The Coconino sun. (Flagstaff, Ariz.) 1898-1978, 1915-10-01
OUR NATIONAL, STATE
AND COUNTY HIGHWAYS
By j. NJ. Lowe, President National
Old Trails Road Association.


fed our often expressed opinion that
the only practical solution of the
good roads" proposition, is that the
National Government should construct
and maintain a system of national
highways, embracing all roads consti-
tuting through routes and interstate
in character. This system of nation
al highways should be supplemented
by system of state highways to be
constructed and maintained by the
state and embracing the main inter-
county routes, and connecting every
county seat town with the state and
national system.
This would give system of per-
manently built roads, all connected in
one vast scheme and embracing the
entire country. That we shall come
to some such practical system as this,
sooner or later, there can be no ques-
ton. The general public has been
much misled by mistaken legislation
looking to the building of short
stretches of local roads, beginning
nowhere and ending nowhere. This
mistaken notion is easily tracable to
political demagogues, who, actuated
by the opinion that there were a
greater number of dirt roads than
permanent ones, and possibly believ-
ing there was larger population liv-
ing in the back "destricts" than on
the great highways. Their appeals
have been made to a narrow prejudice
which utterly misled public sentiment
History has demonstrated that ali
attempts to develop roads or system
of roads, by first building local roads
have been miserable failures. Expe-
rience has shown further as to com
mon wagon roads as well as railroads,
that not until trunk lines were built
was there any material advance in
road uilding. These trunk lines sug-
gested and brought about the desire
for building local roads elsewhere.
Otherwise, there was no desire or rea-
son for the existence of such local
feeders. Such system of nationa
highways will be the heavy traffic
man trunk lines within the severa
states, and will relieve the states Of
their construction and maintenance
The state highways win likewise bc
the heavy traffic lines within the
state, thus relieving the counties Of
the cost of such construction and main
tenance. The counties should buiio
and maintain its system, reaching out
into the more remote districts of such
counties at the expense of such coun-
ties.
A system like this will add an i'm
petus as yet unthought of to road
building throughout the nation
Authority and responsibility will Le
logically and economically divided and
fixed without any possible conflict
Uniformity and efficiency will result,
and the standards of construction and
maintenance will be raised, and they
will be built in the shortest possible
time and with the utmost efficiency.
The money will get into roads where
it belongs and not into the pockets Of
small politicians. The cost will be
equitably distributed on those COM
munities best able to bear the burden.
Such system can be built all at one
time, as well as for any portion of it
to wait and delay action until the
other portion is built. 1t is agreed,
however, that Congress will, as here
tofore, be slow to take any action, at
least of practical and sensible nature,
until public sentiment has become so
aroused that is will be forced to take
action. In the meantime, and until
Congress does take some action, we
will abate no effort along this line,
but will be on hand, Gin season and
out of season." until the general gov
eminent has arisen to a. full apprecia
ton of the situation.
Just at this time when Military
is being agitated on
every hand, we shall insist that as a
vital and essential part of such pre-
nothing is so important as
a system of military roads, over which !
the armies, artillery and supplies, can
easily be modified. The country will
never be safe from attack from the
east or west, north or south, until
such system is constructed. 1t is
worth while to mention the fact that
this was a part of the conception in
the early history of this country, for
ths building of the eastern section of
the National Old Trails road as mil
itary road, and it served its purpose
we'll, both in the early history and |