The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-03-18
GOOD HIGHWAYS THE
ISSUE OF THE HOUR

Manufacturers Record: The build
/ ing OF good highws Us on a scale CON-
mensurate with the resources and the
reeds OF this country would do moro
! 10 overcome and to prevent the kind OF
social unrest which finds expression
! I'll anarchy and bolsheYisIn than any
thing else which can he undertaken
Z from a material point of view.
! Increased employment II industrial
pursuits Of the men thrown out OF
work by the cessation of war actiyi-
ties will go long way towards solving
som. of the problems which we face;
hut every manufacturing enterprise in
the country might be crowded to the
! Limit OF its capacity and still social I'M
rest would continue so long as the cost
of living remains as high as at present.
And social unrest viii continue ON the
( farms as we'll as in the factories so
| long as farm life is hampered by mud
and sand roads and by the inequalities
which farmers, farm laSorers and the
| women of the farms have to endure.
/ Urban development during the last
| twenty-five years has been on such a
( tremendous scale that il has drawn
millions OF people away from the quieE
4 pursuits of the country INTO the activi-
Z ty of the city. This very change has
stimulated their thought and broaden
ed their mental horizon. They have
come TO see many things from differ
I emit standpoint since they got away
/ from the long hours Of labor on the
farm, running often from daybreak un-
: I'll dark, or even later.
( Without the advantages of social in.
tercourse and the modern house con-
veniences. the country people have ne
gun to contrast the comfort of city life
with well-paved streets free from mud
with running water in every house.
and other sanitary conveniences which
add Greatls ~ the comforts of life
i The big problem before America is
low to put the farmer and his family
4 and his help on parity with the dwell
lers in the cities, so far as the city 5
conveniences are concerned. 1t is inn.
irossible to solve that problem except
through the building of good high.
| ways
The farmer who lives on an impas p
able mud road or on one whose sand
makes travel well nigh impossible
/ can never enjoy these conveniences in
MS home. The very conditions of mud
and sand practically make impossible
The development Of better facilities for
| living. These impossible roads lessen
/, social activities, lessen the opportunt
lies for education and for church al
4 enhance, and are largely the cause OF
the lonliness Of country life, which
falls upon the women especially. as
well as upon all of the young people.
1 In olden times, before city life had
through the development of industrial
I Coz ~,
world affairs there was not so much
difference between the conveniences
enjoyed by the country man and the
city man. Now the difference is as
wide as the distance between the east
end the west City conveniences have
enormously expanded: the coun
Try districts have remained prac
ticaIly at a stsndstill So long
as this condition lasts there will
be unrest on the farms and an eager
desire ON the part of the farmers and
farm laborers to get away from the
country into the city. This drains the
farming sections OF millions of people
who under other conditions would re
main on the farms to their own advan.
tage and to the benefit of the entire
country
Every activity Of the farmer is eth.
CT burdened by bad roads or bettered
by good roads. The cost of every wheel
that turns on a highway is increased
by bad roads or. lessened by good
roads.
Increased agricultural production
can be brought about only by the build
ing of good roads except in times OF
abnormally high prices. Good roads
Huld mean lower costs of foodstuffs