The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1913-06-06
Bad Roads DepreSs Values

A Kentucky paper recently made
mention of the fact that two home
seekers from a neighboring state had
visited a northern Kentucky county
looking for land. They liked the land,
but refused to buy it because of the
miserable condition of the roads in its
vicinity.
Some months ago, Joseph E. Wing.
a well known Ohio farmer, came South
IN a prospecting trip with a view of
buying land. In a letter recently pub
lished in the Breeders Gazette, he
makes some interesting comments on
road conditions. Mr.. Wing says in
part:
"We were cruising for land in-well,
never mind what state it was; it might
have happened in almost any state. 1t
was not exactly a new country, but it
was rather sparsely settled. None of
the roads had been graveled or macad-
amized, and it had rained a very great
deal. The roads were very primitive,
yet they were nicely rounded up and
had been kept nicely dragged. We
overlook and passed a four-mule team
hitched to a King drag; the use of the
team was paid for by the community.
After each rain it is the custom to
drag these roads. We grumbled a lit
tie at the occasional chuck holes, but
in the main the road was delightful and
our horses trotted briskly along. We
gave the roads SO little thought 1--WE 90
not think about things that are Civ
ing us little trouble) that we had time
to inspect the farms we passed by and
to discuss their advantages and desira.
bilities. =
Suddenly we left the good roads.
We came into another state and to a
region where the roads are neglected.
1t was after a wet winter. The roads
were awful. Now and then they be-
came impossible, and we took to the
pastures to avoid dangerous mudholes.
When we found any repair work done
it was of the crudest sort, like throw
ing branches of trees into the mud.
Two strong horses attached to our bug
gy began to become distressed as they
labored through the mud. The soil and
topography were the same as we had
left, the sole difference that now no one
dragged the roads. We were at first
amused, then frightened, then indig-
nant. 1t seemed that we would never
without killing u horses get through.
Finally we met a man with good horses
and a buggy, going in the opposite d.
rection. We halted him and demanded.
Why are these roads not dragged
- can't tell you, sir; l reckon be-
cause we eve have done it,
Il would not accept a farm on those
u%ndragged roads as a gift and live on
it as men do today. Civilization, edu-
cation, progress these things are i'm
possible where such roads are. Furth-
er, the effort of horses to drag vehicles
through that mud is at least fifty times
the effort that would be necessary to
keep those roads dry and drivable."
Good roads increase land values and
bad roads hold values down. Muddy
roads repel homeseekers and investors
ors and obstruct progress in every way.
Kentucky has large areas of good farm
ing land that will never be worth much
to the owners until the incubus of bad
roads is removed. Farms that are iso.
lated for ~sevaral months in the year by
highways like those described by Mr..
Wing a have little value in the ewes OF
the really progressive farmer. Louis.
VILE Courier ournal.