Semi-weekly herald., 1909-07-29
WHAT GOOD ROADS HAVE DONE
FOR SWITZERLAND AND WHAT
THEY WOULD DO FOR colo
RADIO.

RADO.
If our beloved state should ever he
fortunate enough to get u real states.
man in the gubefnatorial chair what
blessing It would be both to this gen.
GRAFTON and 10 posierity.
or course the real statesman must
be real patriot or ability on the
Job were worse than useless.
We have had number of brulny
governors. No young state has had
more. But the trouble has been thai
the brainy ones thought they were
too brainy for the small eminenoe
from which the goyernorship could
cast their dazzling rays and they used
the position solely as a convenient
stepping stone to higher ambitions.
Luckily, and with poetic justice. none
such have ever reached the higher no.
sition, but the state has lost much
from their lack OF devotion to the
work in hand.
1t IL passing strange that one on
whom the people have placed the
laurel wreath of chief of the common
wealth should, on that account. con
tinually consider that people as fit only
ior petty government measures and
responsive only to peanut politics.
Yet no state ever offered such op-
portunities to a really great governor
as are offered by Colorado conditions.
Take the matter of good roads.
The hotels of Switzerland have an
annual income Of 100000 900 from
the tourist travel. which excellent
roads have invited into that mountain
state
American automobIlists by the hun.
dreds pay transportation charges
across the ocean: pay tnxes in two
or three countries ON their machines.
for the luxury of motoring over the
splendid roads that traverse the Swiss
Alps.
Thousands go annually from Eng.
land. France and Germany, for the
same reasons.
Imagine what would happen In the
Colorado rockies II the Swiss roads
were duplicated In these Infinitely
grander and more impressive noun
iains
The Swiss railroads earn from tour
lists and machines carried into that
republic during the four months of
summer season over 81 10000
The storekeepers. the farmers, the
tuck gardeners. the dairy keepers, The
poultry raisers-all producers and la.
boers-are prosperous from the tour.
Isl industry nlone, and that industry
is based on the statesmanshIp that
has given the simple thing of superb
mountain roads 10 this little republic.
II Colorado could just once get a
governor who would put the value of
good roads above the importance of
his going to the senate; who would
comprehend the fact that the people
OF the state are not essentially ninnios,
even though their suffrage on the gov.
ernorship might warrant such the.
ory; who has the knowledge, the skin,
the patience. the strength and the
sense to overcome the obstacles to the
construction of a complete network
OF good roads In the stats-what mar.
vels for the future could be accom-.
plished and how rapidly we would be
gin to fulfil our destiny as the most
attractive resort place In the world.
After all, this matter. like all others
of good and progressive government
is absolutely in the hands OF the vot
ers of the state 10 determine whether
or not tits not time TO put local gov
ernment on high and progressiv,
plane, and to permanently relegate t,
the scrap heap peanut politicians ant
pigmy statesmen
N. STEVENS.
Paris, July +,