The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1910-06-02
THE GOOD ROADS CAMPAIGN.

THE GOOD ROADS CAMPAIGN.
Reports from many places in Oregon
show that much interest in the good
roads movement has been aroused and
there are gratifying indications that
it will increase in volume and momen-
tum. When the people of both the
rural districts and the towns come
fully to comprehend the great import
ance and value of good roads-and
very many Of them do 50 already, and
many others will-th movement will
become irresistible.ss =, The only trouble
some problem then will be, not to in
duce people TO tax themselves for good
roads, but just what plan Of raising,
spending and distributing the money
to adopt. The next Legislature will
scarcely have any more important mat
IRE to act upon than this.
But meanwhile the good roads gospel
the need and Importance and value
Of thcm-should be diligently preached
throughout the state. Many simple,
practical illustrations can be used.
A team of horses slowly struggling
along a road deep in mud, and strain
ing tG haul half load, compared to
another team easily, rapidly and com
fortabIy, drawing a full load, is an
object lesson that could be duplicated
many times, and it ought to be photo
graphed and sent to every farmer and
business man. They should also be
induced to consider the aggregate cost,
in many ways, of this bad road over
the good one, and the great, real gain
in actual dollars that would come to
them by replacing the bad road with
the good one. Show that good roads
will not only pay for themselves but
place large surplus in the pockets of
the taxpayers who pay for them-and
this can be done-and there will be an
almost universal demand for them.
Expert students of this subject have
calculated that not less than $3.50, 900,
600 is the the annual cost of bad roads,
as compared with good roads in this
country. But the cost of hauling
loads over bad roads is only one fea.
ture of their cost, of the loss they
cause. In region served by bad
roads, large percentage of the land
remains idle, is not considered worth
using, and the variety of crops is
small. With good roads, all kinds Of
products can be delivered markets over
quite long distance at profit, while
bad roads would prevent the market
ing Of more thansa few products, and
these at small if any profit.
Good roads are of scarcely less inn
portanee to the towns than to the sur
rounding rural districts. Every addi-
tion to and extension of good roads
widen the zones tributary to the
towns, increases not only the volume
but the variety of the products market
ed, and also greatly increases consump-
tfon of merchandise of all kinds, and
ability to pay for more and better
goods. The value of the farmers lands
is enhanced often doubled, by good
roads in place Of bad ones; the mer-
chants do a larger and more profitable
business; the railroads have a far
greater traffic; population, products
and wealth are increased, and commun-
tiles that were stagnant, dead. " be-
come lively, bright, progressive, pro-
sperous.
A writer in recent number of the
Worlds Work, in concluding an in
structive article on the good roads
movement, said: "Thc road building
era has already begun. Already great
strides have been made in recent years
toward bringing about these needed
reforms in the road laws and admin
istration, in providing more adequate
revenues and in devising methods of
construction and maintenance adapted
to the requirement of the modern
traffic" This is true, but these
"strides" are but the first of long,
triumphant march. We in Oregon are
taking only the first steps as yet, and
we need, all over the state, to arouse,
and get in line, with all the necessary
weapons, or tools, for far more rapid
progress, for the warfare against the
backwoods bad roads, and with hum
dred of miles of good roads in every
county as the goal. Portland Journal.