The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1916-05-17

SoHult'ons w Cn9laHo o. Two SeH-
turtles Ago Can Be Duplicated In Ger
tain Sections Of This Land Of Prog
ress - Large Percentage of Unim-
proved Roads.
1t has been estimated by careful gov
eminent experts. says the New York
Evening Post. that only about 10000
miles of really first rate modern high
ways are to be found In the United
States. The total mileage of public
roads in January, 1915, was 2,2T3,131
The total mileage of all surfaced
roads" was 24T.I90, and it has been
very nearly 800 years since our first
American parents began to appropri.
ate the lands of the aborigines so that
they might redeem this land and make
it the habitation of civilized peoples.
There are many striking parallels be.
tween the United States now and Eng
land in the time of which Macaulay
wrote. something over two centuries
ago. 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 lay
ing 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 "fying coaches'-a
style of carriage which under favor
able 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" the keeping of
inns where entertainment was furnish
ed 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 public carriage should be permitted
to have more than four horses. to start
oftener than once week or to go
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 COM
paratively brief time after the cond-
lions had become so bad they could not
get any worse the building of high
ways began, and 10000 miles of turn
pike roads made life all the more
worth living in England.
Isn't it strange that with the history
and experience of all the countries of
United States should have chosen to
make the same old mistakes on its own
account and that, with all its unexam-
pied growth and wealth, there should
be at this day over 100000 miles Of
unimproved roads in this country? The
poorest states in assessing values are
not by any means the slOwest states In
public spirit There is the state of ILL
nois. for example. with property as
sessed for taxation ut S2,455.966,3I5,
with less than 10 per cent of its public
highways improved; Texas. with prop
erty assessed for taxation at $2,744.-
265,341 and less than per cent of i'm
proved highways: Colorado, with ST.
9,559,2 05 of assessed values and
barely . per cent Of improved public
roads: Nebraska, with assessed values
of S4S0,S44 OO1, S0.33S miles Of public
roads and only three-tenths Of 1 per
cent of these roads in an improved con-
dition.
If 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 i'm great re-
giOns of this country precisely as 1t
was when they fumed and swore and
sweated in the days of Charles.