Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-12
Many Striking Parallels.

There are many striking parallels
between the United States now and
England in the time of which Macaulay
wrote. The most of the public roads
here are little if any better than were
the roads when Charles was king In
his time the people objected to the
laying of taxes for the construction of
good roads. They do now in this coun-
try They protested against working
the roads then; they do now in this
new land of light and liberty. When
what were called flying coaches'-a
style of carriage which under favora-
BILE conditions of wind and weather
and with ample relays of horses could
go fifty miles the day-were first in
vented there was much objection
among the special interests. because
this innovation would interfere with
their vested rights. theh keeping
OF inns where entertainment was fur
nished for man and beast; the untimely
schedules of the coaches which arrived
too late for supper and departed too
early for breakfast: the destructive eff
feet the new business would have on
the breeding of horses. and the general
disturbance of settled conditions. 1t
was gravely recommended that no pub
lie carriage should be permitted to
have more than four horses. to start
more than thirty miles day. and the
king was solemnly petitioned to this
end. Before the reformers of 1855 could
get what they wanted in the way of
good roads they had to fight for it.
They got it. so that within a compare
lively brief time after the conditions
had become so bad they could not get
any worse the building of highways
began and 10000 miles of turnpike
roads made life all the more worth Iiv-
ing in England.
Isn't ii strange that. with the his
tory and experience of all the coun-
tries of the old world to guide and
warn. the United States should have
on its own account. and that. with all
its uneXampled growth and wealth,
there should be at this day over two mil
lion miles of unimproved public roads in
TINS country? The poorest states in as
sessed values are not by any means the
sloWest states in public spirit. There
is the state of Illinois. for example,
with property assessed for taxation at
s2.455,966.345. with less than 10 per
cent of its public highways improved;
Texas with property assessed for taxa
ton at s2.744,265,347 and less than s
per cent of improved highways; Colo
RADIO. with s1.309,559.2O5 of assessed
values and barely per cent of i'm
proved public roads: Nebraska, with
assessed values of s4s0.s44.001, S0,338
miles Of public roads and only three
tenths of ! per cent of these roads In
an improved condition.
III the people who lived in England
three or four hundred years ago could
come back from the land of shades and
make trip to the United States they
would find the going in great regions
or this country precisely as 1t was
when they fumed and swore and sweat
ed in the days OF Charles They would
also hear much talk among their de-
scendants over here about how wonder
full is the civilization of this age and
how far the United States has out
stripped the rest of the world in pro-
sressive achievement. And IL the fore
fathers of the colored people who were
brought over 10 this land of freedom
800 years ago could make visit te
the United States just now-to Arkan-
sas, for example. with only per cent
Of its public roads 'mproved'-they
would not discover much difference ir
this respect between the trails ant
swamps of their own jungle land anc
the so-called highways of one of tn.
progressive commemorative of the
richest nation on earth"