The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-01-19

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take this occasion to urge upon you the
inheritance of certain well-dehned
wishes and admitted needs of our peo-
pie.
Urges County Local Option
urge upon you, gentlemen of the
Legislature, the enactment of county
local option law. The people of this
Commonwealth have a perfect right to
decide for themselves whether or not
intoxicating liquors shall be sold IN
their several counties. This issue is be-
fore you. You must meet it, and meet
it openly and fairly. l gave solemn as.
surance to the people that l favored
such law. Your Governor now asks
YOU to join with him in its enactment
Every consideration of moment favors
such procedure. The sooner we do so
the better. Let this vexed question be
taken from partisan control and given
directly to the people. They will solve
it better than we can. The selection
of judges in the several districts should
no longer hinge upon this question. 1t
has already worked harm to the judi
ciary and has lessened the regard of our
people for the integrity and capacity
of the final legal guardians of the peo-
ple's sacred rights. 1t is a dominant
issue in the public mind. The party that
has given this great State its industrial
and educational development has now
the sacred opportunity of giving the
State great moral uplift. trust we
shall not fail the people on this issue.
] repeat l am unequivoceIbly for county
local option.
For Better Highways
The people who are the producers in
Pennsylvania have perfect right to
insist upon better transportation facili-
ties, both by land and by water. We
add substantial good to our people when
we make it easy to transport max
imum load at minimum cost from
farm and factory to the best markets
and market stations. Four years ago,
under the apprehension that the people
would approve $50,000,000 loan for
roads, the State took over more than
5000 miles of highways. To this, at
the last session of the Legislature, ad-
ditions were made. We now have under
State control 10000 miles of highways.
The loan was not approved. The roads
were taken over. This was a mistake
The current revenues will not properly
care for these roads. They are becom-
ing increasingly unsatisfactory. Unless
largely increased revenues are provided
1T would be wise to admit this mistake
and begin again upon the road prob
lem. We must have now road policy
that will meet reasonable acceptance
and permit of a continuous treatment
for many years to come. The people
need, and must have at once, better
transportation facilities.
The State should find revenues ade-
quate to the construction of a few great
highways, routed between the great
centers of population. These should be
we'll built, and when built placed under
the care of capable supervisors, whose
duty it should be to keep them daily in
good repair. 1t is sheer folly to CON
struct costly road and, unsupervised,
allow it to deteriorate. These super
visors should be licensed road keepers
and not political accidents. Unless a
man knows how to repair a road and
is wilfing to put his knowledge to use.
he ought never to receive appointment
and pay from the State.
Need State-Aided Roads
We also need State aided roads.
These may perhaps best be worked out