Arizona republican., 1913-02-09
ROAD BUILDING
 REQUIREMENTS
Chairman Diehl of A. A. A. Explains What Is Needed to Net United States With National Highways; Federal Aid Coming.

That the G3rd congress of tho United States will devote much time and attention to the establishment | of national policy of road building Is unquestioned. What that policy 1 will be is yet to be determined Hay- | ing in mind the establishment of n | safe and sane policy of highway construction. the second Federal Aid Good Roads convention has, been cal 1 led by the American Automobile as- sociation to meet in Washington, D 1 C., March and :, primarily to con centrate the thought and crystalline the goods roads sentiment of the country at large along practicable and equitable lines of federal rarti- cipation in roads building Every state will have official re- presentation through delegation | named by the governor, which in many @instances includes the state l highway engineer, or memper of the 1 highway commission of the state 1 The business organizations of the 1 country will be represented by dele 4 1 gations appointed by the leading 1 chambers of commerce and boards of trade. The farmers will have re- presentation through delegations named by the various state gr.tnges
 and the organized motorists and road users throughout the country are
 alive to the importance of this na-
 ton wide gathering of good roads l enthusiasts. In outlining q feasible road building policy. Chairman Diehl, Of the 4. A. A. National Good Roads Board makes Ihe following com: 1 ments:
 The highway development of the 1 country might be divided into four l great subdivisions: national roads, 1 by which is meant the main trunk highways of q state. north and south. and east and west. A fair estimate
 of the mileage of such a national system would not exceed 50,000 i miles Such national highways
 would naturally bear the bIrunt of
 transportation. passing as they
 would through the large centers of
 population. through the capitals of
 the states, connecting such capitals
 with each other and with the na-
 tional capital. thus forming a com
 piete system of interstate highways
 IL is. with the construction and
 
 ways that the federal government
 should be concerned, and the burden
 of their construction and mainten
 ance should be borne by the federal government unaided by the states. 1 Moreover, the type of government highway should be as nearly perfec
 ton. as the knowledge of present. day
 highway engineering could cOntrive. :. and would serve as d model in each
 state. thus establishing d proper
 standard of road building, which
 would place the United States high
 in the ranks of the worlds road
 builders.
 With the national system of high ways constructed and maintained by
 the federal government the states
 have large Gie!d for road activity in caring for the state system and
 here we arrive at the second of the
 great subdivisions Of road building.
 Such state highways should include all roads conecting the county seats l with each other and with the capital 1 of the state, and would be branches
 of the main trunk or national high T ways They should be built at the expense of the state alone, without Iassistance from the counties or
 townships; likewise the maintenance
 of state roads should be borne by the state alone
 The third subdivision in work :
 able road building policy is again a
 matter in which the states alone are concerned. and might properly be designated as the county roads sys- , tem meaning the highways which !. would form the main market roads in each state, and make well de-
 veloped system of highways in each . county, the central point of which would naturally be the county seat. Such county highways should be paid for at the joint expense of the state county, and township, in such needs of the various states. 43r Lastly we haze the town high tways,s which 6orm the fourth subdi- vision in the system. Such town highways might best be governed by lthe town superintendents,, and would vary as the local conditions of each | town would demand. They should be built jointly at the expense of the state and the town, the cost be ing borne equally, both for construc- ton and maintenance, In this man CT d system of town highways would + fit into the county system, just as the county system would become d part of the state system, and that in turn a part f the National high | ways"