The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-17
GOOD ROADS AND
 INDUSTRIAL ARTS Watt T. Brown Writes on the Importance of This
 Coordination
o the Editor of The Age-Herald.

To the Editor of The Age Herald
 To my mind there is no more important
 matter confronting our country today
 than the building of public highways and
 the training of the masses in industrial
 pursuits.
 1 In the development of the souths si- gantc natural resources, and in the en- ioyment of them. no one factor can be of
 greater importance than good roads Public roads come in closer contact with
 the agricultural interest than any other.
 and larger number of people are en-
 gagged in agricultural pursuits than in anything else.
 By improving the highways we make l the rural districts more attractive and
 decreaae the desires of the country boys i and girls 10 go to the overcrowded cities.
 On our farming people largely depends
 the prosperity of the rest of our popula-
 ton When we compare the expenditure
 for the uplift of these people, with those
 which have been made for other classes
 of our population and for other purposes
 we find that the sums meted to agrtcul- ture and the mechanical arts to be mere pIttance The most productive
 thing is practical intelligence properly
 applied, and this must be done in asrl-
 culture as well es anything else.
 All this means that both nation and
 state ought to cooperate to help the
 people to help themselves. through better
 educational facilities as well as improved
 roads. Efficient training will mean much
 to the future of the nation in the conser- vation of natural resources as well as in
 many other ways.
 Aside from that which develops charac-
 ter the training which will fit boy to
 do better work on the farm, shop or In
 any other sphere, and which will prepare girl to do more efficient work in the
 home Is the most important of all. l Industrial education will furnish reas- onap1e equanty Of opportunity or educa- 1 ton to all our chiidren whatever thelr station in lfe may be and represents the efforts to give exact justice and an equal opportunity for ueVeiOpment to each or me boys and girls, who in the future are | to make ap the nation, Therefore, 1t be- hooves both nation and state to make an united effort to place such education within the reach of every boy and glrI within it's bounds. In order that the nigh l reached by it's citizenship. The greatest investment that any nation state can make is that which will raise It's cltzen- ship to a higher plane, and 1t Is an error l to regard money spent for the advance | ment of this purpose as an expense, when in fact 1t Is an investment, an ab- | solutely necessary investment, for the fu- | ture welfare of the nation and from our l economic standpoint, to say nothing about that infinitely greater question ot dNy to | the American boy or girl, who are entitled | to that equality of opportunity Whlch we do not now give them and which we cam not give them in any other way than by l so enlarging their sphere of education and giving them the necessary training which will enable them to become good l self supporting citizens.
 In this way we will greatly decrease the too large number of boys, who through no fault of their own are drifting into the cheap (and sad to state) sometimes criin-
 lnal manhood, through their lack of edu- 1 catIonal advantages and their environ
 ment. which are responsible for this con dition.
 The federal government the state and
 the local communities should be united l in cooperative movement to place
 within the reach of every boy and girl
 in the country the opportunity of secur- | ing both il general and vocational ed- | ucation The prosperity of a nation sse- bends upon It's industrial and commercial success, and this in turn depends upon l the training and intelligence of It's citi- zens. 1t is therefore plainly evident that | d national educauonal system ueterniihes 1 its destiny.
 1 If is a deplorable fact that a large pro-
 portion of boys leave school at or before | the completion of an elementary course
 of instruction. that major portion or | them are to earn living by the aid or A.s sIN aeyA
 they seek employment. largely, in un- skilled industries because they are fitted
 for nothing better.
 1 Ii is also necessary to improve indus | trial conditions in order to be able to | compete with other nations in manu- l facture Germany, which Is admittedly
 ahead of other countries in Industrial 1 training, forces us to the conclusion that A satisfactory system of industrial educa- | ton in this country must include work l Ing over Of the elementary curficulum
 in such a way as to make the industrial
 activities of the community the vltalizing 1 factors in it.
 While we have become exercised about 1 the conservation of our natural resources
 and the waste of money on our public 1 highways we must take care of the hu- man energy that IS now going to waste. | Many of our country boys are diamonds fin the rough and only need to be polished; I of their hands sn an unskilled way, and l if would be an easy matter to train the head and hand 10 cooperate.
 We need that industrial education that | will enable the truck grower to realize
 greater profits from his produce than he
 Is now getting; the stock raiser to raise better stock, or the cotton grower to 1 raise more cotton per acre with less labor 1 or the manufacturer to make higher 1 grade material al less cost.
 Both state and county are awaken ] ing to a knowledge that the old system of working the public highways is a waste of time and money. The import | ance 10 d state or this entire country of
 ours of a properly built and maintained
 system of main trunk lines or man ar ] tery roads can hardly be overestlma ted, and the old theory that road improve
 ments must be made and paid for by
 the properties on the section itself OF
 by those immediately connected with it., has been thoroughly exploded and shown l to Do false.
 Ky hard struggles the south Is just re-