Arizona republican., 1911-12-11
GRAND TALKS ABOUT
 GOOD ROADS CONGRESS
SAYS GOVERNMENT AID FOR
 GOOD ROADS IS CERTAIN.
Arizona Delegates Honored In the Ma
 tionaI Gathering.

Though J. B. Girand returned to
 Arizona on Thanksgiving day from his trip to Richmond. Va, where he attended the first American road con- gress of the American association for highway improvement, he has been | cavorting around the territory so fast since then he has not hitherto been detained long enough for an interview. Mir. Girand says the congress was q | notable gathering of nearly a thou | sand delegates and was in session November 20 to 23 inclusive. The dei- egates included some of the most prominent railroad officials, senators ard congressman of the country and was representative of every part of it. Mir. Girand says the congress dem onstrated that there is a vast and growing sentiment in favor of good
 roads The politicians have taken up the movement and beyond any doubt
 rational aid of some kind will be ex- tended by congress at its present ses- sion. Mir. Girand says no one can foretell what that aid will be as opin- ion has not crystallized and varies widely. Senator Swanson of Virginia advocated d request of congress for
 all appropriation of s5O,0O0, 900 for good roads work. Other prominent dele gates regarded the suggestion as en- tirely out of reason at this time but thought sufficient sum should be set aside to be properly spent in some
 manner not yet devised. for the en- couragement of good roads.
 Mr. Grand save ba dnpc mt ha-
 lieve the governments help will be in
 the form of a national highway di- rect but rather through some system
 Of aid to the respective states. Very little was said in the congress about transcontinental highways.
 Arizona was represented by T. c.
 Norris, president of the Arizona Good
 Roads association; Del NJ. Potter of Clifton, one of the promoters of the association and of the proposed south
 western highway. and Mir. Girand. MT
 Norris was made the. Arizona mem
 Der of the committee on legislation
 and was elected as one of three mem
 bers of a committee for the nom-
 citation for the ensuing year.
 MT Girand says that Mir Norris de-
 livered good address before the
 Congress and MT. Potter made a good
 speech before d committee. Readers
 or The Republican will remember the address of MT. Girand which was printed in this newspaper at the time it was delivered.
 MT. Girand says that the Arizona delegation can say without egotism that it put this embryo state on the reference map used by the good roads enthusiasts. The congress was much ] interested in hearing what remarkable i progress had been made in the good | legislature first made concerted action l possible only few years ago. Not | the territory but meager | population and developed wealth, and ! ma grificent distances it stands at the | head of the states for achievement. ir to it's resources. The east crn delegates were almost incredulous | of the money spent here to build reads through unsettled districts. but they understood better after studying the rOad pictures MT. Girand eX- 1ibited They demonstrated that while the initial cost here is appalling as compared with the level areas in the east. when a road is once properly built in this country it is there to stay, while in the plains and swamp country where there is no natural the roads must be con itartly rebuilt or foundations made II great expense