The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-05-12
ON BETTER ROADS
Kincaid Addresses Kansas
Bankers at Salina Today.
Good Highways Save Valuable
Time for the Farmer.
KANSAS CROPS CHIEF WEALTH
Moving of Grain Is an Import
ant Consideration.
Highways President Urges
Need of State Commission.

Salina, Kan. May I'm an adj
dress on The Banker and Good
Roads here today before the annual
convention of the Kansas Bankers as
ISOLATION Hasper T. Kincaid. president
of the Kansas Good Roads association
emphasized the fact that good roads
reduce the cost of production and
marketing crops and increase returns
| by enabling the sale and delivery of
| products when prices are the most at
| tractive and when time lost from
| fields is of least value. He also urged
| the creation of a state highway COM
mission, revision of road and bridge
| laws and an amendment to the state
| constitution so the state could take
part in road building.
"Kansas is distinctly an agricul
| tural state and agricultural products
| form its chief source of wealth." said
Mr. Kincaid. I'm 1914 the last year
for which the figures are available,
Kansas produced fs1, 00O.0 900 bushels
of wheat, 100000 bushels of corn,
100000 bushels of oats and $97,-
100000 worth of livestock. The value
of thse and other farm products for
that year amounted to more than
1915, 100000. This means that to de-
liver this grain to market would re-
qure 100000 wagonloads of wheat
of so bushels each: 100000 wagon
100000 wagonloads of oats of 100
bushels each. besides other crops. AS
a result of the sales of this 1914 crop
probably S300,000,000 were placed in
the banks of Kansas. Yet all of the
marketed portions of these products
had to be transported over our high
ways for distances varying from one
to 40 or more miles
Add to Farm Value
Good roads will enable the pro-
Queer to make the necessary trips for
supplies and repairs in the shortest
possible time when time is important
and enable him to do these things as
fields are not in workable conditions
which indirectly adds to his produc-
tive capacity"
Mr. Kincaid pointed out that there
are in Kansas 111.536 miles of public
highways outside of incorporated
cities; Ito miles, or a little more
than 1 per cent, being hard-surfaced.
These highways. including bridges, are
costing approximately five and one
half million dollars annually, he ex-
planned. 70
Laws Full of LoophoIes.
"Our present road and bridge laws
are a patch work, full of antiquities
and contradictions: full of 1oopholes
for officials; full of pitfalls for the
unwary; full of possibilities for eva
designing contractors said Mr.. Kin
cafd. 1.-THE attorney generals office
disapproves them: county attorneys
condemn them: students of road prob
lens criticise them, and engineers ridi-
cule them. Our present system of
road management is not very different
from what it was when we travelled by
stage coach. 1 don't mean this to
be taken as literally true, yet if you
will refer to the statutes and note the
sections that still bear dates of 1868,
1869, 1874 and the slight amendments
thereto, this statement will not seem
so radical as it at first appears. Our
road laws are antiquated and do not
meet the requirements of modern con-
ditions, and under the present system
we are not getting results that we
I believe that at least 25 to 40 per cent
of the money spent for roads is
wasted"
Urges state Commission.
Mr.. Kincaid urged the creation of
a state highway commission. There is
much agitation going on for hard
surfaced roads that can be travelled
365 days in the year, but hard-sur-
faced roads cost money and lots of it,
and yet many roads are Travelled to an
extent that justifies the outlay. but
when we go to the expense of building
hard-surfaced roads we don't want |
them to be a bitter disappointment. |
To prevent such occurrences we should I
have a state highway commission |
whose business it will be to study road |
and bridge problems 365 days in the |
year and in whose hands should be /
placed the administration of all road |
and bridge laws.
SALIVA PIONEER IS DEAD.