Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1912-11-30
GOOD ROAD CONGRESS
Meeting at Atlantic City Marks
 Epoch in History.
Most Important Feature Was Attempt to Find Ways and Means to Stop Tremendous Drain on Rev.
 enues-Subjects Discussed.

The first national road congress held at Atlantic City, N. J., October 1-5 marks an epoch in the history of good roads. Among the purposes of the road congress and one of the most important of many was the attempt to find ways and means of stopping this tremendous drain on road rev enues; also to consider the best meth ods of road management and of road construction and maintenance. and dis cuss the innumerable questions that arise out of these fundamental ones, writes J. w. DarroW in the New Eng land Homestead.
 The first two days of the congress were road users days, so called, and the program was under the direction of the American Automobile associa- tion. Among the subjects discussed was, "The Farmer and Good Roads" by N. P. Hull, lecturer of the national
 grange, who contended that good
 roads would help solve the problem
 of keeping the boys on the farm, and
 would reduce cost of products to con i 6
 quicker access to the markets. On
 automobile laws Charles T. Terry. ] chairman of the A. A. A. legislative I board, objected to the motorist pay ing the cost of road building and de
 clared that the double tax levied on ~autoists in all but two states was un-
 just
 Not old :1o l ' in a paper by Judge J. M. Lowe of
 St. Louis and by Mrs. Donald Me Lean, honorary president-general oi
 the n, A. R., and the see America
 first" idea was presented by Preston Belvin of the Virginia State Automo
 bile association Dr. Joseph Hyde
 Pratt of North Carolina and Dell M Potter of Arizona, who is genera booster" in other words the presi dent of the Ocean to Ocean Highway
 association, which proposes to con
 struct a highway across the continent , Among the other speakers up to the , time covered by the third day of tht congress were Col. w. D. Sohier O Massachusetts, who advised uniform 2 road making laws; H. w. Anderson s of Richmond, Va, who discussed f needed reforms in road legislation
 and advocated a complete system o
 federal, state, county and town roads
 James H. Macdonald of Connecticut who was introduced as the father 0 . the good roads movement in Amer ica; and Clarence A. Kenyon of In
 dianapolis, who described the Indian; system of good roads as unworthy tn < state, yet much had been accom- a plished in spite of it.
 t The road machinery and materia Q exhibits were most complete and in |. structive and they added distinctl n to the success of the congress. Tn V exhibit won praise on all hands, Tn government exhibit consisted of SC :, ries of models showing the develop !. ment of road building from earl Q Roman times. The state exhibits al . forded much information relating t s roads within their respective bound e aries. and dozen or more state
 were represented ill this manner. Tn
 road congress went on record a
 fayoring federal aid for the purpos of building and maintaining goo ', roads.
 ', , The president of the congress wa authorized to appoint a committee t
 confer with and interest the America Bar association in regard to formula 'os ing uniform laws relating to tn U building, maintenance and use ( !. roads. Laws for the employment C prison labor in the improvement C the public highways were also recon U mended. The congress cOmmende
 the proposition to construct an "ol
 trails ocean to ocean highway