The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-10-15
NEED UNITY
OF PURPOSE
II Road BuGdIng and Malnte-
nance Are to Succeed.
WILL BRING MILLENNIUM.

Hon. M. L. Shipman of Raleigh, N. C.,
Says Time Is Near When the Entire
Country Will Awake to the Necessity
of Co. operation In Good Roads Work.
Unity of purpose, necessary to the
success of every great and beneficial
movement affecting the welfare of
people, is certainly essential in road
construction. Next to actually having
the good roads, the most important
phase of the good roads problem is
well defined public sentiment for unity
Of purpose in road construction. Such
a public sentiment in the state would
mean the dawn of a good roads mil
lennium in North Carolina, and 1t is
coming right along.
The potential value of unity Of pur-
pose in road construction is best ex
emplified, possibly, in the four in
stances referred to. In the Asheville-
Charlotte, the WilmingtonC Charlotte
and the central highway projects the
people of many different counties, in
widely separated sections, are work
ing in unity for the construction OF
highways which shall be of vast bene-
fit to them all. In the New York-At-
lanta highway we see the same idea
carried further toward its logical con-
clusion, which is national highway.
stretching from sea to sea, with num-
berless and far thrown arms, in the
building of which great people will
typify the true meaning of unity of
purpose for all time to come
Suppose the state were first to
commit itself to great mountain to
the sea turnpike, beginning, say, at
Asheyille and terminating at Whining
ton. Suppose that to encourage the
construction Of feeders to this great
arterial highway it were to issue its
bonds in adequate amount and de-
post them with the state treasurer TO
be delivered in proportion to bonds
issued by the several counties for
roads within their borders, planned
and surveyed in accordance with the
comprehensive suggestion and advice
of an expert and farseeing highway
commission. Would not such plan
stir the local pride in each county?
Would there not be rush on the part
of the people to obtain their proper
tional benefit of that for which they
would be proportionately taxed? Would
the counties and the people not catch
the fever of doing the right thing. as
well as seeing the thing to do while
neglecting to do it? 1t would be up
to the people. 1t would be intelligent
self help. 1t would mark the end of
pickering and usher in the era Of con-
certed action. Each county would have
its vote, each township would have its
say, each citizen would have his voice.
Unity of purpose in road construction
is but another name for cooperation,
that sound economic principle so little
understood by the American wage
Garner, while daily performing such
miracles for his brother in England,
where the cooperative stores do an
annual business approximating in vol
ume the total yearly earnings of the
American steel trust.
With unity OF purpose or with CO.
operation on the part of all interested
all things are possible. What would
be quite absurd for one township alone
to undertake becomes simple matter
for an entire county. A task too great
for a single county becomes easy for
several having a unity of purpose in
road construction or in the construc-
ton Of anything else.
With aid from the great state of
North Carolina, or, in other words, with
all the people Of North Carolina act
ing with a unity of purpose, where
then would be the insurmountable diff
ficulty of making the Old North State
a network of good roads? And IL one
state may do this why not the people
of the United States? With that unity
Of purpose essential to the construc-
ton Of good roads, why may not they
decide to extend helping hand to
themselves via the federal treasury
and build not only a national high
way from sea to sea, but also aid in
the construction OF state good roads7
Without unity Of purpose no great
movement can realize its best POSSIBLE
tiles. With unity OF purpose, cooper
alton, all things are possible. With
unity of purpose in road construction
will come the good roads millennium
not only in this state. but in the en-
tire country.
May God in his wisdom hasten that