Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1910-09-24
ADVANTAGES OF
Good ROADWAYS
Enhance Farm Land Values,
Says William SuIzer.
Benefit TO EVERY SECTION.
Add Untold Wealth to Both the Pro-
York Congressman-Great Value Of
Bad and Improved Highways Con-
trasted.

Bad and Improved Highways Con-
trasted.
Congressman William Sulzer Of New
York, presiding officer Of the recent
national good roads congress, held
at Niagara Falls, spoke on various
aspects of good roads as vitally af
fecting the national prosperity. In
part he said:
For years l have been an earnest
advocate of good road building. Good
roads mean progress and prosperity, n
benefit to the people who live in the
cities, an advantage to the people who
live in the country, and they will help
every section Of our vast domain.
Good roads, like good streets, make
every habitation along them most de-
sirable. They enhance the value Of
farm lands, facilitate transportation
and add untold wealth to the pro-
ducers and consumers OF the country;
they are the milestoncs marking the
advance of civilizations; they econo-
mize time, give labor lift and make
tear and worry and waste; they beau
tify the country, bring it in touch with
the city; they aid the social and the
religious and the educational and the
industrial progress Of the people; they
make better homes and happier hearth
sides; they are the avenues Of trade,
the highways Of commerce. the mail
oF t,,f hn
cies of speedy information; they mean
the economical transportation of mar
ketahe products-the maximum bur
den at the minimum cost; they are the
ligaments that bind the country to-
gether In thrift and industry and in
telligcnce and patriotism; they pro
mote social intercourse. prevent intel
lectual stagnatiOn and increase the
happiness and the prosperity Of our
producing masses; they contribute to
the glory of the country, give employ
ment to our Idle workmen, distribute
the neceSSaries Of life-the products OF
the fields and the forests and the fac
tories-encourage energy and hus-
bandry, inculcate love for our scenic
wonders and make mankind better and
greater and grander.
Zone of the crying needs In this
country, especially in the south and
the west, Is better roads. The estab-
lishment of good roads would In a
great measure solve the question of
the high price Of the necessaries Of life
and the increasing cost OF living
which is beginning to make life a
struggle for existence. By reducing
the cost of transportation it would en-
able the farmer to market his produce
at a lower price and at larger profit
at the same time. 1t would bring
communities closer and in touch with
the centers of population. thereby IA
ciitating the commerce Of IDEAS as
we'll as Of material products.
Good roads have a money value far
beyond our ordinary conception; bad
roads constitute our greatest draw
backs to internal development and ma
terial progress Good roads mean
prosperous farmers; bad roads mean
abandoned farms, sparsely' settled
country districts and congested pop
ulated cities, where the poor are des-
tined to become poorer. Good roads
mean more cultivated farms and
cheaper food products for the toilers
In the towns: bad roads mean poor
transportation, lack of communication.
high prices for the necessaries Of life,
the loss of untold millions of wealth
and idle workmen seeking employ
ment Good roads will help those who
cultivate the soil and feed the multi
tude, and whatever aids the producers
and the farmers of our country will
increase our wealth and benefit all the
people. We cannot destroy our farms
without final decay.
The burdens Of life fall hardest on
the farmer. The least the government
can do for him is to help him get de-
cent highways. l am with the farmers
In this fight for good roads. l am with
the rural districts Of our land in their
struggle for better transportation IA
cilities, and in congress or out of con-
grcss I shall do all in my power to
hasten the consummation they desire
the ability to go and come along de-
cent roads without exhausting the time
and the effort and the utility of man
and beast.
The fathers Of the republic wisely
recognized the Importance of this ques-
tion. Washington and Jefferson advo-
cate@ good roads and projected the
construction Of great highway from
the capital to the Mississippi valley.
The farseeing statesmen Of the early
days Of our national existence cham
pioned and passed measures to better
the means of transportation. They
knew that of all human agencies the
one which has done most for humanity
and civilization has been the building
OF good roads-the abridgment of dis
tance In the facility Of communication.
They realized the necessity of good
roads-how important they were to the
country, to its growth and develop
ment and to mankind. morally, physi-
rally intellectually and industrially,
removing national and provincial an
tlpathies and binding together In bonds
Of fraternity all the branches of the
great human family"