Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1915-03-04
GOOD ROADS AND
The DIXIE HIGHWAY
BY C. BUFORD PAYNE

Is the Good Roads movement in the
United States making satisfactory pro-
gressH Yes aud no
Yes, 10 tuat the general public have
had the matter presented to them in
the ligtet of general good ana are be-
ing aroused to the benefit the small
country roads, the larger roaas, and
main trunk lines are to the great bohy
polite, irrespective of class or loca-
tiOn There is hardly a phase of the
larger aud better things of life that
the goo0 roads subject does not touch.
Naturally the subject being 20 large
and toe realization of it so vast there
is mora or less confusion Ideas aud
schemes galore seem to spring into life
over night A large perct ntsge of
these CONE into existence without dsen
thought, and are thus in themselves
mere treams, the lest have been care
fully stuaied out and figured over Of
thess a percentage has been figurei
from the basis of mere local condi-
tions, and are good only in>ofar as
they apply locally, but the movement
has ceased to apply locally 1t is ma
tional. What benefits one benefits all.
The man on the sheep ranch buys flour
which comes from the farmer, who
raises wheat and they each buy shoes
from the shoe man, and so on and on.
An endless chain, as it we're; therefore
each is interested in having the other
reach the market in the shortest posi-
BILE time and at the least expense
We may say that we do not cafe a
ran how the other fellows roads are,
but we DO, and we know we 20 Grad
ually, thru the advent of the automo-
bile, and our coming into closer rela-
tions with each other, we are reallZ-
ing that the other fellows needs are
also our needs Our farmer brethren
are not the Rub that we thought
them to be and our city brethren are
not q ultra exclusive reoule we
thought them, Thanks to the automo-
bile, our borizon has widened beyond
ste point we really expected
No. because of the pronene's Of roll
tic, to creep in The subject is so big,
+ s,ent i. 80 large that there are always
those Who cannot be iuduced to look
at tha matter from other than seti-h
STANDPOINT, and political meddling is
seItisr ness pure and simple The hand
ling of vast amounts of money is a
temptation Money will stick in some
peo les bands, and the small viewer
of the ubiect can think only of what
\ he IAN make out of it in coin, and not
+. what la ting credit would come to
! him in hannling the matters trictly for
\ tbe benefit of the whole people, Then
i there /. the man who cannot lead the
i handwriting on the wall. He is the
low who would have stopped Col
umbus from making his first great
\ VOYAGE, and who has persi stenty
E nreacbed from the time of the begin
n ming of automobiles, failure, failure,
Il failure; who has said that it could not
4 last that people would not buy tbem,
4 production was too great, 1t was a
1ama, not business, and all that sort
4 of thing When this man dies and
i knocks at the portal of st. Peter, he
uill he asked, "Were you an Optom~
;st or a pPssimisU - The it will be
I roo late for him to undo what he has
done Some of these fellows cannot
he blamed, they have been stuck so
many times by the lightning ROD agent
aud others of that ilk, that they are
touchy and supiciouS.
How can the Good Roads Movement
hest be rromotedY First, by taking 1t
ont of nolitics altogether and pnttlng
Il n on a sound business basis, 1t ls the
biggest business that Uncle Sam has
III before him today, even larger than
Sthe Panama Canal 1t Interests every
man, woman and child in the country
What digger business is there than
this' Al,
Sacou6. in the presentation TO the
oeonlr of concrete examples or what
eood roa6s will do for the country. 1t
70 ouite noticeable that in those com
mnnities where permanent highways
nave baeu built, neighboring commun-
sities have demanded like highways
sTbosa who conceived and went about
the business of furthering the several
GREAT National Ocean-to- Ocean High
wavs had this in mind That what
tbev saw is true, is evinced in the fact
thaf millions Of dollars are being
snent by popular subscription and per
spnai work The Lincoln Highway
is the greatest example OF thls'
II has been estimated that in the
last ytsr. at least five millions OF dol
lars was spent in this way on this
ROAD alone. The practical business
men ut the head of it have given their
time and energy to the work, assuring
those who contributed their money
that the last cent went on the road IN
permanent improvements; L,t as ION
tho march of progress and follow their
examule Let us have little less pol
;tics. a little less jealousy and selfish
ness and more real good business
methods and patriotism.
Thir3 the sentiment for good roads
must be .crystalized. The big good
roa 3 meetings are having their part
in this The National Highways are
having theirs. and the newspapers are
having theirs. If it were possible to
have the newspapers handle the matter
as thev handle the Panama Canai, a
great naval victory or the foreign war.
se would be taking long step in the
d;rection of ga contamination devout-
" to be wished -. NJ
A propos of the above comes tue DIX
ie Highway project:
DIXIE HIGHWAY.
In considering the route to be adop-
te5 for this great road, it is well to
'ou 'onsider the personnel of the PATTY or
rarties who have outlined any parti :
,.misr ronte. The meu who origlnstt-
"a the idea Of this North to 9onth