Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-03-10


these the smaller roads are built by
the provinces of France, just as the
states and counties of our country
will build feeders and connections to
a national system Of highways.
If France-about the size of Texas
needs national highways, how
much more do we, with our huge
territory, require them?
Many idealists and dreamers have
proposed national road systems fol
this country. Usually the system has
been worked out with a map, a ruler
a pencil, and sublime faith. Noun
tains, lakes, rivers and forests form
no obstacles to such visionary road
systems. The national highways sys-
TEN, as shown on this map, is the
product of no such dream. The high
ways indicated are either the best
present roads from point to point, OF
what are, in the judgment of a
trained and experienced corps OF
road engineers, the best possible and
practicable roads from point to point.
But these engineers, who worked
months on hundreds of large scale
maps, and with the aid of a nation
wide correspondence of more than
$4,000 personal letters asking in
formation and advice, know this sys-
TEN is only tentative. 1t is but a
suggestion. 1t is not intended to
be anything else. There must be a
beginning to everything, and little
headway can be made without some
such careful plan from which to start.
Links States Together.
Study the may and see where your
nome lies with relation to the high
ways. If it is on main, trunk or
link line, you will probably like the
system. But If you live somewhere
that this system does not touch,
don't condemn the system. Remem-
Der that it is designed to connect the
states with each other. 1t is intend
ed to touch every large city, every
state capital, and to bring closer to-
gether the several parts of the coun-
try. The roads are as straight as
the contour Of the country will per-
nit without an impossible expendi-
ture of money to tunnel mountains
or bridge lakes and rivers. Remem-
ber, too, that your locality would be
connected with such a system by a
local road in a very short time.
Notice that there are three classes
of highways, main, trunk and link
The main highways are six in nun.
ber, northern, central, southern, At.
lantic, Mississippi and Pacific These
form the starting point and the basis
of the system. Next come thirteen
great trunk lines, feeding and cross
ing the various sections of the coun
try in more intimate relations
Finally come forty link highways
smaller national fighways-makin:
a gridiron Of the whole system.
Building tile System.
To build such a system complet,
will take mans lifetime and hug
amount of money. IL the wealth o
the world were ready to build thi
system tomorrow, 1t would still tax,
many years, because there are avail
able neither engineers nor knowledg
enough to do it quickly.
When this or a similar system O
national highways is built-and bull
it surely will be some day-it will b.
by a national highways commission
which first locates and then builds
one or more roads at time, learn
| ing as it builds. When this hug
amount of money is spent-as spen
| 1t is bound to bet will be gradual
and through an annual appropria
tion.
If New York state can afford S.
| 100000 year for road building, i
it unreasonable to suppose the Unit
ed States government can afford te
times as much--cr $50,0O0,OOO
year?
Think it over. Look at the maj
Study it and see how it will affeC
you and your home. If you have an
suggestions to make or criticisms t
offer, the National Highways AssC
citation would like to hear them.
The system as outlined is only
beginning-a suggestion. But if
appears as a beautiful dream, it
at least practicable, engineer
dream, and dream which, like ths
of de Lesseps and the canal, is boun
to come true some time. The M
tional Highways Association believe
that the time when the dream begir
to come true is close at hand. 1t
a dream which vitally affects ever
man, woman and child in the coul
try-a dream which, when it do,
come true in its entirety, will |
found OF more Importance to OF
progress as nation, to our wealt