Arizona republican., 1912-05-17
Members of the American Automobile Association Are Doing Good Work in Helping This Movement Along

consideration, tO an economic pfln- ciple involving not only entire com monwealths, but the nation as q whole
 When the traffic consisted of Wag- ons drawn by oxen, or mules. or horses, open roads to the nearest rail- road station or boat landing were all that was required The fact that even such roads were not well built. nor kept in repair; was due to q va riety of causes. Each particular To- cality had an explanation. purely To- cal to account for the conditions. But, as rule. these explanations did not explain, even to the satisfaction of those making them.
 The fact still remained that nearly or quite % per cent of the farmers of the country were keeping them selves poor by reason of the excess sive cost of marketing their products These products could be hauled only at seasons when everybody had to haul This resulted in temporarily overworked railway service, congest- ed markets, and low prices
 The older and Wealthier states saw the point first, and began giving aid l'p
 improved roads, so that produce could
 be marketed at any time in the year. The result was almost cleo
 trical in it's effect. Thousands of farms, which. because of their re.t-
 tive unprofitableness under a bad road
 system. became productive again. The
 general values of farm property were enormously enhanced. This was aC-
 complished by the building of few
 town and county roads purely for To-
 cal purposes.
 Then the automobile became q fac
 tor in the road question, and the
 road problem became Widened ,lnd en-
 larged With vehicles which would
 cover 100 or 200 miles day. the con-
 ditions in each county rapidly be-
 came known to the people in ad-
 joining counties. and d broader com
 prehension of the whole highway
 question was inevitable. in q country where intelligence predominates. Of course: there were, and still are in isolated localities, persons who cling to the bad roads of their grand fathers. and resist any attempt to make improvements. These are those who also regret the passing of the spinning wheel and the domestic weaving loom, with which the women used to mako the cloth for clothing the family
 The age is progressive. Fifty or
 sixty years ago this country began to
 build railroads. and now we have more than nearly all the rest of the world together In place of crude in n best on earth: yet we are behind other civilized nations in the inn provement of our roads. We are be- ginning now to do with our high ways what should have been done | long ago.
 There is q phase of the road ques- | tion which is statewide in it's ap- plication That relates to the through 1 or trunk lines which accommodate through traffic. TO leave the con | struction and care of these rOlds in | the hands of local authorities, must result in uneven and inharm"nious 1 construction, unimprOved gaps, and despItOry care, involving practically l T failure of such roads for q standard l of their utility.
 These extended lines of road, across 1 a state or between centerS of pOpula- 1 tion have become a necessity of mod 1 ern traffic While the through tratfic ] is mostly that of motor cars. the To- i cal usefulness of the road is not in 1 terfered with The continuity of suCh roads. however. and the standard or construction and care required, make i q, -s.r7 a factor in highway develop ] ment which it is more just that the state should provide for, than the local communities through which they may pass.
 A long stretch of improved road Is one of the best advertisements the 1 state can have. It attracts a class l of tourists who are able and Wiling 1 to pay for entertainment. It brings l investors who are looking for ad- 1 yantageous locations. It includes az ricuItural investigation and consequent 1 immigration and investment, not only along the line of the road, but III | other accessible sections. It changes 1 by the sheer force of publicity, back 1 ward localities into progressive oneS' enhances values and brings into gen. eral notice resources which had only | been known locally; or, if knoWn not appreciated.
 The advantages which such stretch 1 es of main roads cause to accrue are l advantages which affect the entlre state. as well as the localities them l selves. It should therefore be as sumed as principle that such main roads should be built, in whole or in nart bv the state; that their man agement and maintenance should be l IT the hands of the state authorities. The users of such roads, in the | larger sense, are these who use auto mobiles. Thousands of these are meh-
 bers of the Amreican Automobile aS- sociation. the national good roads board of which is interesting itself
 throughout the entire country in the : roads question generally. Local clup7
 aid in their localities, and then extend their sohere of usefulness into th'
 state associations, which are finally united in 6 notional term. These i thousands are people of means who
 pay their fair share of the state taves.