The Mena weekly star., 1919-04-17
ANOTHER GOOD ROADS BOOST.
Eureka Springs, Ark, April 4, 1919. MT. Ben c. Eastin. Mena. Ark.


 Eureka Springs, Ark, April 4, 1919. MT. Ben c. Eastin. Mena, Ark.
 Friend Eastin: Glad to see you are still on the job. l feel like the Irishman who had never seen tele- phone. After he and Mike, his com panion, were domiciled on the 9th floor of the hotel, Pat strolled down to the office. He saw the clerk using the telephone. It excited his curi- osity. The clerk undertook to explain it, but Pat didn't catch on readily. Finally the clerk told him he would call some friend that he could talk to-. Pat said he knew no one in town ex- cept Mike on the 9th floor. The clerk said all right; he would call Mike. So he called him up and gave Pat the transmitter. Pat says: "Moike, is this you?" Mike answered "Yes." ''Then put your head out the window, want to speak to you"
 l feel like 1 want to speak to you rather than write. We came down here about a month since, partly for a rest and to get away from March winds. I see you have up the road question in Polk county, which I am glad to see. The sooner the agitation starts the sooner you get the roads. It takes agitation, education, time, patience and perseverance to accom- plish road improvements, tick eradi- cation, etc.
 Men are not willfully opposed to enterprises that make for their inter est, hence the need of patience with those who honestly believe they will be ruined if taxed to build roads. The facts are they will be greatly benefit ed. If they want tc sell they can find buyers on a good road to one on a bad one. If they don't want to sell what they save in wear on harness and vehicles will pay their road tax, to say nothing of the saving in time and the comfort and satisfaction de- rived from travelling over a good road. The men that oppose the good road movement so strenuously now, will in few years point with pride to the good roads and wonder how they could have been so blind to their own interest.
 You doubtless remember when at certain seasons it was not safe for a vehicle to venture beyond the paved streets in Dallas. The bad roads put an embargo on traffic between the city and farmers.
 The railroad brought in the stuff the farmers in the adjacent country should have supplied. The result was the people had to pay high prices while the roads were bad and when theroads got so the farmers could get to town he found the market supplied from Kansas Colorado or elsewhere, and he had to sell for what he could get. Now they have cardinal roads east, west, north and south, and lat erals so that nearly every farmer in the country can get to market with his produce when it's most in demand Thus he reaps the benefits of good market and benefits the city in saving cost of transportation from foreign fields. My recollection is that Dallas county voted &4 of million dollars first and has voted more since and the interest and sinking fund to meet the bonds when due is being paid without murmur. Now nearly all the ad- joining counties are voting bonds for roads. Hunt county voted S2 000,- 900 few days ago It may be that these honest objectors are from Mis- souri and have to be shown, and that takes time. I am from Missouri my self and had to go to much newer country to be shown, bur i got the lesson Fl light, and I haven't an au- tomobile either.
 That's one objection I have heard.
 I'm not going to pay tax to build good roads for these automobile cranks to ride around on.' Now that's what call cutting off your nose to spite your face. Besides. do you know that the laws in most every state ore So fixed that the auto man is Taying more road tax than the av- craze farmer that has four times as much invested in his farm.
 Now, Bro. Eastin, I am not writ irg al this fo~ your benefit, but 70 stir up your mind by way of renlern- brance, for I know without word from you that you know from obser- vation and experience that bad roads are a liahiiifv fo anxy cor,o,,o tfni4xr