El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-07-29

Niagara Fails, n. Y, July 29--B. F.
Yoakum, chairman of the st. Louis &
San Francisco Railroad company, be-
fore the National Good Roads associa-
ton spoke on Better Roads and How
| to Get them He said:
The only way to get good roads is to
fight for them Your organization can
Go its work most effectively by keeping
| before the people in as many ways as
possible the Importance of making mon
ey by making better roads It is not
! a sentimental proposition, but purely
a business one.
It took three quarters of a century
| to build up the American railroads.
| During the same time little attention
has been given to the building up OF
American country roads. Yet the value
Of the two to the public goes hand IN
| hand. Food and clothing must be han
| died between the producers and the
| consumers over both the country road
and the railroad. 1t is important that
the country roads approach the high
standard of the railroads.
Example of Railroads.
If railroad encounters high grade
| over a hill, which means excessive use
| of coal, slow trains and light loads, the
| railroad cuts down the heavy grades
| to save coal bills, to move freight fast
er, to carry bigger trainloads. 1t bor-
| rows millions to do the grade cutting,
pays the interest on this money, and
through this economy is enabled to in
| crease it's surplus. The railroads Dor
| row money to make stronger culverts
| and bridges to bear heavier engines
and steel cars. Then they must borrow
more to buy the large locomotives and
big cars, all of which add TO the eff
cheney of these steel highways
h NO
| kept up with the railroad makers. They,
too, must get money to cut down
grades, to get smooth, hard surfaces,
TO provide good drainage and to reduce
the cost Of maintenance. When this IS
done the farmer can go from his farm
TO his market or shipping station quick
er and carry bigger load
Cost of Bad Roads.
The greatest value of good roads will
be to the farmers who have not as yet
become interested. You have not yet
found a way to reach them TO proper
" place your arguments and statistics
before them. They need to be shown
that the poorest roads are the most
expensive roads. They have not been
shown that their broken wagons, broken
harness and blacksmith bills cost them
more than the cost of having good
roads. They have not been shown that
g 81
over good roads, which makes that team
worth to them IS day.
The agricultural people of the coun-
try are beginning to realize their own
situation They are commencing seri
ously TO study economic questions. They
are beginning to figure their time as
worth money. When your associat ton
Dies the facts before the owners of
the 100000 farms, who represent, &C
cording to government estimates in
Guiding their families, nearly one-third
of our population, and gets them TO
realize what good roads mean to them,
we will then have good roads.
Good Roads Cut Distances.
With a good road a farmer who lives
Ii miles from a shipping station is
better off than one who lives five miles
with poor road. The man with a good
road, with the distance against him,
can make his trips quicker and can
carry from two to three times as much
on his wagon, and more important, he
can depend upon his road and bridges
every day In the year, while the man
who encounters swollen streams and
impossible roads often loses his best
market and his vegetables decay upon
his hands.
Waste on Rivers.
The last congress appropriated S52,-
600, 900 for river and harbor improve
mentS. ! am not against river and mar
Dor improvements 1 am only against
the waste that the people of this coun-
try pay for, through the expenditure
Of such appropriations. This S52,0O0,-
600 was largely political distribution,
opposed by president Taft, who gave
notice that he would not again approve
such haphazard expenditures If our
congressman and other public paid Of
ficials could lay aside political questions
which are of 10 benefit TO the country
and give their attention to economic
questions that build up rather than
political agitation and threats of what
they propose TO do to the institutions
of cur country, there would be a vast
difference in our future growth and
prosperity It is not the legislation
which is enacted that does the greatest
harm. Political campaign speeches
which create prejudice and doubt in our
institutions do the most damage. These
will not be stopped until the farmers
elect men to office, both national and
state. who will give attention to work
ing out economic questions that benefit
them. One of these problems Is to give
TO the farmers roads from their farms
to the railroad stations in keeping with
the railroads from the railroad stations
to markets.
Good roads would add so greatly to
the comfort health and happiness OF
their users that every possible agency