The Democratic advocate., 1909-08-13

acres the interest on about $4,000. So
| just see how much good roads would
be worth to each of you a year in dol
| lars and cents.
Other Countries.
That good roads are of great value
is absolutely established by the care
and attention given them by foreign
countries. The great Napoleon laid
out the highways OF France and that
nation has since maintained and i'm
proved them. The French are the
most saving people in the world; they
waste absolutely nothing. What our
thrifty wives throw out the back
door daily would keep French fam
| lily, and they would live luxuriously.
/ When you find them spending $685.
! 100000 a year to keep UP their roads,
| don't you suppose they have some
value and they consider them good
! investment? Rest assured they
would not spend a cent for which
they do not get value received. And
you cannot say they are forced to
keep up these roads because they
have them and would not build them
| if they had it to dU over again, for
! wherever waves the lilies of France,
| if you do not find good roads already
built you will find them in the course
of construction. In all her colonies
she is making them. Do you know
| that the best roads in the world to-
day are not those in France, as is
usually stated, but in her colonies in
Northern Africa; not few yards OF
sample roads, but thousands of miles
of main roads and hundreds OF miles
of minor roads and trails construct
ed in the most perfect manner by the
most skilled engineers? There is a
most interesting article by Mr.. Archi-
bold the celebrated war correspond
ent in the March number of the Ma
tional Geological Magazine describing
them, and he says there is no more
comparison between the roads In
France and them, than there is be-
ington Pennsylvania avenue in Wash
ington and a Virginia pike. The
most important feature of their con-
struction is that where the country
will permit it they are perfectly
straight and their grade is so low
that railroad could be laid on them.
The distances are marked by stones
and every few miles there is water
ing trough. They are kept in perfect
repair, being divided into sections OF
six or eight miles, which are in charge
of an overseer whose duties do not
carry him beyond it's limits. Oh,
there are many things we can learn
from the French, buI chief of these
are how to save, and how to build
roads.
If you are convinced that good
roads are a good investment, if you
believe that their building is justified
on economic grounds, the question
then naturally arises how shall we
90 about it to make this investment;
how can we get them? And the an
swer to this is that there are three
ways, one through the National gov
ernment, one through the State, and
one by ourselves, through the coun-
ties.
National Building.
The fathers Of this country recog-
nized the necessity Of good roads and
the duty of the government to build
them. The early part of the last cen
tury saw many comprehensive plans
for proposed roads, some of which
were built, chief of which was the old
National pike from Cumberland to-
wards the Ohio. The coming of the
railroad, however, stopped this work.
The nation stopped building roads
and took up railroads. The railroads
have not superseded roads, but on
the contrary rather accentuate their
necessity, as railroads are useless
unless we can get to them. l do not
know that l would at this time adVo-
cate the building Of roads generally
by the national government, but what
I do believe to be proper is that the
States should be aided by the Ma
tional Government in building good
roads. This proposition can be sup
ported on various grounds, among
which are the general ones that the
nation as a whole will be benefited
thereby, and the other Of justice to
the farmer. Anything tending to ad-
vance commerce and civilization is
of benefit to the nation, as 1t raises
it's standard. Good roads will pro-
duce this result. Besides, people
from other States use our roads; why
then should they not through the
national government help to con-
struct and maintain them? But above
all things should it be done, If for
no other reason, than that it would
he rendering a long deferred act OF
Justice to the farmers; it would be
returning a little bit Of the large
amount of money that has been taken
from them for many years through
an unjust system of taxation. Under
our present method Of raising reVe-
nue. each man pays according to what
he consumes; and as you, can never
make me believe that the man IN
the city eats more than the farmer,
WHY should he receive the Dement'S OF
the expenditures of the money? In
Justice he should not. Yet the great
er part Of it goes to him who dWells
in the city in the form OF handsome
public buildings, improved rivers and
harbors, while we get nothing Dut
free mail delivery three and four
times a day. You know that this IS
not right, and if you farmers only
had a little backbone, you would get
after your representatives all over
this broad land of ours, both Demo
Gratis and Republicans, and tell them
you intend to have some OF the money
that was being taken from you come
back in the shape of good roads, in
stead of going to the cities, or you q
know the reason why. And let me
tell you, that l think your representa-
tive would get busy at once, and some
of it would come back to you in spite
of your Uncle Joseph Cannon. If my
representative didn't try to get it for
me I'd discharge him, and hire an
other hand in his place. You'd have
no trouble in finding one; lots of peo-
pie are looking for job in Congress; /;
| this is one case in which the supply