The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-05-07
See w is dom Of Good.
Roads Throughout
the State.
@ ON TRIBUT E TO
SUCCESS OF MOVE.
Sentiment Awakening Rapidly.
and All Anxious to See Com
pletion Of Work in Hand.
Campaign to Raise $4,000
for Gordonsville to New
port News Highway.

The good roads sentiment has bconY
stimulated greatly in Virginia during
the past few months. but indeed tho
sentiment is not new one Tho fact
that now quite a large percentage OF
the counties throughout the State have
already issued bonds for tho improve
mont and maintenance OF their high
ways Is merely u beginning OF tho
movement. and once sturted properly.
as 1t seems to be, soon Virginia will
move up and take place among other
states OF the Union. with respect to
mileage of good roads, as Is fitting the
Old Dominion, n
This sentiment for the Improvement
of the highways cannot be attributed
to any one cause more than that the
farmer and rural resident have come to
see that the annual mud tax is tha
highest and most burdensome tax that
Is levied from their income 1t Is true
that with the advent OF the AUTOMOBILE
the sentiment has been agitated, but
after all II lies largely With tho farm
cr as to whether or not the roads Will
be Improved, and the calls upon tho
Stale Highway Commissioners for in
formation concerning the possibilities
of building good roads from the ma
tcrials natural TO various communi-
ties seems II positive Indication of the
fact that the farmer wants the roads, {.
Farmers Work on Ronds.
il is not infrcqucnt TO see farmer
with his team dragging the roads
along his farms, and In many instances
| the King drag. or whore q King drag
is not available. split log and brush
drngs, have vastly improved the roads
Then too. many farmers may be seen
cleaning out the bitches, or dumping
II load of stone IN bad mud holes, but,
always when asked. the reply Is not
only that this method will DO sufficient
but that II may help, little until u
sand clay. or gravel road may he built
This is the sort of spirit that ia grow
ing In tho State, particularly in tia
Eastern part Of the State, and 1t Is
not only growing, hut carrying with it
81 sort of spirit of competition, and
not long hence viii the farmer and
trucker be able TO haul the product OK
his farm TO market, hauling twice as
much. and in less time. than now.
The need of good roads cannot ba
ovcr-cmphasized and now especially
when the trend OF travel Is from thu
North to the South and from the citiea
to The country. can too much be said
or done to stimulate interest IN this d.
recton, or 10 carry to completion tha
various plans put forward for tho I'm
provcmcnt of this states highways
II has been hui /, short time since
eight farmers from Wisconsin and
Minnesota. after having Travelled IN
Richmond with q view OF purchasing
farms. and after having been hauled
over some OF the roads near this city
by a real estate agent. expressed
themselves as ,hcing delighted with thu
farms they saw, with the community
and with he climate. but said that tn-
roads were moi Indicative of progress
and prosperity. and even though the
farms might be good. that they could
not haul to market theirprod,icts. The
result was that these eight farmers
went elsewhere 10 purchase.
! Credit Where Credit Is Due.
Considerable credit In die to tho ct-
forts OF the Peninsula Assocatton,F
and tho Richmond-I .otisa -Gordonsvilla
Highway Associations for their efforts
IN securing the construction of a first.
class road from (;ordonsyiile to Nor
ioik, via Richmond, williamsburg.
Newport News and Old Point Comfort