The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1912-04-05

R0AOSI1TO FARMER
AND HIS SUCCESS
LANDS TITLED BY LESS THAN
ONE-THiRD THE PRESENT
POPULATION.

oNE.THlRD THE PRESENT
POPULATION.
BAD:RoADS KEEP DOWN VALUES
Three Hundred Million Dollars Los'
to TIiIers Of Soil on Account o,
Highway Conditions In the United
States.
(By e. o. Luther, Chief Clerk to Com
missioner of Agriculture.)
To curb the trend of population to
ward the cities and to divert it to the
farm Is wise procedure. but to put
the people. on the farms and keep
them there permanently, they must
be able to support life with just as
much safety, certainty and ease as
in the city.
The fact that our farms are titled
by less than one-third of the popula.
ton Is striking comment on our
present methods Of government and
indicates our lack of civilization.
If the people of Tennessee will Sc.
riously devote themselves to the
building of economical and durable
Highways they will ina.gurate pc
Rod of prosperity, the like of which
The state has never seen.
Bad roads keep down land values
and smother progress. They make
rural schools failures and farm life
drudgery. They destroy local pride
and county and individual pride an
impossibility.
It has been estimated that three
hundred million dollars has been an
nually lost to farmers in hauling
their products over our bad country
roads in the United States.
In twenty-five selected counties of
twelve states, where forty per cent Of
the roads were improved, there was
an increase Of population in the last
federal census of 10000 inhabitants
per county. In twtney-five selected
counties Of the same states, where
but one per cent of the roads were
improved, each county according to
our last census had its population d.
minished by 5000 inhabitants per
E, unity.
The above is plain evidence that
better roads make country life less
irksome and much more desirable
than where the roads are neglected.
Where the rural population is iso-
lated, where travel is impeded, where
social intercourse is restricted, where
church going and school attendance
is interfered with, where illiteracy
is promoted, progress is always him
dered.
One. Of the chief beneficial results
from good roads is that the farmer,
fruit grower, trucker and others will
be able to economic time and force
In the transportation of products be-
t.unov, oourfrxy orA rbok
The distance farmer lives from
market is not question of miles. but
Of the roads he must travel over to
reacl, that point. How masy hours
and how many horses does 1t require
to haul load to market?
To illustrate, two men were dis
cussing the respective merits of their
FIRMS, one said, "My farm is only
three miles from market while yours
Is six" Eyes," said the other farm
er, "but my six miles are over a well
graded macadamized road, over
which my two horses can easily pull
two tens, while your road is billy and
rough, and you would not think of
putting more than three-fourths of a
ton on your wagon" Farmers are re-
alizing more and more that the dis
lance they live from market is meas
lred in time and not in miles.
The stream can rise no higher than
is source Far up on the mountain
side there is a littlespring, it's crys-
al waters flow down between the
hills to the valleys and at last forms
4 brimming river, but this mighty
river in it's onward rush to the sea
,an never rise higher than that little
spring back on the mountain side.
Our state ranks badly in the scale
IF illiteracy and If we expect and re-
:ef from these conditions in the near
'uture we must go to the very spring
If their existence to do our work.
Good roads are civilizers and edu-
;atore
In modern days the roads take the
cad and others follow.
Good roads will bring in their train,
good rural free delivery, good tele-