New-York tribune., 1908-08-09
AID FOR GOOD ROADS.
Right of Government to Help States
bu Bond Issue.
To tho Editor of The Tribune:

Sir: Should the federal government by bono
issue assist the states to build public roads! Ii So
to what extent? The answers 20 the above ques-
tions involve the consideration of several things:
First tho right of the government to do SO; the
need of II: ats ability, and. last. whether 1t Is
wise policy to adopt In the brief space avaiaDie
We must assume the necessity for good roaos:
that their condition affects market cogdltons. ana
thus concerns all the peoples that bad roads are
productive of great and preventable waste that
amounts to several dollars a person a year, that
one of the greatest needs for the social and eco
nornic development and welfare of all the people
is good roads.
A. 10 the right or power of the federal govern
rrent to build or assist to build highways, Section
of Article of the Constitution among
other things: Congress shall have power ito estab-
lish postofflces and post roads, More than 40 per
cent of all the highways and most of the main
roads are used for rural mail delivery and so are
post in the meaning of the Constitution Pres
ident Monroe. in a message to Congress, May 1,
1902, says I'm whatever sense the term establish
is applied to postofices 1t must be applied in the
same sense to post roads" Cooley, In his book on
constitutional law. says: Every road within a
state including railroads. canals. turnpikes and
navigabe streams. existing or created within a
state became post road whenever by action OF
the Postofice Department provision is made for the
transportation of the mails upon over it..
The above Is deemed sufficient to show the gov
ernment has the unquestionable right to improve
highways used for rural mail delivery
Article /, Section s. Clause l. provides in part
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect
taxes duties, imports and excises to pay the debts
and provide for the common defence and general
welfare of the United States"
Is not highway Improvement for the general
welfare?
On March a. 1918, the House of Representatives
passed the following resolution:
Resolved, That Congress has power under the
Constitution TO appropriate money for the
struction OF post roads, military and other roads
and of canals and for the Improvement of water
ways
Among the early statesmen who, held that the
federal government had ample power to build roads
jefferson, Madison, Clay, Webster, Calhoun
and others
The government has expended millions the old
Cumberland Road and number of military roads.
establishing precedent
The public roads of nearly every civilized country
In the world have beed built In wnoe or in part
by its general government. 1t the only plan that
has ever succeeded. 1t is the world precedent.
AS to the need for better highways no argument
is necessary
The general government is expendng about $685.,
COO 900 year rural delivery Acco1 ding to SEN
ator Bankhead, of Alabama the Posto11ce Depart
nent estimates that uniformly good roads would
mean longer routes, more regular service and
saving of 20 per cent In the cost. Thus the loss
the Postoffice Department due to bad roads is now
100000 a year. and is increasing the service Is
extended II will reach $4,000 600 year
of 100000 to si0oO.GO year. the loss to the
farmers and consumers of farm produce cannot be
less than twenty times much
AS TO the ability of the federal government to
assist in building good roads. how better we
Judge this than by comparing the debt per capita
of our country with the leading nations of the
world that have built good roads and found 1t paid
to do SO?
The per capita debt of Germany. according to
.oThe Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year
ics6 Is 10. I'm ola Jtalv
Spain. sos; France, S44, and the United States.
81 H. The amount of annual interest charge to be
met by a citizen of Germany is 81 France. IS 05 :
England, 50 A.; United States, 20 cents.
The panic of 1901 occasioned largely by the
enormous demand for currency ito move the crops"
why need the crops be moved with such haste and
at such great Inconvenience to the railways, and
SO completely drain the cities OF money as to cause
a panic and the loss of many millions? The farmer
knew the winter and bad-road season was ap-
preaching and that If he didn't get his crops of
before the roads broke up he didn't know how
long the embargo of bad roads would prevent him
from doing
Another factor was the Insufficient amount of
government bonds to serve the basis of national
bank circulation. AS bonds were available the
hanks could not increase their circulation, as they
would have been glad to do and which would have
Immediately relieved the financial strain. The
try needs good roads, and 1t needs larger debt
fstrange as that may sound) Out of this dilemma
the way is easy.
If the federal government to issue needed
s4co 100000 of per cent thirty TO fifty year bonds
to aid In road building Il would carry the
tona debt up from 81 II TO SIS g. and the interest
charge from g to 80 cents per capita The debt
per capita then would be almost exactly where 1t
ten years ago.
II would require $4,000 year TO pay the in
terest on the bonds but every dollar of II would
be saved upon the Item OF rural delivery.
OF the 2,loeeo miles of highways about 300 600
miles post reads and about $4,000 OF these are
unimproyed The $780, 0ooO00 national aid would