Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-04-24
Market Roads.

L ~Aoae ~ oAoiuos Wo 6uOuiu ur6t uuQ0T-
stand the right relationship of the people
az whole, to Good Roads, a. we'll -
the relationship Of the farmer. A scien.
tific study of conditions al to traffic,
population, markets, etc., must be made
before any statewide road building pol.
10y can be successfully insugurated.
| This Is especially important now that
the automobile has brought such an in
sistent influence to bear, not only to Sc
cure government aid for road improve
ment, but to determine the policy of road
Improvement that shall be adopted. The
automobile has brought In q new factor,
also to be considered In the field of traf-
fic regulation and road maintenance.
and local, are active in promoting road
improvement in the interest of pleasure
and it Is therefore vitality important that
farmers should be alert to safeguard the
farmers interests. Agriculture is our
basic and most important industry, and
the farms of Maine are located on roads
that are unfit for transporting heavy
loads. With about 5000 miles of these
roads the farmers in Maine are paying
tribnte each year, of over two millions
of dollars In excess of what they would
pay with a system of market roads that
permitted transportation from the farm
to the market by the most direct route
and at the least possible cost. There
fore the improvement of market roads
should be speeded up as rapidly as pos
sible and under "a good business super
vision as Is possible to obtain, and at a
cost that our great mileage and limited
means will warrant.
The principal consideration that
should have weight In using the peoples
money through federal, state or local
government appropriations for road i'm
provement should be commercial, and
only when farmers awake to the fact
that it Ia costing them from fifty to one
hundred per cent more than 1t should
cost to transport farm commerce over
country roads will thev by au aroused
public sentiment speed up market road
Improvement and In the interest of all
our people not of the farmer alone, for
the commerce of farm begins at the
farm, and the people "a whole and not
the farmer alone are vitality concerned In
transporting the products Of the farm,
from the farm to the consumer at the
least possible cost. 1t seems to me that
Maine agriculture is not, or at least,
should not be, decsdent. There was
period when Its agriculture could not
successfully compete with newer coun-
try where land OF great natural fertility
was free or nearly 80, where 1t was pos-
sible to cultivate great acres at low cost
both In labor and transportation charges.
But the tide has turned. No longer can
free land be had. In some western
states farm land II selling at from 5000
to $400 per acre. The price of labor and
transportation has increased until west-
ern farm grown products are command
ing almost prohibitive prices in Maine.
Maine is facing crisis at the present
time, and with large and undeveloped
area. With land "a productive as the
high priced western farm land with the
best markets In the world at our doors,
the opportunities for material advance
meut are ours, and the fret requisite TO-
ward this advancement is concerted de-
mand for better market roads to move
Maine farm crops on the first stage OF
their journey to the consumer and at a
price that the producer and consumer
can afford to pay. Why not organize a
campaign for research and education to
arouse public sentiment for more
profitable businesslike and widespread
sentiment for building and maintaining
market roads? An aroused insistent
public sentiment will bring reform along
any line Of right endeavor. In any state
wide system of road improvement we
must have state roads as we'll as market
roads. These roads rightly located will
be a great asset to the commerce of the
state and must also contribute very ma
terially toward helping pleasure seekers
10 getting into and around the state.
Some plan which will give rs approx
mately $500, 900 per year, one-half to be
added to, the 100000 already received
from the state without the towns being
required to appropriate anything In ad.
dition to the S300,000 already required,
will give $500, 900 per year for improving
our market roads. The balance of the
$500, 900 together with the amount re-
ceived from the federal government to
be expended on trunk lines or state
roads. These amounts expended an
nuslly, will in ten years, II wisely and
economically expended, put our roads In
condition to prof1tably and economically
transport the commerce OF the farm
from the producer to the consumer. Or
gauize and agitate for improved roads;
remembering all OF the time that in
Maine at least, the basic problem to be
solved is, how to get better and more
market roads each year at the least pos
sible cost; great blessing to those now
living and tremendous asset to hand
down to your children.