Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1907-11-13
THE CONNECTING LINK
THE RURAL CARRIER AND THE GOOD
ROADS QUESTION.
Second Of Series Of Papers. Read Before
Iowa Good Roads School by c. NJ.
Adams. Of Davenport. President
Iowa Rural Carriers As
sociation.

You must all agree with me that
the rural carriers certainly know lot
about bad roads and that they have
often thought how nice it would be
it the roads were only good the year
around. Now in Iowa we have 1890
carriers that are going over the roads
3O6 times each year in all kinds of
weather and on all kinds of roads.
Each day we travel over three fifths
Of the roads in the state. am sure
that you will all agree with me when
! say that no one is more vitality in
terested in good roads than we are,
and am just confident enough to say
that only few of you will disagree
with me when 1 say that few are
better qualified to act as good road
advocates than we are. The nine
speakers that have preceded me have
all made mention of the rural carrier
as an important factor in the good
road work, and eight out of the nine
have said that we must win by organ.
ization and agitation.
We now have good strong associa-
tions in over thirds of the
counties in the state and are endeavor-
ing to make the good road work
prominent part of all OF our county
farmers institutes. We are in close
touch with and are working in con-
junction with the Highway Commits
sion, in fact, we think the Commits
sion is large generator or power
house, with Prof. Thos. H. Mac.
Donald as chief operator in charge.
who is busy getting together all the
information about good roads that he
can and sending the same out by the
carriers that represent 220 live wires
into every township in the state.
With this great system nearly COM
pleted. it is possible to feel the pulse
of the entire state in few days, as
was noticeable last winter when the
Teter bill was before the house. The
carriers rose up as one voice in op-
position to it and the bill soon found
its way back to the rear. This brief
illustration will tend to show how the
rural carrier forms the connecting
link between the rural population that
has been using the bad roads for ages
and the Highway Commission that
stands to teach them how better roads
can be made without any increase in
our taxes
We do not need more money at this
time, what we need is education, edu-
cation along the line OF systematic
road building and the proper admin
istration OF our road funds, in fact we
need less politics and more brains,
less play and more work, less guessing
and more engineering. and we can
soon travel ON our roads instead of in
the roads.
In closing let me appeal to you to
be loyal, be true and be patriotic.
The man that is truly great does not
wait for an opportunity to do some-
thing. he goes right out and makes
the opportunity. 1 see many of the
old soldiers before me now, and we
all know them for what they have
done for our country. but I want to
say to you right now tnat If l am in
strumental in leading the good road
work in township. have done as
much to the glory of our nation and
for the good of humanity as the man
that led a hundred men OH the
battlefield, and if You should be so
fortunate as to lead the work on to
success in a county. your glory will
be equal to that of a colonel that led
full regiment of 1000 men on to
victory on the battlefelds in the early
sixties.
The time is now ripe for an active
campaign for good roads, acquit your
selves like men, take up the work at
once and push on to victory.