Amarillo daily news. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 19??-current, 1917-06-24
.portance of Road
System Over Nation
Stressed By Davis
President of National Highways Association Sums Up The SIT
uaton Concisely ard Briefly Outlining Also the Methods
That Must &c Secured 10 Get Permanent Roadways
For The Country

The following clear and concise
summing Up OF Importance o' nation
al highways and the best means OF
securing them eEpuatcd from the
pen OF Charles Henry Davis. civil en-
gineer with ability and experience.
and who is president OF the National
Highways Association
AT the utset OF my talk on the
good roads problem OF this country
as II effects the farmer there a,c
two things that $40 can safely as
sumo. one is tn social and ccnr1mi.
cal Importance of good roads The
other Is the necessity Of the govern
mont taking @ hand iu 'ho ro,d build
ing
Many Bi'ls Presented
I'm the last three years uU loss
than 40 hills rrDp0sir. national
legislation have been introduced u
the house and cDuato The substance
OF all these bills simmD. down to
two general plans ono is for q sys.
tenn OF national highways The term
Federal Aid is applied more or
less locally Co an methods. though 60
cannot b. property used when We are
discussing out-aul-ou' national hich-
ways The other plan is that ~ Fed
eral aid for the Developments OF what
may he called rBdiat.ug roads by this
Is meant roads radiatiug out from
the towns and railroad stations t.
the farms that supply the markets
with produce an the railroads with
freight
ASK almost any farmer who has
not given much thought 90 the sub
iCct which plan b" thinks would help
him most and he is likely 20 say
without hesitation, why Federal aid
for radiating roads. oi course. they
are the only kin of roads that will
do US any good we don't want b0ulo-
wards across the continent for Joy
riding what W want is roads that
will enable us 10 ret our produce o.
market
rs II possible % devise a plan %,
This kind that win really benefit
the farmer? Let %. look into the plan
a little
Federal Md
Suppose con.rcss should apprOpri.
ate S5o.ooO.o0o II that amount was
distributed equally each state would
receive about million dollars How
far would that develop roads I'm a
state like Missouri of aycrarc siz,
and Of ayoraE" dorsi'y of population
Each county could build four fft's oi
a mile OF hard surfaced road q wear
assuming $1,000 ds the AVERAGE cost
OF a mile of harl roads suppose nov
that the railroad station is taken as
the hub and that the money D. Q,
he spent ON tho roads radiatiur from
II out I'm the country Missouri ha.
an average of ten railroad stations Z.
each county. u each county cuul,
build four fitths oi a mile of roa,
with us share OF iilty million dolla.
appropriation ana II an the station
were treated equally each would an
nually ret two tvonty-finHs of a mii,
Of road. or en- feet Thus 10 get ont
mile u road built iu one direction
s-om each railroad station would talk
twelve and one half years aud fn,
years 20 build ont ono mile 10
each direction from earu station
How much would 'ho farmer. arouu.
railroad station profit by one uiI
Of road after waiting 90 wears f0
II. lu Missouri tHc sF,rag. Irnrtl
Of haul hy wagon is nine miles r.
improve only ono of tho roads iron
tho railroad station for o. distance %
nine miles would take me- years II
improve an four r8diatiuE road. On
same distance would take igS year,
obviously such % plan as Federal Al
is impossible
Post Roads
Equally futile is 'Hc plan 20 C0nfu,
the spending OF national apYriuria
tons 10 Post Roads o.. ro' back d
Missouri cuco HCro lu jackson
county system Hf irp. deliver
routes there are forty vnrau "fpa
ends roads tH1' leave tH" mali
road and lead o. q. some ftrmI ouso