Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-05-02
Some Pertinent Observations Con-
corning the Iowa Highways.
NEGLECTED OPPORTUNITIES
FOR NEEDED DEVELOPMENT
Interesting Article on Iowa Road
Situation by Joe l.. Long,
Editor ROadmaker, in
Successful Farming.
Continued from first page)

lives III OIueT lldI the OCCdSlOu Inlay
be duly successful. The crisp, brown
ed pies have been baked and the
have been taken from the oven. Ev-
cry preparation is made, every posi-
Bile CONNECTION that might bring JOY
the hearts of John and Lucy, Tom
and Mary, aid the little JoEnnies
and Lucy's, has been provided. Only
gray-haired mothers who have had
their plans entirely upset by bad
weather can fully realize the ankle
ty caused by the ever present spect-
er which stands by her side as she
peers into the oven and is never dis
sipated until, if fortune favors the
guests arrive-that perfect embodi-
ment of gloom-"If it doesn't rain"
And often in the little home far
removed from city and town, there
comes a time when black, heart
breaking tragedy hangs upon that
phrase. 1t may be that little
stranger is knocking at the doorway
of Life; it may be that the household
JOY is the victim of an accident; it
may be that some dread disease has
stricken a loved one, or there is a
sudden and unexpected development
in what has been considered but a
mild illness. The doctor from the
distant city or town is summoned
lat once to the bedside. What is the
answer? II the weather is settled
and The roads are dry, it comes in
the form of his presence in a few
minutes. This, even to the most re-
mote homes in this rich country,
for there is not in the entire state
of Iowa farmhouse as distant from
its railroad station as one-third Of
the population of Chicago and New
York live from their daily work.
But if, as must naturally happen in
a country SO blest with rainfall, a
oloi III 10 ilupOhuih5, oiiC duy III piO-
gress, or but recently passed, the
relief and assistance that would
otherwise be matter of minutes
becomes matter Of hours, and
many, many times Death wins the
race because the grim reaper is not
impeded by the third dimension of
while the other contes-
tant's ability is measured by that
dread sentence which in this case
becomes a death knell-"If it
doesn't rain"
The most dishearteniIg feature of
this situation, this condition which
at its best is near tragedy, is its
very apparent needlessness. This
great Black Dirt Belt seems to have
been the special pet of a munificent
Providence, and apparently the only
thing that was overlooked in distri-
buting to it the choicest of gifts was
a ready-made system of 1865 day
i1-the-year" roads. If this section
had had for its assets only climate
and scenery, or only a portion of
those things with which it is so rich
ly blest, undoubtedly there would
have been built long before this
system of roads.
If existence had been hard bat
tie and the products of the soil less
so that their being mar
keted at the proper time became es-
sential to making bare living,
roads would have been built. But
since the land produced so bounti-
fully and since the evelopment Of
thickly settled communities has
created and multiplied values, the
beneficiary of this great wealth, with
the creation of which he had but lit
tie to do, is content to sit back and
look out over the big tract of $50
to $30O-an-acre land which he &C
quired in his youth for~a mere pit
lance or inherited from his father,
AID say, "Why should / worry? See
what a great success / am! / have
become wealthy! l have done this!"
when in many cases he owes more on
that farm than he did when ne
bought it and in many cases has
greatly reduced its productive pow
er.
When the roads get so bad that he
can't get to town to see the circus
or misses a political convention, he
begins to get interested, and, with
his neighbors, organizes a Good
Roads Association at dollar down
and a dollar per year. Having thus
solved the problem, he returns home
and, when the sun comes out, he is
satisfied that he and his neighbors
have accomplished their purpose.
In the past the road problem has
been handled with true Arkansas
Fiddler philosophy: When it is dry
no one could ask for better road,
---.Ttt. -. '.V'srsr $500.