Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1909-09-26
FARMERS PAPERS FOR GOOD
ROADS.

One of the great factors telling for
good roads is the strong position taken
in respect to them by all the leading
agricultural papers of the country,
without regard to section. These pa
pers, dealing mainly with agricultural
topics, and enjoying an extensive cir
culation among the more intelligent
farmers, have almost unanimously
taken a decided stand for road i'm
provements and are among the most
persistent advocates of work in that
direction that can be found. They are
not running path finding campaigns,
nor blowing their horns about their
automobile contests, but they are put
ting very effective ticks in the right
direction. Their work must tell in
the education of the farming classes
everywhere to a higher realization of
the Importance of good roads to the
farming interests of every county
The Progressive Farmer, of Raj
eigh, n. c., which enjoys a consider
able circulation throughout the South,
and whose policy is we'll indicated by
its title, is one of the most enthusiast
tic advocate of better highways It's
arguments along that line are COM
mon sense appeals that must have a
telling force with its readers. In it's
current issue, dealing with this inn
portant question, it says among other
things:
You are paying for good roads,
now get them. In overstrained, in
jured and WORKOUT teams; in work
ing ramshackled and WORKOUT wag-
ons, in loss of time it takes you to go
to market and to haul goods. back
from market in deprecated value of
your land and houses-in all these
things, you are paying already the
price of good roads. Yes, you are pay
ing for good roads and using bad. Why
not have what you are paying for?
Which is more business=iilke, to pay
for thing and have it, or pay for it
and not have it?
No county anywhere ought to be
content with ordinary dirt roads for
its main arteries of travel. Whatever
we may say about improving our COM
mon dirt roads, therefore, is not in
tended to make any reader content to
have simply dirt roads fer the main
highways of his county. For all these
roads there must be sooner or later
macadam or gravel or sand-clay. Let
hi he
agitation in season and out of season
until this good result is accomplished
AT the same time while working for
these more expensive methods for the
big roads" let's see to it that the
neighborhood roads are also made bet
ter. The principles of good draining
upon which such stress has been laid
by so many of our writers, may GER
tainly be adopted, and this is admit
tedly the greatest need, taking our sec
ton as whole. In the hill country,
however, the necessity for avoiding
heavy grades is almost as pressing
We must always remember that road
is no better than its worst places. ii
there is grade or any rough place
over which your team can pull only
500 pounds horse, although the road
for nine-tenths of the distance may be
good enough for a load of 900 pounds
We must learn to go around the hills
not over them, and perhaps the first
step in the improvement of half our
country roads ought to be new sur
veys, making them straighter where it
can be done without increasing the
grade, and decreasing the grade
wherever it is excessive"
Discussing the merits of a bond is
sue for road improvements the Pro-
gressive Farmer says:
Let us consider briefly what a
100000 bond issue would cost an
ordinary Southern county. In the
first place, | believe the bonds could
be sold as bearing IL per cent inter-
est This will mean that the interest
on the issue of 100000 will be $4,000
per annum. 1t will also be necessary
to put by a sinking fund to take care
of these bonds on maturity. Such a
sum as is necessary can be put by each
year at per cent. interest. and at the
end of forty years will cover the bond
issue. The amount that it will be nee
essary to put aside each year to take
care of this bond issue. This amount
will not be as much as it would be