The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-10-05
RELATION OF PAVED
HIGHWAYS TO CIVILIZATION
State Superintendent

During a recent session Of the
short winter course in highway en-
cheering Of the University Of Illinois,
President A. ID. Cash of the Illinois
State Highway Commission delivered
AN address in which he discussed va
rious features of road construction
and pointed out the broad relation
ship of paved highways to civilization
and to other civilizing agencies in
every field.
IF this generation would under
take" he said, in the course Of his
| remarks, with the means, facilities
and improvements we have, to build
every public th%oroughfare in tn"
State of Illinois, comprising 10000
miles Of highways, of the best type Of
road that we know, which, in my
epini9fi, is a vitirfied brick road, built
by the monolithic construction, and
II built IS feet in width to every hon e
in The State within a period of -
years, it would not be half the hereu-
lean undertaking that our forefathers
undertook and consummated in bring
ing his splendid community up to the
present state of cultivation and ciyl-
ization that we find it today. In less
than a century the people of this
State have brought the land into cGl-
tivatio, erected he schools, churches,
the homes and ~mnufacotries and the
places of amusement that we ENJOY.
In other words, they have>made this
region worth, if estimated in dollars $.
billions of treasure; yet we of this
generation hesitate at the proposition
Of building a system of State-aid
roads that will cost the people $780,
coo, 900. The hesitation Is oftnntimcs
because it is said that we of this gen.
Grafton cannot build it in time to en-
joy ii in our lifetime. Have we less
concern for our posterity than our
lorefathers? | cannot believe that it
can be so said of this generation. II
would belittle us in our own estin,a-
ton. We desire these good roads for
our children if we cannot get them
finished for ourselves.
"At first blush $3.50, 900, 900 seems
like an enormous amount Of money
but when 1t is distributed between
the G,l51,000 inhabitants of the State,
1t is secn at a glance that il amounts
TO less than $50 per capita. There
is not an ~able-bodied man. woman OF.
child above Is years Of age who cLulG
not pay their part of the cost of this
system of roads within a period of 20
years and not miss 1t from their earn
ings or income.
IF we build this State-aid v EN-
OF roaos of a permarR type. we may
be assured that all the lateral roaais
viii be made better while the State
aid roads are being so constructed.
and when the State-aid system Is 50
constructed. the townships will be e.
lieved e. expanding at least one-half
OF their money on these main roads
Tor upkeep, and with the same means
expended in the future as have been
expended in the past on the lateral
roads, they will all be made much bet
ter during the period that the State
aid roads are being constructed. thus
making II whole system of roads
better and worthy of this splendid
State and its people. Roads of an
adequate type of construction would.
SO to speak, remove H. nigh schools
Of the villiges and cities of our state
to the boys and girls OF the country.
so they could get their common school
and high school education and spend
their evenings with father and moth
on around he old freside. The church
es and places of amusement would
so to speak, by reason of said improve
ment, be removed to the people re-
siding upon farms. and If the whole
system of roads was made better and
OF proper construction, the app .al
viii not be back o the farms. but
come to the city, because the people
will desire to live in the country when
once they have a taste of the pleas
ures u good roads in the country.
They will flock o the rural districts
tecause of the good roads."-Manu-
faeutuiC5 Record.