Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-08-27
VALUE OF GOOD ROADS
How They Increase Home Trade ln the Bad Weather Season.
ADVICE FROM A NEW DRUMMER
@e Tells the Local Merchant Why Business Is Dull During the Winter and Sprng-Sarmers' Wives Buy Through the Mail.

Through the Mail.
 The new drummer entered the office ? the Grand Central hotel with a rowl OH his face and several smother d imprecations just inside his lips. He Lad the appearance of a man who wanted to use extremely hot language, but the sight of the Methodist church just ac"osS the way and the Baptist church down the street restrained him In other words, ha was swearing mad He was really an old drummer, thoush new to this particular town. This was the first time he had "made" Che place. The drummer had come in overland from the county seat, twenty miles away, in l 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- aon, and the drummer's clothes were yellow with mud The drivers ap- Darel was simply cakcd with 1t, but he did not appear to mind little thing Nike that. He was used to 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, neverp ejacuIated the drum mer as he wiped the mud from his fingers before taking up the pen to reg fBter his name. "This Is the worst I 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 the land if you would only put 1t where 1t will do the most good.'
 "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 I reckon we can continue to navigate"
 Navigation - that's the row, all wight" said the drummer "You ought to hire boats instead of wagons in this section. Why, some of the places we came through today would float sklff.''
 The local newspaper editor was standing by the desk He smiled grimly.
 'Ive been preaching good roads to the people of this neighborhoOd 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 Aho Iv o,,d It. They say their fathers were content to drive through the mud when necessary or stay at home till the roads dried out, and they think they ought to be content to do the same"
 "Huh!' the drummer grunted. Flows business here in the winter and spring."
 Mighty poor" replied the dry goods merchant-'mighty poor, for 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 somethina 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 9ne winter, owing to your miserable roads. They do buy things, though and can give you little tip. They buy them by mail. They read these Sarge and luscious catalogues sent to Chem by the big city mail order firms, and they order through the catalogues. Did 1t ever occur to you that If yov had decent roads you would get much larger winter trade from the country? No? We'll, think 1t over. Have just been reading some figures. The state of Iowa, for instance, has R230,0O0 population. It has 100, ,43O miles of public roads-what they call coads-but only 15O 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 100000 people, with 00O0O miles of public roads. It has only about a thou sand miles of well built highways. Illinois Is still worse off for good rands. Most of the states line up just about the same. What can you expect"
 Its new idea" said the mercl. mt meekly, "and I'm going to thu; it over and talk it over with some of ,'.e other town people. We've lrcn thin'' Ing our editor here is rao' ro ;ls crank, but I'm inclined to tEr opinion low that he has more common sense han the rest of us"
 BURR JOYCE.