Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-03-19

Pennsylvania is nearing the end of
the mud age" according to Cover
nor William c. Sproul who has writ
ten an article on the plans for giving
Pennsylvania first class system of
State Highways for Community
Service" the bulletin of the Johns
town Chamber of Commerce.
The Governor says that people
should so after good roads and use
them and pay for them gradually.
holding that they should be built
right and made to last.
The Governor says:
Last fall 1 covered many miles of
roads in northern Cambria county in
an automobile. The trip was II de-
lightful one. The dirt roads were
in splendid condition. But as we
whirled along the highway / thought
of conditions when winter came; ana
my mind glimpsed the sodden rib
bon of mud that must come with the
rain and snow - a mud ribbon that
would throttle trade, prevent neigh
borly intercourse and cause tremend-
Gus monetary loss. l seemed to SEQ
mired automobiles; teams of tired
horses steaming from the effort, to
get to market loads of produce Woe
fully small because of road condi-
tions. And as the Cambria county
people with me in the automobil
pointed out the glories of the coun-
tryside l could not help but wonder
how long it would be before Penn
sylvania awoke to the fact that it's
poor roads are brake on the
wheels of progress.
"A short while afterward came the
November election; and the people
of Pennsylvania gave a majority of
100000 votes to the proposition to
bond the Comm onwealth for $780,
100000 for road purposes. | knew
then that we in Pennsylvania were
nearing the end of the Mud Age.
Since that time we have completed
our plans for Pennsylvania S system
of primary ighways-planned to
give the State a network of north
south and east-west thoroughfares
which will connect every county and,
meeting the highways of other Com
monwealths at our boundaries, place
Pennsylvania in communication with
multitude of markets and sources
of supply.
I'm tho work of permanentizing
Pennsylvania highways we are be-
ing joined by large number OF
counties. We have been promised
many millions of dollars to be used
in conjunction with our funds on
State-aid highways, while the major
ity of counties in the State are also
preparing to spend their own money
on the construction of necessary lat
erals or cross roads, connecting our
primary highways. The admins
Ir1tinn iS mart tpI1lo elNr rN1nnCaI Will
the Willingness of county commits
sionerS to cooperate in highway
construction. And we are pleased
that the people themselves look at
the proposition in such a broad
gauged manner and are urging their
county authorities not only to spend
all available money possible for bet
ter roads, but to borrow money for
construction.
that we should have the use of our
improved roads while paying for
them Is a proper oRe. We buy our
homes and occupy them while pay
ing for them. We borrow money
for the purpose of extending our
business. We bond the State to pay
for roads the use of which we have
while paying the bills. A county
bonds itself for road purposes-and
tilV VI DtllcI highways
increases property values and lessons
production costs.
But 1t is important to remember
that borrowing money with which
to build roads which will have dis
appeared or are useless before the
borrowed money has been repaid is
an economic fallacy. When we buy
a home we eXpect-we know!-that
the house with proper care will be
practically as good as ever when we
have finished paying for it. Under
the construction method planned by
the Commonwealth the life of the
roads will be much longer than the
life of the bonds issued to pay the
bills. 1t is important that construc-
ton by counties be of the same dur
able nature. Taxpayers are never
averse to spending money when they
know that the return is one hundred
cents for every dollar expended. Dur
ing the next four years the Common
wealth of Pennsylvania will spend
approximately 100000, 900 for bet
ter roads. And we are going to have
00,000.000 worth of roads Not
only that, we are going to continue
to have that S100,000,000 worth of
roads for years after we have paid
sthc bills-which is, after all, the
most important thing to remember.
Pennsylvania must not stop with
that initial expenditure. 1t must
continue to construct permanent
highways until every hamlet and