The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-02-03
lengthy DISCUSSION 0N
GOOD ROADS movement

i F0luCRI altu W0ANSA " sAS'G w wv -
day we would have good roads for all
Ito travel ON and now when about e
reach the goal. be steam1Tollered by
a convention called the First for Ma
Itional Aid, Why u advocated national
aid before your association; was born
l went TO the national convention al
Topeka in December, 1909, offered o
resolution for national aid in the com
mittee scrapped 1t out and fought fol-
lit on the floor and secured its adop
| ton. had advocated 1t for yeas be
fore that. | hear a great deal OF talk
about the pork barrel in this road
business, and, 1t strikes me that this
commission you want to appoint sa'
yors OF the pork barrel business, and
! am opposed to government by com
mission any how. and especially SO
since understand that you want
President Taft to appoint five mem
beers, the House five and the Senate
five, which gives majority against
national aid as Mr.. Taft has said II
such a bill was passed he would veto
| It, and the Senate end Of the com
mittee would back him up, besides the
President is not the Legislative power
and you want to place him in posi-
ton to usurp their authority by let,
ting him appoint one-third OF the com:
mission and the President Of the COM
mission. Now Itwantpto contrast qn;
derwood's plan with YOUR commits
sion plan.. His plan is composed 81
the 's representatives of5o the, people.
Yours may be Just anybody, and then
you tell me that your resolutions are
lust the same as .upderwoods plan.
| | want TO say am going to give my
self credit for having sense enough
to distinguish between the two wheth'
err you do or not. They are just as
opposlte as day is from night or dark
ness from light One coming from
the peoples representatives and the
other from the paid officials from the
various organizations, or to use a
practical illustration your commits
sion becomes the middle man between
the producer and the consumer, and
besides that after your commission re-
ports in 1913 and recommends bill
II they should SO report every man
that has a bill will scrap for his own
lbnl, Just as he did before the proper
committee, But suppose your com
mission was as good as our commit
tee on, legislation which is here nov
ready to. report, and yours only to de-
lay for two years. If the farmers hear
that the automobiles of this country
are pushing this road Improvement,
and usurplng all power, and glory to
themselves, and at the same time de-
laying action 1t will have very de-
leterlous effect do not care for
glory or praise in this matter. What J
want, is results, and want 1t now. How
much better would It have been If We
had taken, up these several bills Of
tered in Congress and went over
them and went before the proper COM
mittees now and in connection with
them decided what was the best bill,
and then let this congress push 1t to
Its passage.
! No one expects the national aid bill
to be perfect, as nearly all legislation
is q question OF compromise and
amendment at the start, and has to
be perfected as time and conditions
require. want to say frankly that
| would not be here now only for the
purpose of carrying out what the
Richmond Congress sent us here to
do which work you are seeking TO de-
stroy byathese~resolutions., ! under
: stand that you are. going to steam
roller me. as you ARE carrying our
scheme you had planned. before you
came here, that your chairman was
going to have this convention do this
but do not care, l have. been beaten
q before. 1 fought my own party, In
our last session OF the legislature
when they did away with State. aid
for building roads in West Virginia
and abolished our highway commits
sloner and attaches, and Chas. r
Light was the AlrHa and Omega as
the head OF a highway department In
West Virginia. argued that We not
destroy the department through aud
with which the national aid must
come, and be properly dispensed when
we got 1t, and II we did not have an
efficient officer or head We ought to
fire him and get one, but not to de
stroy the system or principle, but they
steam.rollered me on the floor of the
house, hut am still living, and here
fighting for the very same principle
and | think yet they made mistake
rand J also think you are making a mis-
take and | am right In opposing these
resolutions that destroy our legisla
tive committee and delays this mat
ter, and am going 10 fight you tc
the last ditch and go down with my
colors flying. 4 came here backed BY
a solid delegation Of Senators ant
Congressman from my State for fed
eral aid In road building with q lit
3. flo reluctance nephans on the Dart o