The Globe-republican., 1910-02-03
Conference Of Arkansas Valley
Counties Plan to Start
Long Road
NEW SANTA II TRAIL
Meeting al Hutchinson was Rouslng one
and Ford County had
# Lsrge Delegation.

crimson on Monday Of this week was
hummer. The evidence was plain
that the different counties in Western
Kansas are giving much effort to
(sroad building. Only one point seem
cd to show an inclination to hog
things ia the interest Of one partlcu-l
lar county. The other towns and
counties, while they strived to get
as much local advertising out OF the
meeting as possible, showed spirit
OF fairness and willingness to work
in harmony with other counties IN
the interest Of a long road through
the Arkansas Valley.
There Swere about three hundred
delegates in the conference. Ford
county had the best delegation from
every stand point. The mayor OF
Dodge City, the board of county
commissioners, the county surveyor,
members of the council, large rep
resentation from the Dodge City
commercial club and the Spearville
commercial club, township represen-
tatiyes and in fact men from Bucklln
and nearly every part of the county,
over thirty in all.
The meeting was addressed by j..
Ward King Of the King Road Drag
fame who gave an interesting history
OF good road making and by his way
Of thinking most of the New Santa
Fe Trail may be put in condition
tby using the natural road properly
I treated with the road drag. Mr..
King is q great man in good road
making and it 10 an unfortunate
thing that his talk before the confer
ence was 80 long that it was not so
effective as it should have been. The
writer was told that Mr.. King was
paid $50 for bis talk and if the com
mittee had bought only $25 worth Of
of it. the conference would have re-
ceived much greater benefit than as
it was.
J. H. Dodge, of the Good Roads
Office, United States Department of
Agriculture, had been induced to at
tend the conference by Congressman
Madison who has shown much inter
est in the good road movement in
his district.
Mr.. Dodge addressed the evening
meeting of the conference and added
his opinion to that already held by
the ueorle here that the greater part
az the New Santa Fe Trail may be
made with little expense merely
treating the natural road by use OF
the drag and building in the bad
places. He went into different kinds
Of road building, explaining how to
make the sand hill road, his method
of course being similar with the road
built under government supervision
south from Dodge City.
The real purpose Of the conference
aside from boosting the sentiment for
active good road building, was to
form an executive committee OF q
representative from each county, for
the purpose OF Fastening the road
building in each Of the counties, and
connecting the roads SO as to form a
continuous highway from Hutchin-
son to the Colorado line.
There was something OF a weakness
in the work Of the conference. in not
providing for meeting at once, OF
these members Of the executive COM
mittee, so that they could have set
tied upon q plan Of action. and i'm
mediate action and the Globe Repub-
lican believes that the executive COM
mitiee should be called together at
once The only time to take up the
matter Of this road is now and every
coauty should be working on it in a
definite manner.
The real work to be done is in the
counties separately. The continu-
auce Of the movement now depends
upon tie county, and not upon the