The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-02-21
American Association
Accepts Invitation
Through Page.
EVERY STATE TO
SEND DELEGATES
National Body Has Railroad
Presidents and Public Men as
Officers and Directors-Mr.
Page Tells How We Can
Get Good Roads in
Virginia.

III It's lDcral provision
OF directors and members of III. com
nittee on streets, roads and parks. the
Chamber CT Commerce yesterday az.
ernoon Invited the American Associa.
s,on To- Highway Improvement TO hold
It's first annual meeting in this city
next October. The invitation was ac.
cepted on behalf Of the association by
President Logan Waller Page, and at
his suggestion the Chamber became q
contributing member OF the national
Association.
Mr.. Page, who. besides being presi.
dent of the association, IS director OF
the United States Office of Public
itoads, gave some of the tentative
plans for the convention.
Largest of Kind on Record.
unquestionably. he said, it would be
the largest gathering of it's kind ever
held In the United States, and it is to
ginian, that officers of the association
were brought to Offer the convention
to this city and accept the invitation
OF the Chamber.
An effort Will be made to rave the
Governor OF every State In the Uniop
appoint n delegation to he present. In
addition, there will be representatives
from good roads associations through
out the country affiliated with the ma.
tional body. There is also under way
o proposition to arrange a number Of
tours to this city from various parts
OF the country with the idea Of stimu-
latinE the interest OF automobile as
sociatfons in the subject of good roads
II Is proposed that these tours be got
UP in the form of endurance contests,
and that prizes be awarded those max
Ing the best records.
Though no program has been map
ped out, It is certain that some OF the
most distinguished officials OF the gov
Will take part in the conven-
ton. The officials OF the association
alone indicate the character OF those
who VIII be in attendance.
Officers and Directors.
They are as follows:
President. l. W. Page. director OF
Roads; Vice-President, W. c.. Brown,
president of the New York Central
Lines; Treasurer, Lee McClung, treas
urer OF the United States; Chairman
OF the Board of Directors. Louis Hill.
president Of the Great Northern Rail-
DAD
Directo r s-Iiouis Hill. president
Great Northern Railroad; l.. W. Page,
director United States Office Of Public
hCdoS ID. y. L ga NULL, CHAIRMAN + I1SCO
Lines; DR.. E. j. James. president Uni
versity of Illinois; James McRae. pres
ident Pennsylvania Railroad Company:
Bryan Lathrop. Lincoln Park Commits
sion. Chicago. Ill: John Goodell. editor
Engineering Record; Walter Page. edi-
tor Worlds Work: Leonard Tufts.
president Capital Highway Associa-
ton; Lafayette Young, United States
Senator from Iowa. and editor Des
4 a, ~ - . = Z .F ~ III =. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
dent New York Central Lines; John a.
Stewart, president International
League for Highway Improvement; w.
W. Finley, president Southern Railway
Company; Joseph W. Jones, president
Tour Club of America; James S. Har-
Ian, Interstate Commerce Commission
er; Lee McClung, Treasurer of the
United States; a.. G.. SpaldinE. mem
Der San Diego Highway Commission;
Automobile Associations: Clarence Will
son, United States District Attorney,
Washington, d. c.; Alfred Noble. past
president American Society OF Civil
Engineers; George c. Diehl. chairman
Good Roads Board. American Automo-
bile Association.
Early Work on Program.
Mr.. Page hopes to place in the hands
of Business Manager Dabney, Of the
convention by March 4. Special invita-
tons from the chamber will be sent
III all parts of the State asking them
to be present. Sessions of the conven.
ton probably will be held in the City
Auditorium, as no other building in
the city would be capable OF holding
the crowd.
In his speech yesterday concerning
good roads, Mr.. Page confined himself
tbs fG f io1s e ssrxiea BY flg tnis d learned n naod IN
Of the government service. The first
and greatest barrier, he said. was tho
county system prevalent in every State
that there were 100, 900 road officials,
with hardly as many as 10000 actual
laborers. a clear case, he said. Of put
estimated that In the United states
roads. of which less than I per cent.
were improved.
Called Ancient System.
The supervisor system came in for
It's share Of criticism. being char
acterized as more ancient than the
country Itself. One Of Mr. Pages plans
hands of the Highway Commissioner,
who should select, for instance. 10 per
cent. OF the most important roads In
each county to be directly under the
year round. He recommended merely
the suspension Of the supervisor sys-
,em in order to convince the people
Of the superiority OF the new plan.
AS to bond issues for roads, Mr.. Page
said: Spend our borrowed money
on construction OF roads only, and let
the regular fund go towards mainten-
ance. Rond issues build roads. but
roads deterioratc and the debt re-
mains He commended Virginia'a
policy in disseminating tho system az
ailowlng taxpayers to work out their
assessments on the roads.
He then explained the methods Of
he department in educating tho pco-
pic to good roads. and showed what