Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1910-08-03

Nnlle the saving to the farmer is ID
cents a ton mile This difference in
cost of hauling will often turn los
ing farm into paying one.
The greatest value of good roads
will be to the farmers who have not
as yet become interested. You have
not yet found way to reach them to
properly place your arguments and
statistics before them They need
to be shown that the poorest
roads are the most expensive roads
They have not been shown that their
broken wagons, broken harness and
blacksmith bills cost them more than
the cost of having good roads. They
have not been shown that a $500 a
day team can do twice the work over
good roads, which makes that team
worth tc them $500 a day
Mr.. Yoakuln pointed out that the
last congress appropriated $52, coo, GOO
for river and harbor improvements.
Il am not against river and narbor
improvements" said he. Il am only
against the waste that the people of
this country pay for, through the ex-
penditure of such appropriations This
S52,000,000 was largely political dis
tributicn, opposed by President Taft,
who gave notice thai he would not
again approve such haphazard expen-
ditures. If our congressman and
other public paid officials could lay
aside political questions which are of
no benefit to the country and give
their attention to economic questions
that build up, rather than political
agitation and threats of what they,
propose to do to the institutions of
our country, there would be a vast
difference in our future growth and
prosperity. 1t is no. the legislation
which is enacted that does the great
est harm. Political campaign speeches
which create prejudice and doubt in
our institutions do the most DANA ge.
These will not be stopped until the
farmers elect men to office, beth ma
| tional and state, who will give atten-
tiCn to working out economic ques-
lions that benefit them. ne Of these
problems is to give to the farmers
roads from their farms to the railroad
stations in keeping with the railroads
from the railroad stations to mar
kets."
Mr.. Yoakum declared that military
roads are needed in this country and
said that if we build 10000 miles of
public highways annually for ten
ten years, and give to this country
one million miles of good public
roads at an average cost of $4,000
per mile, or $300,O00,000 annually, we
will be engaging in a national devel-
opment, the advantages Of which in
economies, commerce, comforts and
enhanced land values, none can fore
tell. We will be accomplishing some
thing worth while Tins work, if
carried on by counties and townships
as at present, will We very slow 1t
should be encouraged under a broad,
comprehensiv plan outlined by the
federal government, cooperating with
the states. The agricultural depart
ment of the government is in sympa-
thy with all things that tend to I'M
prove our public road system.
"A law authorizing the federal gov
eminent to extend it's credit to each
state in an amount equal to that ex-
pended by such state under joint
commission OF federal and state au-
thorities, would enable the different
states to take advantage in this
work of upbuilding, OF low rate of
interest that would greatly reduce
the interest charge for the improve
ment of the public highways" said Mr.
Yoakum This would not be so ra-
dical a departure from present prac-
tees as might first appear The gov
eminent has advanced or agreed to
advance $115,OC0000 to reclaim waste
lands in various places in the west,
which money is to be paid back to
the government 1t is just as sound
a policy to loan one-half of the money
to states which furnish the other half
for the reclamation OF farms and idle
lands that cannot now be reached on
account of existing road conditions be
tween them and railroad stations"