homes. The settlers on
this land are first given employment
by working on the roads. After the
roads are In good condition the popula-
ton comes quite rapidly. and II is as
tonishing what that government is &C
complishing in spreading its people out
on the soil. There Is no congestion Of
the population in cities. Each citizen
is encouraged TO get home OF as many
acres Of land as he can take care of,
and the result is a population whose
general intelligence and comfort are
greater than have seen elsewhere.
THAT good roads pay is a generally
cOnceded fact, and it has seemed
strange to me that an argument on this
subject should be needed. A visit to
any Of the rural districts OF Arkansas
Is convincing proof that an argument
Is required, for the good roads are not
there, and I cannot conceive OF great
er contrast than that which the squalor,
poverty and ignorance displayed in our
rural districts make with the Intelli
gence, cleanliness and comfort one sees
In New Zealand rural district think
this difference Is more due TO the roads
than TO any other cause. Whether the
lack of roads breeds ignorance or
whethe the ignorance breeds the bad
roads Is a subject will not undertake
to discuss. At any rate, both exist to
such an extent In our state that our
nrst patriotic duty Is to either dispel
the ignorance In procuring the roads or
procuring the roads TO dispel the ig-
norance.
II recently purchased piece of land
near Fort Smith past which ran two
good roads recently built This land
was timbered. but the timber had been
rated an incumbrance on tie land. In
fact. Il hadn't been profitable to steal
| IL and haul II to town, which fact prob
ably accounts for its still being there.
had a lot OF this timber cut and put a
rather intelligent person looking for a
disposal OF II. Some time later l was
| surprised when he told re that 1t was
sold at net price. after paying for the
hauling, which would more than pay
for clearing the land On looking into
this found that the good roads made
it possible to haul a cord or more at a
load OF this wood to market and make
about four loads day, whereas before
the good roads we've br'it .yVo loads OF
| one-half cord each We're all that one
| haul this wood before the good roads
were built and 70 cents cord after
| ward. In other words, the wood was
worth 1925 per cord after the roads
were put In, while it was absolutely
worthless before. I find that the diff
ference In the cost of hauling ton of
hay to market before and otter the
good roads for a distance of seven miles
| is about So. One of my farm teams
over the bad roads will bring ton OF
| hay to town in day. Over the good
roads they will bring three tons, so
| the product of meadow of loo acres
| is worth about $500 more with good
| road to 1t at seven miles from town
than It ia with a bad road. Before this
| good road was built the meadow was
worth $40 per acre. Since 1t is built
$50 seems reasonable price for II.
II have found by actual experience
that the tax the farmers are laying
which keeps them poverty stricken is
that imposed by bad roads. For many
| years | tried earnestly to locate an In
dustrious class of farmers I'm this coun.
~. On different occasions 1 did sue
coed in getting several such colonies
started. None of them remain. Usu-
ally they were hardy class Of Ger.
mans such as settled the prairies and
states TO the north and west of US
One by one they would sell out and &c
back to the prairie country. On close
questioning would find that the lack
OF roads and schools was so great these
people wouldn't stay. The country
they came from had a tax three times
as large as ours. In fact, many OF the
school districts In Kansas where they
had lived levied a school tax much
greater than our total tax. and II was
not unusual for the total tax to be 5 pei
cent "a the counties from which These
German settlers came. They would
try 1t year or two In our country OF
bad roads and low taxes, then sell ou
and return to the per cent tax rate
Good city streets pay just as we'll as