Bismarck daily tribune., 1915-12-18
GOOD ROADS MEN
MAKING PLANS
Morton County Good Roads
Convention Held In Man.
@ dan Yesterday.
FEDERAL ENGINEER
TALKS TO GATHERING
Finished Meeting With Banquet
and Smoker In Commercial
-'". ~
Z" Club Quarters.

VAuO VUdA V0Ao'
Yesterday was Good Roads" day
in Morton county and was celebrated
with big convention in Mondan. G..
Fl. Sweetser was the principal speak
er at the meeting, and gave an inter-
esting talk on road building, illustrate
ing his talk with stereoptlc0n views.
Mr.. Sweetser gave his talk in the
Grand thealer. In the evening a
smoker and banquet was held at the
Commercial club, which was we'll at
tended. ". ~.
In discussing the road problems, Mr..
Sweetser said: .s... ..
"a strong sentiment for botter
roads has been sweeping over the
United States for many years and the
American pople are awakening to the
fact that the matter of public roads
and road improvement is of general
concern; that everybody who uses
the roads or contributes to its cost Of
construction or maintenance should
be better informed concerning its con-
struction.
Roads are Of public necessity and
improved roads will bring many ad-
vantages to rural life. They will
bring better schools and greater at
tendance. better health and quicker
medical aid, better farms and more
cultivated lands, better crops and
cheaper transportation, better econ
Omic conditions and less isolation,
better churches and church attend
ance and better cities.'
Mr.. Sweetser in his address laid
particular stress upon the fact that
good road making cannot be done by
a novice, but that the construction of
roads that will last, which Will give
full value for the money expended.
In this connection he said:
& From colonial precedent and Gus.
tom we have inherited extreme locali.
zaticn in the management OF public
highways. 1t has taken centuries to
learn that the construction and the
Of roads and especially
the economic administration of the
highways constitute a highly special.
lied work which can only be done by
ESPECIALLY trained men, :
The speaker made comparison of
highway building with that of the
railroad construction and drew men,
tai picture of the transportation com'ls
panies allowing section men to build
short s:rttches without any centrali-
zation of direct supervision.
II:
troll of public highways under spe.
cial highway department, for by that
method one engineer could take care
of several counties and there would
be standard system of good road
building throughout the entire state.
Those states which have made the
greatest advances in highway i'm
provement are those states where
such a department has been establish.
ed. And it is significant that Iii the
past ten or fifteen years these states
have made greater advancements
than all years previous.
This system does not mean that
the smaller communities such as the
counties and townships are deprived
OF their rights. Such system gives
better facilities and allows the small
er units to work in conjunction with
the county and the county with the
state"
On Bond Issue.
In connection with the cost of good
road making Mr.. Sweetser said:
Before a county prepares to bond
itself, the district should have a mod
ell system worked out Every county
should have comprehensive plan
for the development of an economic
system of it's highways and it may be
that tie system when worked out
cannot be completed at once, as suffi.
cient funds may not be Immediately
available. However, the system
would serve as model towards the
development of which all future work
would be directed.
'"This is when the United States
government is particularly able to
help, for the departent of agriculture
office Of public roads is at any time
prepared to send man to any place
in the nation which contemplates
bonding for good roads, to assist the
local people in working out their sys-
TEN. and to prepare report which
when completed will provide the
county otficialsswith practically an ex-
haustive study of their road question
from map for construction and main
tainance cost and from the best meth
cd of handling bond issue funds to
the report of tests on road gravel