Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-08-16
VALUEOF GOOD ROADS
ii0w They increase Home Trade
 In the Bad Weather Season.
ADVICE FROM A NEW DRUMMER
$ie Tells the Local Merchant Why Business Is Dull During the Winter and Sprine-Farmers' Wives Buy Through the Nal.

Through the Mail.
 The new drummer entered the office of the Grand Central hotel with Il scowl on his face and several smother cd imprecations just inside his lips He had the appearance of man who wanted to use extremely hot language, but the sight of the Methodist church just across the way and the Baptist church down the street restrained him. In other words, he was swearing mad. He was really an old drummer, though new to this particular town. This was the first time he had made the place. The drummer had come in overland from the county seat, twenty miles away, in spring wagon hired from the livery stable. His two sample trunks were in the back part of the wagon. They were splashed with mud. There was mud even on the seat cush Ion, and the drummer's clothes were yellow with mud. The drivers ap- parel was simply caked with 1t, but he did not appear to mind a little thing like that He was used 10 1t. The horses also were caked with mud, and the wheels of the vehicle carried sev eral pounds each of the yellow sticki- ness
 Well. l never!" ejaculated the drum mer as he wiped the mud from his fingers before taking up the pen to reg jster his name This is the worst l ever struck Why don't you folks around here build some decent roads? You've got plenty of material right at hand. There's rock enough along the roadside to make the finest roads in tue land if you would only put it where if will do the most good
 e'Oh, we don't worry" said the hotel clerk, marking room No. g opposite the new guests name. We've put up with muddy roads from the beginning and got along fairly well, and l reckon we can continue to navigate
 Navigation - that's the row, all right said the drummer. You ought 10 hire boats instead of wagons in this section. Why. some of the places we came through today would float q akiff''
 The focal newspaper editor was standing by the desk. He smiled grimly.
 'I've been preaching good roads 10 the people of this neghborhood for years he said, but they don't seem to take to the idea. They are pretty good people, too but they've formed the habit of putting up With mud in the muddy season and don't kick much. T'hey say their fathers were content to firive through the mud when necessary or stay at home till the roads dried out. and they think they ought to be content 10 do the same"
 Huh" the drummer grunted Flows business here in the winter and spring.
 Mighty poor" replied the dry goods merchant-.m mighty poor, for a fact. People out in the country don't seem to do any trading except in summer
 When the roads are good" contin- ued the drummer "I thought as much that is, they don't do much trading with you here in town. But country people are always buying something somewhere when times are as good as they are now. That you may put down As fact. Where do they buy from"
 Well. certainly not from me- said the merchant.
 ''Of course not, because the women can't get into town. It's the women who do most of the buying. You know that The farmers wives come to town only once month or so during the winter, owing to your miserable roads. They do buy things. though and l can give you little tip They buy them by mail. They read these large and luscious catalogues sent to them by the big city mail order firms, and they order through the catalogues Did it ever occur to you that if you had decent roads you would get much larger winter trade from the country? No? We'll. think 1t over. nave just been reading some figures. The state of Iowa, for Instance. has x,23O,O00 population. It has 100, ,43O miles of public roads-what they call foads-but only 150 miles are of mac adam and passable every month In the year. What do you think of that? Then take Missouri That state, ac- cording to these figures has more than S,0O0, GOO people, with 9O,OOO miles of public roads. It has only about thou sand miles of well built highways. Illinois is still worse off for good roads. Most of the states line up just about the same. What can you expectT'
 Its new idea" said the merchant meekly, and I'm going to think it over and talk it over with some of the other town people. We've been think Ing our editor here is good roads frank. but I'm inclined to the opinion aow that he has more common sense than the rest of us
 BURR JOYCE