The Topeka state journal., 1919-11-20
State Sets Pace for Roads Re-
ceiving Federal Aid.
Highway Engineer Watson in
Speech to Commissioners.
FARMS TO THE CITIES
This Is Secret of New Move
ment, Markham Says.
Good Program Before Officials
Convention Today.

Kansas leads in hard surfaced roads
| receiving federal aid, in the four
states in the federal aid district. in
cluding Missouri, Nebraska and Kan
sas, according to w. NJ. Watson, state
| highway engineer, in an address be-
fore the county commissioners and
county engineers at the Elks' club.
Watson stated that the value of all
project statements filed in the district
amounts to $3O,041,653 The value of
the work filed from Kansas was s12,-
893.3S9.
1T has been only thru the hearty
cooperation of every one concerned
that we have been able to have such
a good record for highway work, and
wish to take this opportunity of
thanking the county commissioners
from the counties that have engaged
in federal aid work for their hearty
cooperation in making the federal aid
road work in Kansas a decided sue
cess. We hope that as the work goes
on the same cooperative spirit will
exist and that within the next two
years, we will have completed in this
| state a large mileage of improved
highways, and have expended with
credit to ourselves and with honor to
| the state the entire allotment of fed
eral aid funds, and have started addi-
tional work from funds which we hope
|
| Car Shortage Cripples Work.
| Watson refused the difficulties
surmounted and still encountered in
| Kansas counties in making the build
| ing of hard surfaced roads a reality.
The car shortage, he stated, was one
| of the most serious drawbacks in COM
| pleting contracts this year. Especially
| has this been, true, he said, since the
| serious coal situation threatened and
| the railroads ordered the using of all
available cars for transportation of
| coal.
| Watson expressed the belief that
some of the boards of county COM
missioners have been disappointed in
| not receiving the full amount of fed
eral aid requested. Then, he pulled
| the long suffering legislature over the
Goals, declaring that the lawmakers
! it was impossible to get sufficient help
| to carry on the work and keep things
| going smoothly.
"The legislature" he said, twas so
careful to fix the salary of each en-
ploye of the office, and fix it suffi-
cient1y low, that on the first of July,
there was left under the state high
way engineer only one of the old en-
gineers of the department, all of the
| remainder were offered and accepted
better positions in other locations so
that the ientire reorganization of the
department was necessary on the first
of July
| Markham on Roads.
The important bearing good high
ways have on all phases of country
life, especially the financial and social
| sides of it, was described this morning
by W. c. Markham, secretary of the
state highway commission, in an ad-
dress before the county commissioners
and county engineers at the Elks' club
on the second day of their annual con-
| II ha ca
relation is borne between bad dirt
roads and the modern hard surfaced
highway, in the success of modern
farming, that the old fashioned fail
bears to the modern threshing ma
chine; the cradle to the binder. Mr..
Markham said:
| "sBack to the farm has been the
cry of those who have seen this situa-
ton confronting us, but their cry has
lbeen in vain. The only way we will
solve this problem is to bring the farm
Ito the city. Increased production Will
come with an increased market and
the methods of transportation gauge
them both.
IF it will pay US to use the binder
Instead of the cradle, it will pay US
to be able to haul to market twice as
much, twice often as we have been
able to in the past If the farme er
would control the market on his pro-
ducts, he must also control the condi-
| ton of the roads on his way to the
market. The Kansas law gives to the
farmer the initiative in road building.
lNo roads can be built unless he petit
tions for them.
First States to Petition.
"It is more than an interesting IN
cident in the road building program
of the United States that the Trans
mississippi states are the first to petit
ton the federal government for ad-
a
federal appropriation to assist the sew
eral states in highway work was
passed in 1916, these midwest states