Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1915-11-19
AMERICAN HIGHWAY ASSOCIA-
TION.

working together for common pub
lie purpose National in it's scope yet
depending in largest measure upon the
cooperation of the States for the sue
cess of its efforts, and having no other
object in view, immediate or remote,
but the improvement of the public
roads of the country-such is the Am
erican Highway Association. 1t was
organized at a convention in Wash
ilgton five years ago. 1t has no en-
dowment. 1t is never included in any
of the appropriation bills of Congress.
1t does not represent any special in
terest. Its one purpose is to make
straight the paths of the people. 1t
depends for its support upon the an
nual dues of it's members. It's politics
is summed up in this faithful saying:
"An indisoluble Union of indestructi-
BILE States" bound together by great
system of improved public highways
built fthe best available materials on
scinetific lines under the most capable
supervision with definite detectives.
Y hat it aims at is the common good
good roads for all; making easy the
ways to market, opening new and bet
ter highways for the postal service,
bringing sparsely settled neighbor-
hoods together for the cultivation Of
all the arts of peace and at the same
time providing precautionary avenues
for necessities of war, if war, unhap-
PLY, should come.
The work of the Association is edu-
cational, but it is far more. Through
! the Office of Public Roads of the Unit
&c States under the direction of Logan
Waller Sage, it is served by the best
engineering talent in the country in
the location of public roads and in
methods of construction and mainten-
ance, in making estimates of cost, in
prescribing the materials of construc-
! ton with regard to the character and
volume of traffic, in solving difficult en-
gineerings problems, in building speci-
men roads as object lessons, in doing
everything. in fact, except the actual
manual labor in the completion If
projected systems. All this is a ire
mendously important mission for any
organization to undertake and it goes
without saying that, lacking the CO.
operation of the pople and the help of
the newspapers, it cannot succeed.
Then there must be coordination in
the efforts of all existing organiza-
tons working for road improvement,
wise and uniform legislation by the
several states. skilled supervision in
the construction of the roads, agree
ment among the states and smaller po-
litical units as to routes and service,
so that working together and building
together there will emerge from the
local, county and state lines harmon
ious system as wide as the Nation it
self and all to the immediate advantage
Of the whole people. This is the OBJ
ject of the American Highway Associ-
alton.
Its highest ambition is to weld to-
gether all the good roads organiza-
tons of the country-National State
and local-there is work and oppor-
tunity for all of them; but to make
their efforts most effective there should
be definite planning and performance
and to secure this it would seem that
this Association, with headquarters 1T
the National Capitol and operating in
close touch with the United States De-
pertinent of Agriculture, is emminent-
ly prepared. The National character
of the Association is attested by it's
membership which represents every
State in the Union, and by the compo-
s5tion of its Board of Directors select
ed from fourteen States covering the
country from the Lakes to the Gulf and
from the ocean on the East to the
ocean on the West. The President OF
the Association is Fairfax Harrison,
President of the Southern Railway,