Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-10-14
STRONG PLEA BY
PRESIDENT FOR
PUBLIC ROADS
Chief Executive of Nation Pic
''' tYres Advantages Derived
Sy People of Country From
Good System of Highways

r-.sidont Wilson, in his good roads
ot indianapolis, said in part:
sP or am here because of my interest
H. cause Of good roads and be-
III of nv interest in the state o.
gauSo was very much interested
Inui' .bis dav devoted to the cause OF
lHo' roods should fall in your CEN
hoou YEAR It made me think of
,nonv Of the processes OF our natlohai
history. This country was Duilt WITH
VO ,.p Si after all. the highways Is not
,.,,ndod first Of all and chief Of all,
NV. tbe Measure vehicle, 1t Is not m
l 10. For the mere traveller. 1t IS
attended for the mere tourist It
no. made in order that some com
% of leisurely people may travel
POM , coast to coast of this great con-
I'm. .'ot II is made because we need
~. All tbe material uses Of our life,
u Network of Roads Necessary.
of is perfectly obvious that you
100 got TO have an intricate and
n nar network Of roads throughout
The length and breadth Of TINS great
continent before you Will have reallZ-
o1 The energies Of America. Cocoa
oods are necessary for every prac-
.t o ospect Of our lives, to draw
neiabbors together, to create COM
,,,nnitv of feeling; to create those ar
,'.ios which may be compared to the
a,tories of the human body. The
L,ood Of the nation will not flow IN
barmonious concord unless it can flow
in intimate sympathy
oAnd so the argument, the material
,ronment the argument about mar
Lats and crops ana the products OF
.ho mines sink into relative unlm-
rortance when you consider the spir-
mai thing that You are doing IN max
mo roads. You know there IS an Ola
saying that the lines between sec
Hons are oblterated only by the rect
mat cross them. There is a very
goniaI saving Of great English writ
a. NAT no never could hate a man he
tnow And sectionalism is based up
ON the radical danger of every ma
ton namely, ignorance. The only
tbing that really blinds us is not
lnow,np what we are talking about
The only thing that binds nation
together is the knowledge of its sew
eral parts of each other
Dcprccatcg ScctiOnalism.
INV fellow citizens, I need not tell
Won that ! did not come here to TAX
notifies. but there is one thing that IS
nertinent in this connection when
Fan not DENY myself tho privilege Of
saving ANY man who reyives the IS
eue Of sectionahsm in this country IS
unworthy of the confidence OF the ma
ton He shows himself a proVinclal,
he shows that he himself does not
know the various sections of his own
country. he shows that he has SHUT
his own heart up i'm a little province
and that those who do not seek the
sncciaI interests of that province are
10 him sectional while he alone IS ma
tional That is the depth of anu-pa-
triotic feeling. .5
"And that is my interest in soou
roads. for. my fellow citizens NY
present interest is chiefly in the ma
tonai2ation Of America. we haVc
created a great people AT least II
NAV put it so, we have hrouBhl TO-
gother all the elements, all the com
moment parts, all the necessary cHai
acters and Industries and material
sources Of a great nation. And we
suddenly find that we are face to lace
with the problem of assembling theSe
elements in the sense in which the
mechanic assemblies the parts OF a
machine. And having assempleu
those elements, to put them together
for the creation Of one incompetence
force to which the world shall here
after look for most of its forward m
pulse for most of its ideal prlnclpIeS'
for most Of its example in the pfaCt.Iec
Of liberty And therefore, the lil'Il7
that am more interested in than
ANYTHING else in these days is the
forces that make for drawing Amer
lea together into a great spiritual
unit
"Now. my fellow citizens, we nave