The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-01-26

of the United States Department OF
| Agriculture, and under the direction OF
the Hon. Logan Walter Page IT Is do
ing vast amount of exceedingly i'm
portant work in gathering all possible
Information on highway construction
and maintenance, and Is placing this
| Information before those who most
directly interested In improving con-
ditions. For some years this ONCE
has been endeavoring to show in a
conclusive manner the intimate re-
Iationship which exists between corn-
mon sense farming and public roads.
Both producers and consumers are be-
ing appealed 20, for both must bear
the burden OF poor roads, while both
will share the benefit from the good
ones. Some amazing results have al
ready been attained in this interesting
task, and some surprising facts have
been assembled
1t may for instance amaze the cas-
ual reader to learn that better roads
have an immediate effect upon the
public health; but such appears to be
the fact. 1t may also surprise many
to learn that hara surfaced highways
have an uplifting effect upon the mem
tality and the morals of the race. and
in that they make possible more con-
slant attendance at church and
| 7 tC al ,f
that dustless roads add hundreds of
millions of dollars annually TO the
values OF fruit, truck and flower
farms; and that perfect highways
would make unnecessary the purchase
of thousands of wagons which are an
nually smashed on impossible roads.
1t Is interesting to Learn that dust
less roads have already benefited the
orange growers of California by mil
lions each year. and that universal
system of such highways would add
not less than 1886, 000, 900 to the as
sessed valuation OF the farm lands,
which in many sections are practically
useless because those who own them
find it impossible to transport their
products cheap'y to selling points.
The relation OF the public roads to
education Ia one to which has been
given but the slightest consideration,
but study recently made by Director
Page and other officials proves that Ia
the states where muddy roads make
school attendance impractical, the per-
centage of illiterates Is far higher than
In states which have wisely attended
to the building and the maintenance
Of those suburban transportation
routes" In four states where the aver
age percentage of improved roads ID
30.55. the percentage of nauye-bcrn
white Illiterates Is only 0.34 of per
cent of the total population, while In
four less progressive states In which
only Isl per cent of the road mileage
is improved the percentage OF white
illiterates is 476: those findings fur
nishing an amazing argument In favor
OF the crushing OF more rock and the
building of more roads.
Bad roads are partly cause and
partly an effect of ignorance, but the
two are so closely related that they
may we'll be called twins, and such
twins have no place in Uncle Sam s
large family.
The question has recently been
asked: What Is the most important
phase of the work that the office Of
public roads Is doing to aid the road
movement"
Some state and county officials say
that the building of object-lesson
roads is most important; others as.
sert that the training up of corps
of enthusiastic highway engineers
must ultimately produce the greatest
results. Both are important and st
closely allied that 1t Is rather difficult
to tell where one leaves off and tht
other begins.
The object-lesson on road work i!
undoubtedly of vast Importance, ant
during the past twelve months g.
such roads had been completed Oh
were In course Of construction In var
ious sections of the country, eacl
stretch being under the watchful eye
Of one of the expert engineers Of Dt
rector Pages little army. These
roads are instrumental In teaching
local road builders the art OF highwa,
construction, for the engineers pre-
pare the plans and estimates and su
pervise every detail of the work from
the survey 70 completion. Among thu
roads which we're laid were 10 Of ma
cadam, 6 OF sand-day, 4 Of gravel, O
earth, OF burnt-clay. | Of shell and
tarred and oiled roads; a total o
223,208 square yards OF road surface
Since the government began its OBJ
ject-lesson work, its engineers hav,
supervised the construction of upwards
of million dollars worth OF high
ways. while improved roads have beer
built along the methods demonstrate,
and following out the instructions Civ
en- have mounted high into the mil
lions