The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1911-10-20

of the road, as it is for the safety or
the children when they 60 to school.
Yes, speaking of schools makes me
think that If you did have good roads
all over the country, you could fol-
I low the example set in some of tho
states, in fact our own state has
places where the roads will permit,
the schools are centralized. The
children are given better schooling,
for the fact that they can get more
of them in the one school. They are
taken to school by wagons or some
| public conveyance. Presumably in
the future, by automobile.
| Why, it seems to me the great
question of the people, the expense
of building roads that will accommo
date team traffic and automobiles at
the same time.
| Now, l have a scheme I have not
as yet given to this congress, for /,
was afraid if l told any of these
gentlemen about it they would grab
my thunder and get away with 1t.
My idea is to build an automobile
track on both sides of your public
| highway. This can be constructed
very cheaDly by building the rails
similar to the railroad track raj;
for each wheel Those can be built
with-say-taket the concrete and put
down a concrete rail and make 1t
six or eight inches deep-Just as you
like and if your money will hold out
make each one IL inches across
the suface on top-give this little
covering of asphalt the same as Oh
the streets-leaving depression i'll
each one for the wheels of your au-
tomobiles. Understand, you woulc
make this the same ais the railroad
track, the same. gauge as the track;
filling in between the rails eithe.
crushed rock or gravel for your team
travel. I'll venture to say that a road
like this is built through any farm
ing community, farmer with 40
acres of land will have, at the ex-
piration of the first year, an automo-
bile truck to haul his products to
town. Also a touring car for him
self and family, as he could not re-
sist the temptation. Then your trou-
bic with the farmer over good roads
will be at an end.
Going back to southern Illinois,
where l was raised, and through Ill
inois in general, people of the great
state of illinois have the distinction
of being behind in road building ev-
cry state in the Union, which / must
say is an honor that l would not like
to apply to my state. left my home
county, Jefferson county, some 80
years ago. After being away ~ years
l returned to my old home place, and
to my great surprise, l could see a
great change in the roads over which
| used to go to school; but, would
you believe me, this great change
was brought about principally by the
elements of time. AS, where We used
to go over the small hills, now they
have canal through those hills,
brought about by the farmers and
other people travelling the roads
working it up with the mud, rain and
snow in the winter, naturally carry
ing the mud up and leaving a cana.
through the hill. BY the way, was
riding along the road with one of my
cousins, and came along to the school
house. We had gone there q years
before. asked my cousin with whom
was riding, who were the schoo:
directors there now? Well, sir, he
smiled regular Taft smile, spoke In
a very dignified manner and said: "A
am one of them" l said: II would
not care to have the distinction OF
being school director here" All the
difference / could see in the poor old
school house from q years before,
which was built as near as | can re-
member about the year 1860, was
just few more window lights broken
out, and the building looked little
older. Think of conditions of this
kind in an old state like that of Ill
inois!
| feel the people are coming like
did as missionaries for the roads.
BY the way, what hear about the
st. te of Indiana, where they still
work out their road taxes on the road
mo country will have roads so long
as they follow this system. After
a hard fight in our state some six
years ago, they abolished this system,
required everybody to pay taxes with
money. o road supervisor in the
spring of the year hired men ana
teams to work on the road the same
as on any other public work. Paying
them in real money. Mr.. Man ana
his team is on the job at 7 o'clock
and works till noon; comes on the
| job at 1, works till 6-works ten
hours and it is real work. not stand
ing around talking about his neigh
bors. And when o'clock comes tn.
county or state in which he is work.
ing has an asset for the full amount
they have paid him for the day.
Ladies and gentlemen, roads are
an investment, not an expense. They
pay more than anything else, in an
indirect way.
Now, ladies and gentlemen have
| come 1000 miles to tell Won this and