Lower coast gazette., 1910-08-06
Good Roads.

THIS subject may have become trite with
some Of our readers but it is a live issue in the
United States and the Good Roads are sure to
come sooner or later. New York State has ap-
propriated fifty millions of dollars to secure good
roads, the state as a rule assisting those Iocali-
ties that by their actions indicate an earnest
purpose to help themselves. We can hardly aid
the cause better than by quoting from a recent
speech of Hon. William Sulzer, of New York,
made in the House of Representatives in Wash
ington on June 9. Mr.. Sulzer said:
Good roads mean Progress and prosperity, q benefit
to + the people who live in the cities, an advantage to peo-
Die who live in the country, and it will help every section
of our vast domain. Good roads, like good streets, make
habtation along them most desirable; they enhance the
value Of farm lands, facilitate transportation. and add
untold wealth to the producers and consumers of the coun-
try; they are the milestones marking the advance of civil
lization; they econonize time and give labor a lift, and
make millions in money; they save wear and tear and
worry and waste; they beautify the country bring it in
touch with the city; they aid the social and the religious
and the educational ard the industrial progress of the
people; they make better homes and happier hearthsidcs;
they are the avenues of trade. the highways of commerce.
the mail routes of information, and the agencies of
speedy communications; they mean the economical trans
portation of marketable products the maximum burden
at the minimum cost: they are the ligaments that bind
the country together in thrift and industry and inteNi-
gence and patriotism; they promote social intercourse,
prevent intellectual s%tagnation, and increase the happi-
ness and the prosperity of our producing masses; they
contribute to the glory of the country, give employment
to our idle workmen, distribute the necessities of life
encourage energy and husbandry. inculcate love for our
scesic wonders, and make mankind better and broader
and greater ard grander.
Good roads mean prosperous farmers; bad roads mean
abandoned FARMS, sparcely settled country districts and
~cOngested populated cities, where the poor are destined to
become poorer; Good roads mean more cultivated farms
and cheapprfood products for the toilers in the towns;
bad roads mean poor transportation, lack of .cOmmunlca-
ton, high prices for the necessities of life, the loss OF
untold millions of wealth, and the idle workmen seeking
employment. Good roads will help those who cultivate
the soil and feed the multitude, and whatever aids the
producers and the farmers OF our country will increase
our wealth and our greatness and benefit all the people.
We cannot destroy our farms without final decay. They
are today the heart Of our national life and the chief
source of our material greatness. Tear down every edi-
flee in our cities and labor will rebuild them. but abandon
our farms and our cities will disappear forever.
Mr.. Sulzer's closing sentence in this excerpt
from his address is ID dramatic in its expressive
ness and as true as fact can be stated. The
country's average annual agricultural produc-
ton of about seven thousand millions Of dollars
in value tells the story of the imperative need
of good roads. Every item of this vast produc-
ton must be transported over some sort of a
road from the field where grown to the point Of
distribution or consumption.
Louisiana's interest in Good Roads is a para
mount one and it is fortunate for US Governor
Sanders has given the work such a forward i'm
pulse by his splendid advocacy and work to the
end Tia. We shall sodn get them. .