The San Francisco call., 1910-10-23
BOND ISSUE FOR GOOD ROADS
IS ADVOCATED BY GOVERNOR
Gett Tells Why He Believes $18OOOOOO for Great System Of
Highways Should Be Approved by Voters Coming Election

a well improved county road without
paying for it the county will not suffer,
but will be benefited thereby, because
the state will at once assume the care
and maintenance of the highway. re-
neving the county of all further ex-
pense for that purpose.
SIxTH-Mr Eddy also finds fault
because the proposed roads intend to
parallel the waterways and railroads
as they run through our valleys. He
SAYS the state highways should "natur
rally traverse the agrictural sections
at right angles to rail and waterway
lines, thus feeding the great arteries
of commerce and lessening the trans
portation cost of staple products"
He would not have the highway run
from the north down the Sacramento
and San Joaquin valleys, connecting the
different counties and cities, but he
would start the highway at some oak
tree on the coast range and run it
across the valley to some rock in the
foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Then
he would skip several miles and parallel
this road with another one. until the
roads crossing our valleys would look
like a pair of bars, commencing no
where, ending nowhere and connecting
with nothing.
This is Mr.. Eddys idea of what a
system of state highways should be-
All of the other objections made by him
are about as meritorious as those men
toned herein. and will take no further
notice of them.
The state can well afford to con-
struct and maintain a system of high
ways connecting our counties and prin-
cipal towns and cities. 1t has no in
debtedness, and the bond issue created
for good roads will be more than paid
by the increased value of property
within the state Such a system will
encourage every county through which
it passes to build fine branch roads con-
meeting with the state highway, and
the result will be that within a few
years this state will have a system of
highways not excelled by any country,
which will invite to our midst thou
sands of pleasure seekers annually, who
will ride through our valleys. into our
mountains and along our coast, many
of whom will settle here or make in
vestments.
But the great benefit to be derived
will come from cheaper transportation
of the products of the farm and
orchards to our markets, or to the rail-
road and waterways for shipment. 1t
has been estimated by the state en-
gineering department that 1T costs the
people of this state $75.000,000 year
to transport freight and the products
roads, the expense averaging about "a
cents per ton. 1t has also been esti-
mated that the expense over good
macadamized roads would be reduced to
an average of IL cents per ton. thereby
saving many millions of dollars each
year. There is no argument to it.
Good roads today are both a business
and an economical necessity. A COM
munity with good roads is prosperous
and populous; a section with bad roads
Is poor and neglected.
Mr.. Arthur C. Jackson, president OF
the national good roads association,
says this: when the agricultural pro-
Sduction alone of the United States for
the past II years totals $4,000, 900. 900,
a sum to stagger the Imagination. and
it costs more to take this product from
the farm to the railway station than
from such station to the American and
European markets, and when the saw
ing in cost of moving this product of
agriculture over good highways instead
of bad would build a million miles Of
good roads the incalculable waste of
bad roads in this country is shown TO
be of such enormous proportions rs to
demand immediate reformation and the
wisest and best craftsmanship.
If California votes in favor of good
roads we have started a work which
when completed will be the greatest
asset the state has The main system
should be under state control built and
maintained it. In no other way can
we getfit. BY putting the administra-
ton of the work in competent hands
we will get good results. Only men
should be put in charge who are ex-
perts in road building and have the
necessary technical knowledge and the
experience-such men as q railroad
would select to build its road, or the
government would choose to build the
canal. The counties of this state have
already suffered the loss of many mil
lions of dollars in roads poorly con-
structed by supervisors who have no
knowledge of road building, and it is
now time to stop it.
The bill proposed is all right. It is
intended only to provide the means for
constructing q state highway. It's pro-
visions were carefully studied out by
the attorney general. and if it shall
be adopted by the people then the
legislature can enact the laws neces-
sary to build the roads and maintain
them after they are built. But without
the money we can do nothing. If the
people really want good roads they now
have a chance to get them. If they
don't. any old reason advanced by Mr..
Eddy or anybody else will be a suff1-
cient excuse to vote against the bond
issue. Those who are really sincere and
believe in having good roads will not
be fooled or misled by lot Of technical
objections raised by some one who feels
piqued or has some pet scheme of his
own.
If any voter entertains any doubts
let him read the bill for himself and
he will soon find out that it is fair and
plain in it's provisions and amply suffi-
cient to meet the purposes for which