The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-07-09
women and
GOOD ROADS
Working to Improve Local
Conditions Everywhere.
CAMPAIGN OF EDUCATION.

Under the Leadership Of the Woman's
Department Of the American High.
way Association the Country Women
Ar Forming Groups to Study Local
Road Laws and Their Administration.
All over the country women, under
the leadership of the woman's depart
ment Of the American Highway asso-
citation, are forming groups to study
the local road laws and their admin
istration, to the end that they not only
may work to improve local conditions.
but may prepare themselves to ask of
their legislators changes in our sys-
tenn Of road management which will
make u road administration as eff
Client as is that Of any other success
full big business"
Since the road laws vary in the DIFF
ferent states and sometimes even In
the different counties Of the same
state this study Of local conditions Is
a necessary preliminary to any intelli-
| gent efforts to improve the local roads.
In general, however, it may be said
that conditions vary more in degree
than in kind. Nearly everywhere the
students are finding road laws mod
eled after those Of England in the
days Of Queen Elizabeth. Because OF
this Anticipated code the units Of ad-
ministration are nearly everywhere too
small to finance economically and ef-
A~1ks,~1, TIN rn0nC00Eu rood Unrk
The road officials are too numerous.
and Of these officials no special knowl-
edge is required.
Selected for their personal or pOlit-
ical affiliations, most of these men mel
Their know the first principles Of road
building nor appreciate the necessity
Of systematic maintenance Of all roads.
Nearly everywhere, therefore, are cost
~ roads going or gone to ruin, though
the bonds issued to build them are still
las good as new" And the earth roads
are neglected until hundreds Of thou
sands OF miles Of them are impossible
for months Of the year.
In their present condition our coun-
try roads levy upon all raw materials
an annual mud tax" OF more than a
quarter OF a billion dollars. This is
the day Of rising prices, when, as the
pessimist says, 1t takes ten times as
much to get married as 1t did ten
years ago, and you get no more for 1t.
None should be Indifferent to an un-
necessary addition to the high cost of
living and loving.
While waiting the fundamental re-
forms the county groups are, therefore.
working hard to improve local cOndi-
lions through better administration and
better maintenance Of the roads. A
campaign Of education is waged. and
by tact and persuasion a "gentlemen's
agreement" is sought whereby the
county roads are put in charge Of one
efficient man. Where this concentra,
ton Of money, authority and RESPONSE
bility is impossible of accomplishment
the women are working for more
knowledge Of roads and more adequate
powers hat be.
officials are especially urged to EN-
ploy a small body Of Iaborers under
expert supervision, who. weather per
hitting, work continuously upon the
roads. This is a method Of road main
tenance 50 superior to the u Gus
tom Of calling out an army Of untrain
ed men once or twice a year that any
community into which this French
fashion is introduced by American
women should indeed rise up and cal
them blessed.
And everywhere there are earth roads
the women are preaching the split lOi
drag. for their studies have Informed
them that the mud tax can he material
" reduced and thousands Of miles o
earth roads made serviceable through
out the year by the systematic use o
this simple implement. which almos
any man can make Of materials fOunt
on his own farm. Dragged just befor'
the ground freezes. some earth roads
until the thaw comes, are as hard ant
smooth as IL paved with stone.