Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1909-11-19


the United States Office of Public Roads.
A report made by resident of Dodge
City in April, 1909, contains the follow
ing paragraph:
"a colony of Germans, settled on the
finest kind of wheat land, were going
to leave on account of the Inconvenience
OF travel in marketing their wheat, but
now they have q read smooth enough
TOR race track. It has increased the
value of their land at least 25 per cent,
and they are well satisfied TO remain. I"
In reporting upon the road system of
France, Consul Francis P. Loonis, in
1901, said,
The road system of France has been
OF far greater value to the country as a
means of raising the value of land and
OF putting the small peasant proprie-
tors in easy communication with the
markets than have the railroads
While it is impossible to assign an ar
bitrafy per cent, or amount to repre-
sent the increase in land values by rea-
son OF road improvement, it is general
ly believed that the acreage increase
per sere within the zone of influence of
an improved road would be from two to
nine dollars per acre. AS there are
about $50 million acres of farm lands
improved and unimproved in the United
States, the possibilities of aggregate
increase in value are enormous.
In the crop-moving season. the rail-
roads and steamboats, are taxed far be-
yond their equipment. For many months,
while the country roads are impassa-
bic, much of this equipment Is idle and
thus the railroads suffer double loss.
With an adequate improvement of the
common roads, the development Of ag-
ricultural resources would be so great
as to increase in marked degree the
annual tonnage. while the means of
access to the stations would be SO uni =.
form throughout the year that the de-
livery of freight would be reasonably
constant instead of spasmodic. 1t is
not To be wondered, therefore, that the
industrial departments of great rail-
road systems are co operating TO the
fullest extent with all the other factors
in bringing about the era of road building.
These figures constitute conclusive
evidence of the immensity of traffic on
the common roads. They do more; they
give food for reflection as to where the
cumulative losses in wear and tear of
wagons. harness. and teams, due to
poor roads, will land US on the debit
side. Nobody can ever approximately
estimate this drain, but everybody must
know it is in terms of millions.
The loss in dollars is serious enough
for grave concern; but, when the addi-
tional charge is made that bad roads
are a menace to our institutions, our
health. and our educational aldevelopment.
it constitutes an indictment Of such
gravity as to demand paramount con-
sideration.
The rapid trend Of population from
country to city has been frequently COM
mented upon as grave cause for concern.
In 1870. only 3.4per cent. ofour popula-
tion dwelt in cities; in 1850, only IL. s
per cent. while, in 1900, the percentage
was 31.1. This explains why hundreds
of millions of fertile acres remain un-
titled. while the unsanitary and unwhole-
some city tenements are crowded with
human beings whose standard of living
must result in their mental, moral, and
physical decay. Man is social animal
and prefers misery and want rather
than isolation. and the tenement dwellers
will not 60 to the country. if by 80 doing
they isolate themselves from their fell
low men.
Whether good roads cause good
schools or vice versa, it is true that
they exist together and that one of the
most important reasons for good roads
is their effect on school attendance in
the country. If the country schools
are to have a maximum efficiency in
training and instruction. the children
must be att jrded facilities for reaching
the schools with dry feet at all seasons
Of the year. Then the graded school
can replace the little, one-room, one
teacher schools so prevalent in many
sections of country. The possibilities
of region of improved roads are made
apparent by the many examples of
school wagons regularly gathering up
the pupils and hauling them to and from
school. When the roads are placed in
such condition as to make this practice
general, a tremendous impetus will
have been given to education in the
United States.
Data obtained from the twelfth Gen.
sus of the United States and from in.
vestigations of the Office of Public
Roads show that in four states with a
population of over seven million people
and having conspicloasly bad roads,
there were in 1900 about three hundred
and seventy-five thousand white illit.
crates born of native parents; whereas
in four states conspicuous for their good
roads and having q population of more
than six million, there were only twen-
ty thousand iliterates. 1t would GER
tainiy seem that good transportation
facilities are concomitant with good
education. This is realized by promi-
nent educators. and rather general
movement is under way among the en-
gineering schools and colleges to devote
more attention to the study Of highway
engineering. while in several of the
states the question of teaching elemen-
tary road building in the public schools
IS being seriously sgitated. In a few
more years, the educators of the lanc