The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-28
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

humor to appreciate the quatrain about "The Law of the Road.
 "The law of the road is paradox quite,
 In riding or driving along;
 It you go to the left you are sure to go
 right.
 If you go to the right you go wrong"
 
 Not only this, but having come through the mud in an automobile with out chains as we slipped on slippery the middle of the road, I agreed with Swift, who said: T always like to be- ] gin a journey on Sundays, because I shall have the prayers of the church to preserve all that travel by land or sea-" felt like they were needed as we passed other cars or veered too close to the ditches
 It was Cato of old who went on rec ord as saying: Never travel by sea when you can travel by land" I think this was written shortly after he had been seasick. desire to go Cato step further and advise. Never travel by land, nor sea, when you can make the trip through the air. I felt this keen ly all the way from springville to Bir- mingham when our car was founder ing around in a sea of mud
 You can guess from my state of mind that I am keyed up to advocate good , roads in Alabama and as the 30th of this month is set apart as Good Roads Day for the state, it gives me genuine pleasure to boost it all I can, although I have already written reams on the subject and talked by the hour on the urgent necessity of improving our high ways if we hoped to put this great com monwealth in line with the progressive states in America.
 1 There are rules of the road for vehicular traffic. just as there are rules on the sea for ships, and just as there l will be rules of the air for airplanes. If any one thinks it is easy to handle traffic at the rush hours. let him take 1 his stand at any of our downtown inter sections or at the foot of the Rainbow .. viaduct It used to be some task in cities before the advent of the motor car, but now it has been intensified and | it becomes necessary not only to in- struct motorists but pedestrians the way to cross streets.
 l
 | If the rule of the road is complicated. that of the sea is more so in spite of the bigness of the vast bodies of waters. A traffic cop perched on top of a wave being out of question, and air brakes being not handy with sufficient power to halt ocean steamer within a few yards, the rules governing sea going vessels are based on common sense and large experience. While there are ocean lanes," vessels do not and cannot move along well marked lines like rail- way trains. The rule on meeting is to steer to the starboard or right it being the duty of the steam vessel as more manageable to keep out of the way of one under sail.
 l l suppose it will not be long before the aeronautic experts will figure out at present the aviator has a large choice in cutting across the back lots of the sky. The reason I lug in airplanes at l this point is to warn those who have gone daffy about flying not to impede the progress of good roads by giving out | bat rxyi1 ba while before automobiles will be as out of date as old Dobbin is getting to be, and predicting that within 20 years man seen either riding or driving horse will be fined for cruelty to ami mals.
 ] The fact is, we will be using the earth for quite awhile to come as a place of locomotion both for foot passengers, horse-drawn vehicles, and gasoline pro- i pelled cars. This being true, then get in behind the movement to make the crooked paths straight, cut down the l hills. and harden the surface of the roads so that man, beast and car can travel without getting mred up, losing ! poNn tiIHe ana temper ana lot or money besides. There is call also for proper bridges over branches, creeks and rivers. The right of way should give chance for rapid travel without 1 imperiling life and limb.
 l
 It is but a commonplace to say that i Americans have excelled their competi-. tors in other countries in nearly all in- l dustrial pursuits and methods. and have produced nearly everything required for ! the advancement of civilization in greater abundance and greater perfec- ton than is to be found elsewhere in 1 the world with the exception of the rural highways, which are poor. prob ably the poorest that prevail in any country which has reached so high a l state of civilization. Possibly there have been reasons in the past why this was so, but we must not longer rest content when by an effort the situation l can be remedied.
 | Never before in this country have good roads been as prominently before all the people as at present. for cities, counties and states are getting ready to take advantage of the nations offer to put the highways in such condition as to insure their proper maintenance