The Montgomery tribune., 1909-10-15
No Roads, No Mail.

NdilItlo Iot w NC III SOOu COLI
dition for travel. This brings
the matter right home to every
individual farmer. When he is
denied his daily mail and his
daily paper. to the receipt Of
which he has now become ac-
customed. he will realize as
never before what good roads
means to him in his every day
life. To be sure, the receipt of
daily mail is not the most inn
portant reason why farmers
shoul maintain smooth, dry
highways between themselves
and town. but it is characters
tic of most great movements
that they are made popular by
some minor feature, and through
this less important matter the
main good is accomplished. 1t
is. therefore, likely that farmers
will fight harder for good roads
because of the danger of losing
rural delivery than because they
enable them to haul their crops
to market at much reduced ex-
pense and otherwise help them
to enjoy the pleasures of life in
stead of being cooped up on the
farm for half the year.
The popularity of the split log
drag has been spreading with
better understanding of its char
acter and what it accomplishes
when regularly and timely used.
Yet in every district are to be
found some farmers who are too
lazy or too selfish or too in
credulous to do their share of the
work necessary to make con-
tinuous stretch of road dragging.
This is the greatest obstacle in
the way of the community use
of the split log drag. Stretches
of good road made by those who
do their share of the work are
interpersed with piece of impass-
able road in front of those farms
whose owners refuse to do their
part. When residents along a
route that is denied mail delivery
because of such bad patches pour
out their Indignation upon the
head of those neglectful or re-
calcitrant ones they may be stir
red to action. The loss of their
own daily paper-though far
mers of that class are unusually
those who do not read daily pa
pers or any other kind that
would profit them in their farm
work-may also stir them up to
activity.
In districts where the split
log drag has not yet become a
factor in making and preserving
good dirt roads, the application of
this rural route rule may stir up
the farmers to- give it a trial.
If they want to know what it
has already accomplished they
should send a delegation to visit
those farming districts where
split log associations exist and
see what marvels have been
worked upon common dirt roads.
Such visit as that should con-
vert an entire neighborhood.
The laggards. the doubters. are
the ones who should constitute
such delegation, for the live
ones do not need actual sight to
convince them. They have read
enough about the dirt road made
by this cheap and easy con-
structed device to believe in it
without further evidence.
No better work for the welfare
of the farmers. or for the promo
ton of their own objects, could
be done by the good roads or
ganizations. than to issue an IL
lustrated pamphlet about the
split log drag, giving full in
formation about it's manufacture
and use, and especially present
ing the form of organization OF
farmers into split log associa-
tons and examples of success
full work by such associations
Good dirt roads made iii that
way should be the best possible
educators in the value of graded
and macadamed highways, in.
Productions to them. as it were
| A pamphlet of this kind widely
distributed would be worth more
to the farmers OF Missouri thar
all the speeches about additional
road taxes that are likely to bs
made between now and the mex
session Of the Legislature St