The Mena weekly star., 1919-04-03
ANTI-ROAD MEET
 WENT OTHER WAY
When Gathering Proved to Be Strong Iy for Highway, Objectors With drew-Judge J. I. Alley Made a
 Plain, Logical Talk to Crowd.

Plain, Logical Talk to Crowd.
 The "antis" failed to "ante" at their Vandervoort meeting Thursday night. In other words they failed to "come in" and "see" what the other fellows held"
 As result the anti-highway dem onstration staged for Vandervoort turned into a jubilee of approval for the great road improvement planned for Polk county.
 Leaders of the opposition were on the outside of the school house when the crowd began to assemble, but when the time came to call the meet ing to order, c. J. Wilson, president of the Vandervoort anti-highway workers, failed to take his place on the rostrum. Neither was there any evidence of the presence of Joe Lewis, J. E. Taylor or J. c. Crump, the in- vestigating committee of the antis.
 Rather than disappoint the many people who had gathered at the Van dervoort school house, the business men of the town conferred and decid- ed that, inasmuch as the antis declined to hold a meeting, the good roads ad- vocates should have a chance to say something.
 After waiting until s:30 and finding none of the anti-highway workers present, B. P. Lichlyter, one of Van dervoort's best known and most sub stantial business men, arose and asked the meeting what should be done.
 The cry was almost unanimous for a speech on good roads, and, upon as- certaining that Judge J. I. Alley of Mena was present, the crowd insisted on hearing him.
 In plain ordinary English Judge AL ley gave the lie to some of the state ments made by the antis. He ridi- culed the argument that the burden of building the Jefferson Highway was to fall entirely on the farmer. Fig ures were given to show conclusively that only small portion of the cost of the highway will be paid by the owners of farm lands.
 Regarding the claim that we can't pay the cost of the highway, Judge Alley referred to what Polk county did in the Liberty Loan and war drives. "We thought we couldn't do that, but we did" he said.
 One of the important matters dis cussed by Judge Alley was that of the cost of the highway. He stated that the estimated cost was $218, ,000 for 46 miles of road, or about $4,600 per mile.
 "They say the farmers have all of this to pay" spoke the judge, "but it isn't true. The Kansas City Southern Railway will pay more tax than all the farms. The City of Mena will pay more than all the farms. The federal government is taking a great interest in good roads. Com missioner Owens over at Little Rock, says to draw on him for $75,000, if we build this road Still these fellows are going around and arousing the prejudice of the farmers by claiming they will have to pay all the cost of the highway.
 The Mena jurist inquired "Who are the people who are fighting the road !? Are they the big taxpayers? No, they are not" It has been figured there are Al, ,440 acres of land in the pro- posed improvement district, and with twenty years in which to pay for the road it is estimated that the cost per acre will not amount to more than DC per annum. In the attorneys opin- ion the cost will be regulated so that land furtherest from the highway will not be taxed as heavily as that abut- ting on the improvement.
 Judge Alley aroused enthusiasm turnout his talk, but none greater than when he referred to a certain Vandervoort farmer, who could not haul his cotton to market at Hatfield on account of bad roads. He could have gotten 30 cents pound at the time, but when the roads were good enough to haul over the price had de- clined to that point where the Wander voort man lost $50 a bale on his five bales.
 The loss, the speaker declared, would have paid this mans entire tax for the highway, yet he was now op- posing good roads. Judge Alley char acterized the fellow that's afraid to do anything as the kind of fellow that's against the highway.
 Good roads will make Polk county develop, the speaker believed, until our farms will be worth twice as much. He mentioned case from Se- vier county that he knew of, where values increased from $25 to S60 an acre. Sevier county likes their first highway we'll enough to start 1 or 5 more.
 When County Judge H. w. Finger
 Continued on Page Sevenl