The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1911-10-19

rooms are provided for these
schools. lecture courses are easily ar
ranged. and the children being
brought together in such large num-
bers are properly graded; class spir-
it is ensendered. and greater pride
and love for the school room fos-
tered.
Help Churches.
Church attendance would also be
stimulated by road improvement.
When one has a nice smooth road TO
travel over he doesn't mind driving
three or four miles to church. Small
congregations would thus be aug
mented. The people would become
interested IN and take pride in
their churches. Larger aud more
comfortable churches would be
built. and both children aud grown
people would attend church more
regularly than they Go now with our
bad roads aud distant and uncom-
is not only beneficial from the re-
lieious atmosphere which pervades
them, but there is also an attractive
social feature connected with them
which is benefit and blessing to
the people.
The schools and churches of a.
community are its greatest moral
and educational forces. Next to
them. perhaps, stands rural mail de-
livery. which brings the people of
the rural districts in daily touch
with the cities and business world.
1t places in their hands the daily
papers. magazines, and all of the
current literature of the country. so
that they may be as well informed
as to what is transpiring in the po-
litical. literary and commercial
world as their brothers in the city.
Th~sS ~sSene&cial eifests of this service.
upon the happiness and home com
forts of our rural population is i'm
measurable. and nothing contributes
to its efficiency and regularity more
than improved roads.
The Importance of improving our
roads Is so great that it demands
the most serious consideration of
every one. 1t should command our
immediate and persistent efforts.
Both old and young have an interest
in it. They should all be educated
to realization of its Importance
and bearing on their welfare; the
old ones so they NAV begin the work
of improvement, and the young ones
so they will be prepared and willing
to take up the work begun and ear
ry it forward to a high degree of
perfection.
Teach Road Construction.
To this end it would be a wise
policy to include in our school
courses, both high school and coll
lege. course in road construction
and maintenance. Such course
would give our boys and girls rud-
imentary training as to the impor-
tance and advantages of Improved
roads. 1t would instill In them
desire and an ambition to have them
and sufficient knowledge of the
subject to enable then to cooperate
intellieently with the men in charge
of road work. 1t will teach them
that by the exercise of a little
knowledge and the judicious expen-
diture of little money and labor
much of the hardships of farm life
may be softened aid its isolation
dispelled, and that equal pleasure
and comfort may be extracted from
life in the country s.s may be de-
rived from city life.
If our rural population can be
brought to realization of this, the
prevailing tendency to flock from the
farm to the city will cease. They
will immediately begin to agitate the
questiost of improved roads and to
build them. As the roads are inn
proved the rural districts will be-
come more attractive, the farmers
will continue to farm and to do so
more intelligently, the congested
population of the cities will begin
to flow from their alleys to the
healthy atmosphere of the farm and
become producers instead of idle
consumers, and our country viii
march forward to greater industrial