The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-18
TRUNK ROAD PLAN
EXCELLENT HIGHWAYS BETWEEN
 PRINCIPAL CITIES.
Promoters Giyfas Scheme Publicity Preparatory To Meeting Of Good Roads Workers To Be
 Held Next Year.

Backed by leading men all over the
 country. a movement Is on foot for trunk roads to connect the principal cities of the United States. John Fl.
 Broad of Worthwhile. N. Y., was in
 Montgomery yesterday in the interest of the proposition. and conferred with Commissioner of Agriculture, J. A. Wil- kinson. Secretary weeyer, of the Com merciai Club. and local automobile men. He said all the men he had dis cussed the subject with here were very much interested. as he had found the men he had visited throughout the Southern States
 At present the promoters of the
 great project are not out for money, they are simply securing delegates to attend 6 mass meeting of good roAds
 workers that will be held in St. Au- gustine, Fla. In January, the workers to be known as the members of the National Roads Association.
 MT. Block said he had been received by the leading editors of the South ern cities. and had discussed the mat ter with the Governors of many Of
 the States. and everywhere had found
 the most cordial approval of the plan. In speaking of the project he said: The government has spent millions | of dollars on rivers and harbors ca | nals. irrigation and many other public
 institutions, and now there is no req
 son why the roads should not be at | tended to. That the government will receive a direct benefit is obvious from 1 consideration of the rural free de- livery mail system. This was inaug-
 urated in Virginia several years ago. and spread all over the country. It is
 one of the greatest government insti- tutions, and the benefits 1t would re- ceive from improved roads can be plainly seen.
 If the government will make an ap-
 propriation for the trunk lines of road.
 the States and counties~will build the branches, to the main way, and a sys- tenn of communication opened up that
 will lead to wonderful development. And speaking of development, I
 have realized what the South really was. Most of my life has been spent north of Washington, and I did not know what the South was. There is not a town of its size anywhere in the country that is more progressive and up to date than Montgomery, and
 Montgomery Is not the only go-ahead | city l have visited in the South. On
 every hand I have seen the mark of l aggressive commerce. Richmond is
 booming. saannah and Charleston are
 digging away in a manner few reaHze.t
 Jacksonville is on the jump, and In
 fact every one of them is progressing
 in way that must be gratifying even
 to the most, formerly, skeptical per- | son.
 "As yet there has been no definite
 plan of action proposed for our work. | that will be the work of the January
 convention All we want to do now is to give the matter publicity. and draw
 the attention of the public to it. Where
 there are good roads,. home seekers
 win go, and where there are people
 the railroads follow. that Is growth.
 development. an appreciation of natur-
 al resources.
 MT. Broad left the city last even
 ing for Birmingham. and from there
 will visit Atlanta. Augusta, and the
 cities of Tennessee and Kentucky.