Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-11-11
JAYHAWKERS WANT
WELL BUILT ROADS
County Commission Has Fin
ished Nearly 200 Miles of
Good Highways.
ROCK AND BRICK FAVORED
Annual Meeting of Kansas
Good Roads Association
at Fort Scott.

Tho feature Of the annual OF the
Kansas Good Roads association held
NJ Fort scott the last of October, was
n speech by II. Brown, a Bourbon
county farmer who lives ON n rock
road running out OF Fort Scott Bour-
bon county is the only county In KAN
sas that has actually built system N
rock roads. says the Kansas city star
"When ] bought my farm sixteen
years ago " said Mr.. Brown. acdress-
ing the convention. "it was impossiblc
for me To get 10 Fort scott with m
rmu,y wagon I'm muddy weather Now
I can haul two tons after a week OF
hard rain without any difficulty And
the beauty Of II is that | can do my
hauling in rainy weather when l. can
not work In the fields"
Mr. Brown. hv the way. was rot on
The program lie just happened in
10 the good roads meeting and when
the opportunity was given, offered his
experience with roads in Kansas.
when / bought my farm and bought
Mrs Brown 20 IL she asked me why ]
fqd bCurnt farm nobody could
reach II tho weather happened to he
cloudy. Mrs Browns fears were
justified, for 1t happened 10 be rainy
season that year and the most of the
time We could not get To town at all.
When we did go We always lad 70
carry a spade in the wagon 10 dig our
selves out OF the mud.
Rock Road in Bourbon County.
"Now we have a rock road running
hy the farm, and make enough
money on MY hauling TO market In
two days 10 pay nay annual tax to pay
for the road short time ago was
at a neigh bors who does not i've on
rock road While | was there nv
neighbor pulled into the yard with
% bushels Of coal on his wagon. HIS
team was literally played out from
pulling the short distance thru the
mud. When | returned home I found
my son had Just returned from Fort
Scott with sixty bushels of coal n one
load and the team didn't know IL had
been at work. Farmers here paw 6
cents bushcl for hauling. AT that
figure II was worth $3.50 TO me. while
my neighbor. and with much hardey
work. received only $l.5o for his SER
vices. That Is Just one Item TO show
the value in cash TO farmers of a rock
road
"The farmer who objects to hard
surfaced roads because they cost too
much does not know what he Is talk
Ing about, or else he is n mighty poor
business man"
Another interesting feature of the
session was when Col. Ed II. Smith of
Linn county, one OF the old guards OF
Kansas picncers, n Kansan for sixty
years, addressed the convention. Col
onel Smith Is so years old and was one
OF the men who helped to make Kan
sas what II IL today. lie is now one of
the most enthusiastic road booators In
the state
When the now road law was passed
last winter. Mr.. Smith was a leaGer In
n movement to obtain rock road
thru Linn county on the jefferson
highway. The petitions were obtain
ed but because of fight between To-
calities In Linn county the county
commissioners are holding UP tho
petition, Notwithstanding the fact the
law makes IL mandatory upon them "a
70 ahead and build the road.
Keen Politics Out OF Question.
1--WE are wasting time here makinR
speeches about the value OF good
roads to Kansas" said Mr.. Smith
Everybody in the state knows we
ought TO have them. What we want