Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1915-11-25

According to q recent news dispatch
the postal department will establish
seven rural delivery routes IN Jeffer-
son county ranging in distance from
fifty to iifty-seven miles each. The
letter carriers of these routes will be
equipped with automobiles and the SER
vics will begin January 16 These are
the first routes OF this kind to besSs-
tablished in the State and aniorg The
first to be established ia the United
States. which speaks well for Jeffer-
son cnanty; bui the reason for thaxs-
tablishmcnt of such routes is based tb-
on the good ,ads in that county
Jefferson county has 284 miles of
macadamized road out of possible
S44 Prior to 1894 Jefferson county
was expanding from thirty to thirty
five cents on each 500 per year build
ing macadam zed roads, and since that
date has been expanding all of the
funds they could possibly raise under
the law The wisdom of the good roads
movement in Jefferson county is DEM
onstrated, not only in the foregoing
news item. but in the incre ased value
of all farm-lands in that county. Ac
cording to the census Of 1910 the aver.
age value of all land in the State was
$40 IS. The average value Of farm
land in jefferson county. according 10
the same census was $53 IS; the aver.
age valu. Of the land in Ohio county,
which has 2O2 miles of improved roads
out Of a p,ssiblA 240, was $61 IS, while
the average va 'ue-nf III land in this
county was SAB 81
There is no grea e. argument for
good roads tn IN the clean concr tie ex-
ample shown in the co n garrison of the
above fl cures. jefferson county has
no coil. oil or timber to incre ase its
value. Tue values are based entirely
upon the farms AMI these farms are
made more vllua5ie by reason of the
no d that are constructed to h m
Nearly every acre Of land in this coua-
y 40 % 1lu Viz as LLldt vi JGuGTSOu.
but the c inslition of our roads makes
The d ference. Every n al who owns
an acre of land in tfis county would be
making profitable .inyestln snt AMI
valuable use OF bis Time by applying
the difference in the average value per
acre between the lands Of this county.
and the iards of Jeferso county To-
the roads in the community. There is
nothing that will bling as great pros,
perlty to the State of West Virginia rs
general system of good roads on.
which the mails can be transported
quickly and over which the products of
the farm can be marketed as we'll as
materials taken from the mar
ket to the farm 10 improve it
We suggest that Jar readers taxi
little time to compare carefully these
figures, tn t each farmer take the acre
age he has in his farm and figure the
difference, making comparison of the
average value of the land in this coun-.
ty with the average valne of the land
in Jgff rion county. Then add to this
the cdnyeniences of such rural letter
routes as the farmers of jefferson
county now njoy, the possibilities of
getting to and from home without wad.
ing through mud, and we have pic
ture of real life, yet it is one that we
can all have il we will but put forth
the effort to get better roads in this
county. The condition ST the roads in
the fu'ure will depend upon the at;i-
tude of the people this county will
take. toward the public highways.
Clarksburg 'Exponent-Ameriean