Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-06-20
GOVERNMENT AID
FOR GOOD ROADS,.

George G. Diehl, Chairman OF the National
Good Roads Board OF the American
Automobile Association. in
fIarper'S Weekly.

George c. Diehl. Chairman OF the National
Good Roads Board of the American
Automobile Association, in
fIarper's Weekly.
Th. United states has
given 200. 900. 900 acres OF the public
domain to railroads for the purpose of
encouraging the construction nj these
modern steel highways. 1t has appro-
priated for the improvement: of rivers
and harbors since 1915. the sun of
$592. 39D 100. which does not include
$~16.5SO.614 appropriated for levees
along the Mississippi river. IL is spend
Ing $500. 600. 900 in the construction OF
the Panama canal. 1t has appropriated
$S.O 900. 900 for building roads In Porto
Ric" and the Philippines and more
than $4,000. 900 To, roads IN Alaska and
the canal one.
For building roads outside Of mill
tary reservations and national ceme-
teries In the United States the appro-
priations made by the federal xovern-
ment since 1898 are represented by Il
row OF ciphers.
Every purpose mentioned above for
which federal funds aud property have
been expended relates to ~transporta-
ton. In all. considerably more than
81. OOO. 0OO. 900 have been spent in Very
recent years to facilitate means of
communication between parts of the
country by railroad and by water. Rut
" Wv R'iSVit WV Wy GU
there are 100 who use the highway.
Every pound OF freight transported by
rail- or water Is at some stage OF it's
journey hauled over Il wagon road.
Tributary tO every mile OF railroad are
scores or hundreds OF miles of high
ways. Every shipping point ON a nav
igable stream is the. focus to which the
Wagon roads converge.
Of what avail is it to deepen the
channels and strengthen the banks of
| rivers. to dig canals and open the pub
lie lands to the railroads. ii the routes
by which h freight that is to be car
! ried through these channels are inn
p~assable?
II the federal government is justified
la giving any financial aid whatever to
privately owned transportation sys-
TENS. III 1t Ia warranted in dredging
rivers and improving harbors for the
benefit of il sound public
policy demands the construction OF the
Pananl canal in order to make the
exchange of merchandise between our
coasts less expensive. why is 1t not
tenfOld more important for the federal
government to awak en- to the necessity
for highway Improvement i'm order that
these great works on which the peo-
| pies money has been and is being
spent shall not utterly fail of their
| prime purpose?
These are the questions the men who
! a been conducting tho national good
roads campaign. and the road users OF
/ the country generally are asking. They
have. been asking these questions for
some tilne-asking senators and mem
beers of congress-, governors and farm
| rrs. motorists and truck drivers every
one who uses the roads and every one
| who beenfits by the greater use OF the
roads,; and there is only one answer.
Nobody has yet advanced a single ten
.A1N1a uy.pliytnnf NnhN tho ~
activities SHOULD stop with railroad
! subsidies and aides to navigation.
1t may be- argued that the states
ought to no this work-that it is the
state and the county and the township
that are most concerned. There are
is that the states. with few exceptions.
are already doing all that they can,
| within IL reasonable exercise OF the tax
ing power. to improve their own high
ways The second and conclusive an
swer is that every mile of improved
road anywhere in the United States
benefits all the people of he United
States in almost equal degree. TO inn
prove the road over which the apple
grower of the Kakima valley hauls his
fruit to the packing sheds OF the grow
ers' association. means cheaper apples
for the people of Philadelphia. New
Orleans OF Boston. A better road from
Palmyra to Sodus Village means that
the rural maj carriers a make their
trips from these postoffices to the
farms along the route more regularly
and eventually more frequently and
that by thus bringing the farmer into
closer contact with the world market
not only is his selling power increased.
but his buying power also.
If there were no other justifiable
ground for federal aid i'm highway i'm
prOvement than the necessity for bet
ter post roads. that alone should be u
convincing reason. Nearly $4,000 rural
mail carriers are now making daily or
DECIDED TO MARRY.