The Mena weekly star., 1920-08-19
GOOD ROADS. THE GOVERN
 MENT AND THE STATES

From the Kansas City Star.
 The importance of adequate trans portations for the United States is now beginning to be generally recog- nized. The recent extension of aid to the railroads, amounting to more than l 1-2 billion dollars, has created little adverse criticism. But the feeling scarcely prevails that even this sum will work miracles for the roads or solve the country's transportation problem.
 The railroads had been neglected by the government, which for more than two years presumed to operate these carriers without provision for their maintenance.
 Now it is seen that the railroads must not only be aided by the exten- sion of funds, but that other means of transportation, the rivers and the highways, must be developed as sup plementary carriers for all kinds of traffic
 Only about three years ago did the government begin to take an interest in highways on anything like large scale and to provide funds for their construction. Prior to this time, Great Britain was spending more an nually on roads in the British Isles than was spent in the United States, and other European nations, with still smaller territory, were far ahead of this country in highway development.
 The extension of federaleaid to road building, the matching of dollarsp with the state governments, resulted last year in the construction of more than ten thousand miles of hard sur faced roads of some kind. The total expenditure was more than 4 billion dollars, half of which came from the federal government This effort put the United States ahead of any two European countries in highway con struction.
 This year 600 million dollars four times the amount of last year, will be available from federal sources for road building. How much of this sum the states will be able to obtain, un- der conditions attaching to the eKten- sion of such aid, remains to be seen. The high price of labor and materials, not a little dallying on the part of states and good road agencies, and the inability of railroads to transport ma- terials have interfered seriously with highway construction in the last few months.
 The need of hard roads in the coun- try is urgent enough. Of total road mileage of 2,700000 in the United States, only about 10 per cent had re- ceived any kind of surfacing at the beginning of this year, and less than 2 per cent of the roads were fit for heavy motor traffic.
 The federal buread of public roads, which is under direction of the depart ment of agriculture, attempts to stim- ulate the character of the road which shall be constructed with the aid of federal funds. Efforts are made to see that the money is properly spent in the improvement of main highways and without the interference of local political interests.
 The attempt is now being made to create federal highway commission, which would assume as far as possible all powers and duties of the secretary of agriculture in relation to highways or public roads. The Townsend bill, which has been widely endorsed, would not only create such commits sion but would provide for a national system of highways, with annual ap- propriations of 100 million dollars for the next four years for the con struction of the system. This system would not include less than nor more than per cent of the total highway mileage in each state.
 If the various states which have not already provided funds for a system of highways can work out measures that will meet with the approval of the people, it appears that with the removal of other obstacles to goo road building at present, an effective use may be more favorable for progress already been provided for, to say nothing of improvements that may be made in the extension of such aid.
 1t will doubtless be come time be. fore the railroads will be able to as- sist materially thru the handling of road materials. But by the time they are able to do so, conditions generally maye be more favorable for progress in giving the country the highways that it needs.