The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1911-07-06

Of the total mileage OF the highway
has been thoroughly improved, al
communities are we'll served, and til,
good roads problem has been solved
A man may have farm mile from
good road, but If 1t Is six miles t
town, he can manage to get over thi'
first mile, which will be little uset
road, to the main highway, and II from
there he can have first class road tt
town, making up five-sixths OF the dis
lance, he will be we'll taken care Of
The fact that he has five miles Of good
road and one mile of poor will spu1
him and his neighbors to put In the
best possible condition this road Of
secondary importance. 1t has always
been found that those opposing the
building of good roads overestimate
both the cost of the roads and the
| amount Of mileage necessary, and 1t II
| apparently done with the studied pur
pose Of trying to convince people that
it is impossible to build good roads on
account Of the expense involved.
It has been demonstrated time with
out number that we'll built roads upon
the main highways will pay for them
selves every five or six years, treated
from an economic standpoint alone, to
say nothing of the educational and So
cial advantages, and the pleasure and
satisfaction Of using good road in
stead Of poor one.
The good road boomers should keep
In mind some certain things that are
fundamental
First, that under our system Of gov.
eminent no large amount Of good
roads can be built unless the farmers
are ready to move in the matter, hence
the farmer and not tho automobile
manufacturer or user must be first
considered.
Next, that the question Of road ne
cessity has the economic, social and
educational welfare involved in 1t.
Next, that good roads the country
over need not cost $4,000 to $4,000 a
mile, but through the central west
they can easily be built at costs
ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 a mile,
depending upon local conditions. This
price may be sometimes reduced by
the use Of convict labor In the prepa-
ration Of material.
The farmer should remember that
the building Of good roads adds to the
cash value of his farm more than
twice as much and sometimes five
times as much as the tax he will be
called upon to pay to help build them.
He should also remember that il the
roads were uniformly good it would
be much easier to get help upon the
farm. The farm laborer could provide
himself with bicycle, which can be
had a very small cost, and upon rainy
days or Sunday he could &c out and
see his friends instead of being ma
rooned by impossible roads.
The farmer should also remember
that over good roads can be hauled
two or three times as much produce
as over bad roads. Taking average
road conditions the year round, it is
safe TO say that If one were hauling
over them every day in the year with
the same expenditure of power, at
least one-third more could be deliv-
cred and possibly twice as much over
good roads as over the unimproved
highways that are often in good con-
dition, but very often bad and some
times impossible.
In magazine article the writer
noted the following:
"A prominent southern farmer paid
$500 for pair of mules. He refused
to pay $500 for pair of smaller
mules because the larger ones could
pull $50 pounds more because of their
increased size. He refused to vote
a bond issue for good roads that
would have enabled the smaller mules
to pull 1000 pounds more"
Thus in practice we often save at
the spigot and waste at the bung. The
need OF the hour is to take up the
good roads question in a big, broad
way with a liberal spirit, and realize
that the roads are a permanent asset
to the nation, the state and the town
ship, and that if they are we'll built
and properly cared for, they will last
for many years, and the expense of
building the roads ought to be spread
over 20 or 80 years, so as to let those
who come after US and share in the
benefits, help pay part of the ex-
pense Of building them.
Valuable information upon highway
construction and good roads generally
can he had nv anD1vinC IN tho ofH m ~
public roads, Washington, or to the
highway engineer of the respective
states.
Let the god roads advocates agree
upon some sensible line of procedure
and cut out all the fads and impossi.
bil1ties and bring the proposition down
where 1t belongs, and consider 1t in
the light of local conditions, and ad-
vocate such roads as will give the
largest return for the money invested.