The Robesonian. [volume] (Lumberton, N.C.) 1870-current, 1909-07-08
EDITORIAL COMMENT.
IMPORTANCE OF GOOD
ROADS.

LII oil duuI0SS Ue1OEG duLOIIlO-
bilists assembled in the New
Willard Hotel in Washington re-
Gently to meet scouts Peltz and
Cohen, of The New York Herald
and The Atlanta Constitution,
President w. w. Finley, of the
Southern Railway, strikingly il
lustrated the value of good
roads. He said in part:
This run will lead to an in
creased interest in the use of
automobiles throughout the
South, and every owner Of an
automobile is an active advocate
of good roads. He is interested
in good roads as adding to the
pleasure of motoring. But this,
in my opinion, is secondary to
the economic Importance of good
roads to the farmer. If the
farmer is to be prosperous, all
the products of his farm not
needed for home consumption
must be carried to market.
Whatever their final destination
may be, they must move pri-
marily over the country high
way to the shipping point or to
a nearby consuming centre. The
condition of this highway con-
trolls the size of the load
that can be carried on it and
affects materially the profits of
the farmer and value of his
farm. This was strikingly il
lustrated by an account which
| read recently of a farmer in
North Carolina who was haul
ing wood to a neighboring town.
A splendidly-improved macadam
road ran for several miles out of
this town, while the rest of the
way was an ordinary dirt road.
The farmer would haul the largest
load possible over the dirt road
until he came to the macadam
road. There he would throw
the wood off by the side of the
road and go back for another
load. Returning with the second
load he would pile the first one
on top of it and drive on to
town, hauling just twice as
much on the macadam road as
he could haul, with the same
wagon and the same team, on
the dirt road.
although the primary in
terest of the farmer in good
roads is commercial, they have 9
highly important social aspect
for him as we'll as for the owner
of the automobile. They broaden
his range Of vision and bring him
into closer touch with the world
lat large. They facilitate the
rural free delivery, bringing hin
his letters promptly and placing
on his table the weekly newspa.
per from the nearby town anc
the daily from the nearest city
| Good roads mean that the farm
er's children can be more regu.
lar in school attendance and car
receive to a greater degree the
advantages of education. They
mean that he and the member
of his family can enjoy to great
er degree the society of theil
neighbors and friends. The.
mean the bringing closer togeth
er Of the town and country, witt
advantages on both sides. The,
mean the bringing together O
widely separated sections of tn
country into closer social an
commercial relations, as is illus
trated by the proposed run O
touring cars between New Yor
and Atlanta next fall. which,
think, we may safely predict wi
be followed by many tours of tn
same kind in both directions.
when Mr.. Peltz returns
New York he will have to repo1
that he found some very ba
roads in the South, but he vii
also be able to report that h
found some very excellent road
fully up to the standard of any
thing to which he is accustome
at home. Further than this, h
has found an awakened and cor
stantly increasing appreciatio
Of the Importance of good roaC
and a determination on the pal
of many Southern communitie
to improve their highways {
rapidly as the resources at the
command will permit. -
Anintelligent farmer remarke
in this office the other day that /
was inclined to believe that 6
this agitation for good roads w;
merely in the interest of autom
bilists, anyway. He is mistake
about that, of course, for, viii
it will inevitably add to the plea
ure and convenience of autom
y bilists to have good roads all ov
the country, many people are as
tating the question of good roa
whose sole object is to obtain t
- tremendous advantage of go
roads for the farmer. But
matter who may be interested
the question, the farmer will
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