Pocahontas star herald., 1911-06-02

producing masses; they cohIrlo"'0
to the glory of the country, sN'
employment to our idle woFkme"'
distribute the necessaries of life
the products of the fields ana 'H0
forests and the factories-encouraSo
energy and husbandry, inculca'e
love for our scenic wonders, ana
make mankind better and broader
and greater and grander
The plain people of the land are
familiar with the truths of history
They know the past. They realize
that often the difference between
good roads and bad roads Is tne
difference between profit and loss
Good roads have a money value lar
beyond our ordinary conception
Bad roads constitute our greatest
drawback to internal development
and material progress. GOOD roadS
mean prosperous farmers; b
roads mean abandoned farms,
sparsely settled country districts
and congested populated cltieS'
where the poor are destined to be-
come poorer. Good roads mean
more cultivated farms and cheaper
food products for the toilers IN the
towns; bad roads mean poor trans
portation, lack of communication,
high prices for the necessities OF
life, the loss of untold millions OF
wealth, and idle workmen seeking
employment. Good roads will help
those who cultivate the soil and
feed the multitude, and whatever
aids the produces and the farmers
of our country will increase our
wealth and our greatness and bene-
fit all the people. We cannot des'
troy our farms without final decay.
They are today the heart of our
national life and the chief source OF
our material greatness. Tear down
every edi6ce in our cities and labor
will rebuild them, but abandon the
farms and our cities will disappear
forever.
One of the crying needs in this
country, especially in the south and
west, Is good roads. The establish
ment Of good roads would, in a
great measure, solve the question Of
the high price of food and the in
creasing cost of living. By reducr
ing the cost of transportation ii
would enable the farmer to market
his produce at a lower price and al
larger profit at the same time. L
would bring communities closer to.
gether and in touch with the centers
of population, thereby facilitating
the commerce of ideas as well as OF
material products.
When the agricultural production
alone of the United States for the
past eleven years totals 100000, 00O
600, sum to stagger the magma
ton, and it cost more to take this
product from the farm to the rail
way station than from such station
to the American and European mar
kets, and when the saving cost of
moving this product of agriculture
over good highways instead of bad
would have built l,0C0, 900 miles OF
good roads, the incalulable waste
of bad roads in this country is
shown to be of such enormous pro-
portions as to demand immediate
reformation and the wisest and best
craftsmanship; but great as is the
loss to transportation, mercantile,
industrial and farming interests, in
conIparably greater Is the material
loss to the women and children and
the social life, a matter as import
ant as a civilization itself. The
truth of the declaration of Charles
Sumner, fifty years ago, that "the
two greatest forces for the advance
ment of civilization are the school
master and good roads," is empha-
sized to the experience of the inter
vening years and points to the Wis
dom of union of the educational,
commercial, transportation and in
dustrial interests of our country in
aggressive action for permanent