The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-03-18

for The consumer without in any way
lessening the Profit 10 the prcd-ce..
lndeen, the profit of farming would be
greatly enhanced ever at over prices
based on good roads as compared with
high prices and bad roads.
The food supply OF the country, one
.. the greatest factors entering into
the social unrest or the happiness Of
country, can only be solved by the
building of highways substantial and
permanent and equal to lie demands
Of the motor truck ami automobile trs,f-
fic.
We have seen only the infancy Of
the motor truck and the automobile,
only the infancy of the use of the IN.
ternal combustion or gasoline engine.
The time viii come, if we are wise In
the building of highways, when the in
ternal combustion engine will not only
carry vast travel and freight back
and forth between city and country,
but when II will be entirely feasible to
electrically light large proportion OF
farm homes and by. gasoline power
supply them with running water AMI
sive them other conveniences which
are now obtainable only on few
farms, probably not one in thous-,
and on the average.
The improved highway is the per
ruanent factor in bringing about this
solution of our many problems. The
building of these highways at the pres
emit time would create employment; II
would stimulate manufacturing inter
ests; it would bring the city and the
country into closer acquaintanceship
10 the advantage of both. 1t would
i,elp TO break down every barrier be-
tween city life and country life, not by
destroying the advantages OF the city's
conveniences, but by lifting up TO the
City's standard tke conveniences of
the country life with all the added ben
efits of the outdoorness of farm life.
The world has reacvhed q point
where humanity is in fluxing condi-
ton. Men and women are no longer
satisfied with the things with which
they have had to endure. They viii
want more comforts and conyenience5
( in living and as far as MY be possible,
they have a right to demand them. A
brocd, treatrn emit of the whole subject
would bring about the building of
/ highways by the expenditure, not of a
/ pa1try few hundreds of millions OF dol
! lars. but by the expenditure within
I comparatively few years of billions or
( dollars. Fortunately, the money thus
! invested enriches the entire communE
! ty every year more than the total
amount expended.
/ This country is in the infancy If its
material development We have scarce
II touched the ground in the utiliZa-
! ton of our vast mineral wealth as COM
Pared with the possibilities of the fu-
| ture. We have only slightly scratched
+! the soil for food production as conpar-
ed with what we can do under inten
/ sive cultivation and intensive fertiliza-
! ton, using motor power as we must do
| IN the future to supplement and in
many cases to ~supplant animal power.
! But all OF this hangs upon good
roads.
| So long as the mud road exists prog
ress is impossible.
| The people OF the cities are as VII
! tally concerned in the building Of good
! highways as are the people of the
/ country. Indeed, city life is more de-
pendent upon good highways than Is
country life, for upon good highways
will depend whether the city consunn
/ er can secure an adequate supply OF
! food at living cost or not
While individual communities and
states must go at this highway work
with all possible yigor, and in benefit
! ing themselves create employment
| for every idle hand in the country, the
Eetion as a whole mast back up this
work and recognize that it is national
in scope and demands national financ-
ing and national cooperation in every
| way possible.