Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-04-12
ROADS IN j. s.
SOON To EXCEL
THOSE ABROAD
A. A. A. President Returns From
Europe and Lauds American
Highways.

President John A. Wilson, Of the
American Automobile Association,
lust home from business trip abroad,
asserts that America need no longer
20 to Europe for instruction In roads
improvement. While admitting the
highway systems in France and Eng
land provide adequately for the null
tiplying passenger and freight traffic
that has resulted from the coming Of
the motor driven vehicle, Mr. Wilson
expresses the belief that the present
attention by Congress to the roads
question ultimately will result in a
network of roads communication
which viii cover the entire country
Difference Of opinion in the roads
question now is simply from the
method Of approach" comments the
A. A. A. president, for all are agreed
that a comprehensive plan necessarily
must embrace, In so far as 1t Is posi-
BILE to do So both the big roads and
the little roads which connect even
the back roads farm with the nearest
market place. What the farms on
the back roads produce counts as
huDHldHAldi HNltEAiNNBE VI AhF NbNeNa
food supply of the whole country.
1T Is nothing more than a simple
case Of self preservation on the part
Of the urban dweller to see to 1t that
every load Of farm products possible
reaches the consumer as cheaply as
possible. Keep it in mind that he Is
the man who pays the cost Of trans
port. The country dweller and the
city resident are plainly interdepend-
ent. one class raises or manufac-
lures what the other must have in
order to exist: Farm products to the
market place, and the manufactured
articles from the market place to the
farm.
In a scientific distribution Of the
cost of road construction and main
tenance all four civil subdivisions
must be concerned. It is plainly "A
logical sequence that the township
and county units should look to the
State, not only to be relieved TO the
extent Of those roads which assume
an nter-county character but also
added cooperation In connection
with the smaller market laterals and
township feeders.
'1f the State-a part of the coun-
try--1nds that IL must have finan-
cial cooperation from the central
source. a large part Of the money
could most economically be expended
on the most used commercial roads
connecting with similar roads in the
adjoining States. All Of which sim
ply means that the State would then
have a greater amount OF money to
distribute through Its county and
township units on those plainly es-
sential roads connecting the market
places with the farms"
H. IT. Holmes, a student Of Column
bla University New York City, has
attracted some attention by declaring
his candidacy for the Senate OF Ala
bama on a platform opposed to the
convict lease system, and advocating
the development OF convict road
work Holmes who is a man Of ma
turity and force was taking his high
er degrees at the Northern univer-
sity. From a child he had heard of
The unfortunate leased convicts and
had hoped for an opportunity to bet
ter their conditions In planning out
his campaign he wrote to commits
sions and commissioners all over the
country for material and advice.
Slowly the answers came back, bu-
reaus OF research. prison associations,
charity organizations, all pointed him
IN the direction OF some bureau at
Columbia University.
Nonplussed, he conhded the pecu-
liar situation to some undergraduate
friends. who told him, laughingly,
why, we know all about your Ala
bama convicts; there's a chap over
in the dormitories connected with
some national committee of some kind
that investigated all your convict
camps for Governor O'Neal--better
wake up. There is nothing on which
we don't have experts at Columbia
even prisons"