The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1913-12-19
GOOD ROADS AND POPULATION.

ing figures. recently gathered by the
United States office Of public roads,
showing the effect Of highway improve
nent on a c~Onmunity's population ard
Development In twenty-five counties.
taken at random in twelve states. the
number Of inhabitants from 1890 to
1910 decreased seventy-sevrn thousand.
eight hundred and twenty three. an ay-
/ prage decrease Of more than three
thousand for each county. The road
! Improvement in these counties was only
one and fYe-tenths per cent.
In the amt states, twenty-five other
counties where the road improvement
was forty per cent, during the same
period were chosen for comparison, and
it was found that these had increased
in population seven hundred and ev-
enty eight thousand. three hundred and
/ eighty.three. an average of nearly thir-
ty-two thousand in each county.
The moral is self evident Those
communities that neglected their roads
! list over seyenty-seven thousand inhab-
itants. those that improved their roads
/ gained over seven hundred and seventy
eight thousand. In these results, there
were doubtless other factors besides
highway conditions. but it is clear that
the latter played the determining part;
for, 10 h~eaithiulness, fertility and 9TH
/ err natural advantages the two groups
! Of counties were about equally match
ed. One group developed It's resources
| by building good roads, the other slept
over It's opportunities in t0lerating bad
roads; and therein lay the wide differ
ence between their fortunes.
This record should be a quickening
example to every county in the land.
The community that oVerlOoks or shlrks
It's highway duties may be sure that it
Will decline not only in population but
ia wealth, IN trade and industry and
agriculture and in all its practical in
~terests. On the other hand, the com
munity that improves itself with well
built, well kept roads is assured steady
growth.
When roads are poor the farmer is
handicapped. the merchant Is dIscOur-
aged, land values decline, schools are
sparseIy and Irregularly attended, Wis
its among neighbors are few and far
between. public spirit is stliled and
there is no basis or incentive for coop
erative effort in the up-building Of COM
interests. Little wonder that peo-
pie move away from a county and that
homeseekers and investors pass it by.
Without good roads profitable agri-
culture cannot be expected. The ex-
pense Of marketing crops is enormous.
In wet or Wlntry season the farmer
cannot get to town. In the case Of the
truck farmer, this condition becomes
especially serious. His products are
sacrificed at bottom prices or are
and ruined simply because he
has no adequate means Of reaching a
market. 1t Is related that a few years
ago a farmer living in Sullivan county,
Tennessee, had a hundred bushels of
potatoes which he intended to market.
Because Of impossible roads. however,
Re was unable to haul the potatoes at
and they rotted in his cellar. In
he meantime the price Of potatoes at
Bristol went to a dollar and forty cents
. bushel and q merchant Of that city
vas quoted as saying that during the
as many as ten carloads of farm
produce, including wheat, potatoes and
'ther supplies were shipped in daily to
'eed not only Bristol but also the ad-
AGENT territory. This was a heavy
oss to the public generally as well as
the farmers.
Indeed, no sphere Of a countyrs inter.
'sts can prosper without good roads.
Jrban as well as rural growth depends
italy upon adequate highways which
commerce, make schools &C
essible and develop in the people that
ense of neighborliness and community
ride from which progress springs. The
wo groups of counties compared by the
United States Office of public roads are
re are typical. What is true of them
8 relatively true Of all others. In which
,roup will the majority of Mississippi
ounties stand?- Exchange.