Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1916-03-08

A'P.O'Su AsOouS IN Ouitco otdteb
An association of practical men
working together for common public
purpose, national in its scope vet de-
pending in largest measure upon the
cooperation of the States for the
success of its efforts, and having no
other object in view, immediate or
remote, but the improvement of the
public roads Of the country-such is
the American Highway Association.
1t was organized at convention in
Washington, five years ago. 1t has
no endowment. 1t is never included
in any OF the appropriation bills Of
Congress. 1t does not represent any
special interest. Its one purpose is
to make straight the paths of the peo-
pie. 1t depends for its support upon
the annual dues of its members. It's
politics is summed up in this faithful
saving: "An indissoluble Union of in
destructible States" bound together
by a great system of improved public
highways, built of the best available
materials on scientific lines under the
most capable supervision with defin-
lite detectives. What it aims at is
the common good-good roads for
all; making easy the ways to market,
opening new and better highways for
the postal service, bringing sparsely
settled neighborhoods together for
the cultivation of all the arts of peace
and at the same time providing pre-
cautionary avenues for necessities of
war, if war, unhappily, should come.
The work of the association is edu-
cational, but it is far more. Through
the Office of Public Roads of the
United States under the direction of
Logan Waller Page, it is served by
the best engineering talent in the
country in the location of public roads
and in methods of construction and
maintenance, in making estimates of
cost, in prescribing the materials of
construction with regard to the char
acter and volume of traffic, in solving
difficult engineering problems, in
building specimen roads as object les
sons, in doing everything, in fact, ex-
cept the actual manual labor in the
completion of projected systems. All
this is tremendously important mis-
sion for any organization to under
take and it goes without saying that
lacking the cooperation of the people
and the help of the newspapers, it
cannot succeed. Then there must be
coordination in the efforts of all
existing organizations working for
road Improvement, wise and uniform
legislation by the several States,
skilled supervision in the construc-
ton of the roads, agreement among
the States and smaller political units
as to routes and service. so that
working together there will emerge
from the local, county and state lines
a harmonious system as wide as the
Nation itself and all to the immediate
advantage of the whole people. This
is the object of the American High
way Association.
It's highest ambition is to weld to-
gether in service all the goods roads
organizations of the countrywide
tional, State and local-there is work
and opportunity for all of them; but
to make their efforts most effective
there should be definite planning and
performance and to secure this it
would seem that this Association,
with headquarters at the National
Capitol and operating in close touch
with the United States Department
of Agriculture, is eminently prepared.
The National character of the Asso-
citation is attested by its membership
which represents every State in the
Union, and by the composition Of its
Board of Directors selected from
fourteen States covering the country
from the lakes to the gulf and from
the ocean on the east to the ocean on
the west. The President of the AS
ISOLATION is Fairfax Harrison, Presi-
dent of the Southern Railway, the
vice-president is Logan Waller Page,
Director of the United States Office
of Public Roads, the Treasurer is
John Burke, Treasurer of the United
States, the Chairman of the Board of
Directors is James S. Harlan, Chair
man of the Interstate Commerce
Commission, the Chairman of the
Executive Committee is Leonard
Tufts, hotel owner and manager, and
the Chairman of the Committee n
Membership is Frank A. Vanderlip,
President of the National City Bark
of New York. Among the Directors
are such men as Richards III. Ed
monds, Editor of the Baltimore Manu-
facturerss' Record, who has done more
than any other man to develop the
resources of the South, and l.. f..
Johnson, President of the Norfolk and
Western Railway System, and with
these are associated representatives
of every financial, manufacturing and
industrial interest in the land. With
such a personnel in its management
the American Highway Association
feels that it can appeal with conf
dence to the friendly interest and
practical cooperation of the whole
country. 1t has a great work to do.
In its last annual convention at At
lanta year ago forty-seven road or
CARNATIONS were represented and
about five thousand delegates and Wis
itors were present. Among the dele
gates there were twenty-five State
highway commissioners or engineers
and the exhibits illustrating public
road work made by the United States
Government, and a number of State
Governments and hundred manufac-
turers were the largest and most in
structive ever made in this country.
These facts are noted here only to
show the widespread interest in the
work of the Association and the in
creasing demand for light and lead
ing on the most vital question that