The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-03-14
TELLS OF ROAD WORK IN STATE
Praise Florida Communities For Their
Forethought in Building Better
Highways.

lOI 1OOu ItOduS, JOHH w. OlUity VI
Birmingham, Alabama, writes the fol
lowing description to the Manufac-
turers Record of the work being done
for good roads in this state. He
sums up the situation in fine shape.
Accompanying the article were three
photographs, two showing good brick
roads, while the third was of the
horrible example" kind and showed
road yet unimproved. The article
follows:
Some impressions Of my tour of
Florida during the past month in the
interest of permanent highways may
be of interest to other sections work
ing for good roads.
1.-The thing that impressed me most
'orcefully was the splendid spirit Of
cooperation on the part of all classes
If citizens in the various counties of
the state, in putting through bond is
sues to provide highways to serve the
future as well as the present genera
ton 1t is matter for great common
dation that the leaders in the various
communities had the courage as well
as wisdom and foresight to make
their plans on a scale that would
Estagger some of our older and more
densely populated sections of the
[south, and the example which Flor
ida has set should not only be emu
lated all over the South, but should
Ieause some of our large centers to
ponder the situation carefully and
bestir themselves, or they will be out
stripped beyond the. hope of Overtak-
ing by these hustling patriotic Flor
dians.
DuvaI Started Brick Roads.
A word in retrospect. Some six
years ago Duval county, of which
Jacksonville is the countyseat, began
to agitate the question of building de-
pendable highways, with the usual op-
position from the chronic peSS1mlStS
that infest every community.
The county commissioners put down
mile of sample highway in various
directions from the city of Jackson
Vile AS soon as these stretches OF
pavements were laid the people began
/ to appreciate the advantage of such
| pavement. Every farmer. for miles
around who had occasion to drive
over the brick paved stretches of the
different roads, such as the Kings
road, the Lake City roads, the Lem
Turner road and the Pablo Beach
road, became a firm advocate of bond
ing for roads. All the arguments in
the world would not have convinced
him half as quickly as this demonstra
ton.
This was followed by an election
for 100000 of bonds, which carried
overwhelmingly and the present splen
did brick highways We're constructed
Paved roads increase land value
That has been proved everywhere
that roads have been paved, and i
was demonstrated in Duval county.
Other counties in Florida took no
tice and agitation began in various
sections of the state for bond issues
to lift the population out of sand ant
mud
What HilIsborough Has Done.
In 1913 Hillsborough county, o
which Tampa is the center, vOtet
$1,000 900 of bonds and completed
last year its splendid system.
On my recent visit | found that thu
wholesale houses in Tampa wer'
sending goods in large motor trucks
to the outlying towns in the count!
and the traffic had grown so tina
trailers were attached. The countr!
merchant could phone his order il
the morning to the jobber at lamp;
and get his goods delivered at hi
store that afternoon.
The building of the pixies ha
caused the automobile industry t,
flourish, and some afternoaus almos
a continuous cavalcade is ssen.
rode from Tampa to Plant cry an,
back one afternoon. and v1 de
lighted at the entire ahsenee a dust
as did not need the whisk-broon
Treatment at all. 49,
/ Following closely on the heels o
Marlborough came Orange oosnty
with Orlando as the central lpiAt
with a 100000 bond issue, and. tn
Ironstruction of seventy i've milSs o
has fine brick highways as can b
Hound anywhere in America. Throusi
this county the Dixie highway Q,
tends for forty-two miles. solid rit
ibon Of brick. and Osceola county ha
extended 1t three miles to the tow,
Iof Kissimmee.
Almost coincident with Orang
jcounty was the voting Of $750.o00 b.
st. Johns county and the connectin
with Duval county part of the Dixi
highway. taking it through st. Az
gustine to the southern boundary,
total distance of seventy miles.
Large bond issues were voted i
the latter part of 1915 for simila
highways by Putnam county, s250,000
Seminole. s25O,000, and Volusis
e. nrn nm ...hs.l. iii Ell Al. 49, l..