Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-02-10
GOOD ROADS ARTICLES READ AT JOINT PIT. A.
Good Highways As Basis Of Child Welfare and Good Roads
Are Titles Of Interesting Articles Presented.

citation Monday last. The first was
written by Mrs. Robert Page OF Port
land, state president of the child
welfare work. and read by Mrs. Bar
ron of Neil reek, and is as follows:
Good Highways Are Basis of Child
Welfare.
In our great state of Oregon there
are many sUperlative resources and
attractions You have often heard
of its magnificent stretch OF timber
that will feed hungry sawmills for
decades to come; Of its rivers block
AIDED with salmon 20 tickle the palate
of the whole world; Of its great areas
of wheat, bringing shipping to our
splendid harbors; of its unsurpassed
orchards setting the standard of per-
fection in pomological production
and what have YOU not heard about
the climate, the natural resorts and
the wonderfully beautiful scenery!
Another Product Important.
All, these may we'll engross our
thoughts and do tend to build up a
splendid commerCialism. But the
very grandeur of them all grips us
so completely that we almost if not
quite forget that there is yet another
product of our state, product of
such vital importance that, if we
overlook it now, which we are prone
to do in our jealous race with COM
mercialism, in few years, when you
have ceased to be active, our grand
old state may meet with many fail
ures through our negligence of this
greatest of all our products, and am
here today to speak to you from the
standpoint of this other product
our boys and our girls; especially
those boys and girls who are growing
almost without cultivation. The ed
ucational and social side of their
lives are greatly neglected Why?
Bad roads! Bad roads! Which
means bad school facilities.
The conservation of the rural chill
dren is the most important economic
and moral problem before the coun-
try today. No question is Of more
vital moment to any state than the
development and guardianship of the
highest quality of men and women.
1t is of greater Importance than the
protection Of forests, fisheries, COM
merce or anything else.
Country Child Neglected.
Nowhere is the child more helpless
and neglected than in the country
and nothing will alleviate their con-
dition or mark their progress SO
quickly as good roads; therefore it
is absolutely essential for US to make
haste.
Let us look forward to the goal
of legislature that will provide the
highest good for not alone you and
me, but for all the people of the
state You cannot afford to daily
when such vital question is before
you, and if there is a person in this
audience today who is thinking only
of good roads from a commercial
standpoint, or what his own indi-
vidual advantages may be, CONNER
cially or politically, say his ener-
gies are misplaced, for his self-ag-
grandizement will only prevent the
progress of this great question and
precious time will be lost You will
retard the progress of our boys and
girls-our future citizens and per-
haps our coming lawmakers. We
cannot afford to be selfish and let
the country community retrograde in
its schools nod decay in its churches.
Good Roads the Basic.
Good roads is the basic element in
rural child welfare. Good roads be-
tween home and school, good roads
between home and church, and be-
tween home and a rural amusement
or social center Why not educate
the boys and girls to see the social
advantages that good roads may
bring? There is road primer being
published especially adapted to the
needs of the children of rural com
munities.
Thousands of copies have been Or
dered by agricultural colleges, nor
NAL schools and individuals in other
states. One of the plans adopted by
our national chairman is to teach the
country youth the value good roads
are to the children and the homes of
the nation, as well as the elementary
principles of road administration and
construction. Organizations are
formed of boys from 10 to IA years
of age and from d to IT, They are
known as Road Cadets The pur-
pose of such an organization is to
unite the boys in an effort to inn
prove the school conditions and fur
ther the educational interest of the
community by improving the roads
between homes and schools. The OBJ
IL