The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-01-15
People Want Good Roads.


ject could experience.
People Want Good Roads.
Yesterdays sessions from every point
certainly demonstrated that the people
Of Utah-from every part Of Utah-are
thoroughly prepared to take up the mat
ter Of good roads. to work for good roads,
TO build good roads. to maintain good
roads. It was demonstrated yesterday
that the needs for good roads are under
stood and that now the people are anX-
ious to know how to build them to the
best advantage. where TO build them and
how to keep them maintained.
The delegates attending yesterdays ses-
siOns learned a whole lot Of things about
road building and maintenance that they
never knew before. They heard some facts
and figures that were astOnishiEg-as-
founding. And they were given advice
and Information that was valuable. And
all Of this only tended to Increase their
enthusiasm for good roads and strengthen
their discrimination that the state Of Utah
should not be behind in the matter OF good
country thOrougnfares
There were $50 delegates at yesterdays
session Of the good roads cOuYentiCn. That
many registered their names at the Com
mercial club yesterday and received
badges a delegates. Every county in the
state is represented and there is not a del
egate in the lot who WAS not an enthu-
sast for good roads when he reached the
city. There was not delegate among
them who did not 90 to bed last night
much more an enthusiast than when he
arrived in the morning The convention
lost little time in juggling compliments
There were speeches OF welcome and there
were talks on good roads matters, but
business was the order of the Gay and OF
the evening, and every session was largely
attended.
The feature Of the day was the talk last
evening BY L. v. Page. Mr.. Page is not
an orator and does not pretend to be, but
he knows more about good rDads-and I'm
4 bar r.
CT man in this country. That point has
been conceded time and again. lie knows
how Ia build roads and he knows all the
important details concerning the raising
Of funds. the maintenance Of the roads
and the thousand and one other things
connected with the country road subject
that it is very important the Utah road
movement supporters should be wise
about
At the beginning Of his remarks last
uiEht and several times during his adj
dress Mr. Page strongly emphasized the
statement that there would be no use OF
sense in spending a whole lot Of money in
Utah. OF anywhere else. to construct good
roads unless there is some kind Of an or
gsnizatiOn for the purpose Of seeing that
the roads are at all times kept in good
repair and maintained. He made several
bold statements during his talk dividing
his talk up IN that method under various
heads. and then proceeding To pump facts
at the audience to support and prove his
statements. He said:
Our Roads the Worst.
II maintain that the roads Of the United
States generally are worse than the roads
Of any other civilized country on earth
and for the reason that our system Of
building. and maintaining good roads is
entirely insufficient. 7 can prove this by
the statistics I gathered myself from every
country ia the United states in 1905. and 10
get the information for the statistics then
compiled 7 had to write more than 10000
letters. Those statistics when compiled
showed that outside Of cities we had in the
United States Of good bad and Indifferent
roads (mostly bad or indifferenD 2.l55.000
miles. OF these roads stone formed part
Of the construction Of 1900 miles and los
miles were good gravel roads At that
time 6 trifle over Z per cent or the roads
were improved tn this country and the
improved roads were al IN the vicinity OF
large cities IN a lew of the most advanced
states in road building.
France has the most superb system Of
road work that I know anything about.
Records show that in 1891 the system Of
improved roads in France was so complete
that no new roads in any part Of the
country were deemed desirable. No new
lines were left to be built except in case
of military necessity. And the complete
cost Of all this road work in France was
s612.575 .000.
Germany has a splendid system Of
roads. and in Switzerland, where the
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