The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-04-28

timent to insure either permanent or nationl roads.
 There is no question but that the
 automobile invention and perfection has
 but it did not not create sufficient sen done really more to increase the good roads fervor than any other single
 thing. Many other conditions and cir cumstances have combined to cause good roads agitation, but the automo- bile has created long distance travel
 and an actual demand for roads that
 must be met
 Many of the states have gone for
 ward and have adopted a more or less general plan for state roads. Some of
 these states have made wonderful progress on their state road systems.
 But the efforts to nationalize the roads have been confined to organizations and societies with no authority to act. All that could be done was to urge the va rious states, counties and towns to im- prove the roads systematically. These efforts have resulted in more or less success at times but have more often resulted in failures.
 The United States government made a big advance toward better roads and in the direction of national roads, when, in 1916, the federal aid law was passed. This law was an incentive to the states to create the necessary road laws to obtain their portion of the appropriation for new roads. And it wisely required government supervision, insuring a more or less uniform method of construction It was a tendency toward centralization and certainly a step in the right di rection. It was only a step, however
 "To the 2,000,000 men who have been in France and have seen the net work of roads in every community and ex- tending in every direction the question will raise. How can we in America get such highways? The soldier who has travelled over the French roads will re- turn to his farm or his town to cry for roads. He will not be content to drive through the mud for he has seen what can be saved in time and money by having good roads.
 Not only is the returning soldier go~ ing to want roads for himself. He will go home demanding great arteries of travel such as he has seen in France. They have shown him that France has saved by them in times of war He knows only too we'll that many. many days and weeks while he was at the front the railroads could not feed him. Trucks by the thousands carried pro- visions to him because they could reach him in no other way. Without these roads how often would he have been hungry,
 II Soiic states q SySttlil ol highways can be built, but in many of our states this system must be a make shift or not built al all Most of our southern and western states could not entertain the thought of expense of building permanent roads across the state. The expense would be far great CT than the state could bear. Then, too the question of politics and jealousies would enter into the location and each state would look to it's own (supposed) advantage regardless of the adjoining state. The result would be, as we now see it, a system of state roads built for the benefit of the state and it's citizens only.
 such roads we need are rightly national roads. They are for the bene- fit of all the people. New York and San Francisco are interested. And more than all is the nation interested Military require good roads, for the present-day army is motorized. Every thing moves by motor power Without the motor the modern army cannot ex- ist. All the people must contribute to the cost of national roads. and all the country will benefit by tho national sys- tenn. State and national aid is good and should continue, but a system of paved roads built and maintained by the government as are the roads of France is the present need and the inn mediate and urgent need of the United States"