The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1908-09-02
INGGBODROADS
Highway Expert Tells Why the
Government Should Help.
HAS THE RIGHT AND ABILITY.

Conclusions on Construction Methods
II. IL. Gross. secretary of the Farm
ers' Good Roads League, has written
us follows from Chicago to the editor
of the New York Tribune on the sub
jcct'of building improved highways:
Should the federal government by a
bond issue assist the suites to build
public roads? If SO. to what extentl
The answers to the above questions
Involve the consideration of several
things-first, the right of the govern
mont to do SO, the need of 1t, its ability
and. Inst whether 1t is wise policy
to adopt, In the brief space available
we must assume the necessity for good
roads; that their condition affects mar
ket conditions and thus concerns all
the people; thnt bad roads are pro-
dnctve of great and preyentable
waste that amounts to several dollars
person year; that one OF the great
est needs for the social and economic
development and welfare OF all the
people is good roads.
AS to the right or power of the fed
cru W vi HAAooioN w
build highways, section 8 of article 1
of tile constitution says among other
things:
Congress shall havo power ITO establlsh
postoffices and post roads"
More than 40 per cent of all the high.
ways and most of the mnin roads are
used for rural mail delivery and 30 are
postroads In the meaning Of the consti-
tuition. President Monroe In mes.
sage to congress May A, 1902, says:
In whatever sense tho term establish"
Is applied to postoflces Il must be APP
piled in the samo sense to post roads.
, Cooley in his book on constitutional
law says:
Every road within state. including
railroads, canals. turnpikes and naViga-
bio streams. existing or created within a
state. became post road whenever by
action of tho postoflce department pro-
the malls upon or over It.
The above is deemed sufficient to
show the government has the unques-
tionable right to Improve highways
used for rural mail delivery.
Article ]. section g. clause /. provides
In part: "Tho congress shall have power
to lay and collect tnxes. duties. imports
and excuses to pay tho debts and provide
Tor tho common defense and general well
faro of the United States"
Is not highway improvement for the
general welfare2
On March IA. 1918, tho house of rep
resentatives passed the following reso-
luton:
Resolved. Tint congress has power un-
der tho constitution to appropriate money
for the Construction OF post roads. MILL
tary and other roads and of canals and
for tho improvement OF waterways.
Among the early statesmen who held
that the federal government had ample
power to build roads were Jefferson,
Madison. Clay. Webster, Calhoun and
others.
The government has expended mil.
lions on the old Cumberland road and
q number of military roads, establish
Ing precedent. The public roads Of
nearly every civilized country In the
world have been built In whole or In
part by It's general government. 1t Is
the only plan that has ever succeeded.
It is the world precedent
AS to the need for better highways
no argument IS necessary. The gen.
eral government is expanding $35, 0O0-
900 year on rural delivery. Accord
Ing to Senator Bankhead of Alabama,
the postofflce department estimates
that uniformly good roads would mean
longer routes, moro regular service and
saving of 20 per cent in the cost.
Thus the loss to tho postoffice depart
ment duo to bad roads Is now $1,000
900 year and Is increasing as tho
service Is extended. 1t Will soon reach
100000 year. While bad roads en-
tail loss to the mail service of ST.
100000 to $l0,O00,000 year. the loss
TO the farmers and consumers Of farm
produce cannot DO less than twenty
times as much.
AS to the ability of the federal gov
ernment to assist in building good
roads, how better can we judge tlfis
than by comparing the debt per capita
OF our country with the leading nations
of tho world that have built good
roads and found 1t paid to do soH
The per capita debt of Germany, nc
corling to the Chicago Daily News AL
mnnac and Year Book for 1908, ID $40;
England, SSSS3; Italy, $50; Spain. sos;
France, $144, and the United States.
SILL. The amount of annual inter-
est charge to be met by citizen of
Germany is So; France, SG.o5, England,
S3.47; United States, 20 cents.
Tho panic OF 1907 was occasioned
largely by the enormous demand for
currency "to move the crops" Why
need the crops be moved with such
haste and at such great inconvenience
to tho railways and SO completely
drain the cities of money as to cause
panic and the loss of many millions1
Tho farmer knew the winter and bad
road season was approaching and that
II he didn't get his crops Off before
the roads broke up he didn't know
how long the embargo OF bad roads
would prevent him from doing 30.
Another factor was the insufficient
amount of government bonds to serve
ms the basis of national bank clrcula-
ton. AS no bonds were available the
banks could not Increase their circula.
ton, as they would have been glad
TO do and which would have immedi-
ntely relieved the financial strain. The
country needs good roads. and 1t needs
larger debt (strangc as that may
sound). Out of this dilemma the way
s'casy.
If the federal government was tc
issue as needed 100000 OF 2 per
cent thirty to fifty year bonds to aid
in road building It would carry the ma