Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-09-21
,n,nortance of Good Roads.

they have produced with the least pos
sible cost oftentimes solve the question
of profit as opposed to loss. Strange
as it may seem, it is the pleasure seeker
who has crystallized the incipient de-
sire of the enlightened farmers into
stern demand for better roads. The
farmer has always known that it cost
good money to haul load of produce
over poor road, that he was obliged
to haul less, that what he did haul ar
rived in town in poor condition, that
the vehicle in which his produce was
hauled was of necessity the heaviest
and strongest of it's class. He grum-
bled and that was the end of it.
With the advent of the automobile,
there came a demand for good roads
from class Of men who are accustom
ed to have what they want. The far
mer was so busy getting a living that
be did not have time or at least
thought he did not have time, to at
tend to the business of getting better
roads The owner of the automobile,
the man who wanted to sell him an au
tomobile, the Summer hotel man, keep
ers of garages and others interested in
the business of serving the automobiIist
joined in raising mighty howl for
good roads. The farmer had found an
ally where he least expected it. He
applied himself to the task of learning
how to build the road which he knew
would not only give the automobiles
pleasure but would give him profit.
For the most part, the actual work of
providing better roads has been per-
formed by the municipalities and the
states under the supervision of some
sort of a state organization with appro-
priations on the part of the town and
on the part of the state or joint funds.
In the early history of this country,
before the canal building and railroad
eras, all transportation, whether for
military or civic purposes, was
by highway. Congress faced and met
a demand for National highways
for military purposes by building sew
eral first class military roads. Since
that time there has been comparatively
little money expended on National
highways. Lately, however, a demand
has arisen that the Nation build sew
quence of the work in several states.
The Hon. William Sulzer of New
York, that sterling friend Of good
reads, in the hurry of the tariff session
said:
Good roads mean progress and
prosperity, benefit to the people
who live in the cities. an advantage
to the people who live in the coun-
try, ard it will help in every section
of our vast domain. Good roads,
like good streets, make habitation
along them desirable they enhance
the value of farm lands, facilitate
transportation, and add untold
wealth to the producers and con-
sumers of the country; they are the
milestones marking the advance of
civilization; they ecOnOT1iZe time,
give labor lift, and make millions
in money: they save wear and tear
and worry and waste; they beauti-
fly the country-bring it in touch
with the city; they aid the social
i,in ho
al and the industrial progress of
the people; they make better homes
and happier hearth sides: they are
the avenues of trade. the highways
of commerce, the mail routes of in
formation, and the agencies of
speedy communication; they mean
the economical transportation of
marketable products-the maximum
burden at the minimum cost; they
are the ligaments that bind the
country together in thrift and in
dustry and intelligence and patriot
ism: they promote social inter-
course, prevent intellectual stagna-
ton, and increase the happiness
and the prosperity of our producing
masses; they contribute to the glory
of the country, give employment to
our idle WOrkmen, distribute the
neceSsaries of life-the products of
the fields and the forests and the
Notwithstanding energy and
husbandry, inculcate love for our
scenic wonders, and make mankind
better and broader and greater and
grander.'
Mr.. SulZer in the course of his re-
marks quoted as follows from the re-
port Of the Country Life commission
appointed by President Roosevelt to
the condition of the farmers:
'"rhe demand for good highways"
1t says, lis general among the far
mers of the entire United States.
Education and good roads are the
two needs most frequently men
TONED in the hearings. Highways
that are disable at all times of the
year are now imperative. not only
fer the marketing of produce, but
for the elevation of the social and
intellectual status of the open
country and the improvement of
health by insuring better medical
of