The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1920-01-15
lUPT0A fAVORS BOND
ISSUE FOR HIGHWAYS

! ne feature or the sessions OF the
| Good Roads assoc iation yesterday WAS
| the pa per by Highway Commissioner
Coleman. which is printed in The Vir-
ginian this morning in fun. The COM
I plete program yesterday proved OF
unusual interest. The attendance is
large. and number of papers of
moment are to be delivered during the
sessions
President, s. l.. Lupton. in his open
ing OF the convention yesterday. dwelt
| Upon the importance of n bond issue
for road Improvements. The meeting
was opened with an invocation by
| Rabbi Calisch, and a welcoming talk
by Mayor Ainalie. In tho afternoon
besides the paper by the highway
com m issioner, the program called for
addresses by a. ". Osborne. OF Cleve-
land, and John Kerr Branch, of Rich
mond.
The Road Ahead" was the sub.
tect OF a lecture illustrated with slides
! before the Coed Roads association
last night at Murphy's hotel These
slides witt be used IN campaign
throughout West Virginia to assist In
creating enthusiasm Of citizens. in
that state, looking towards the con-
struct!on OF foug thousand miles of
improved highway.
Or s. M. Johnson, of tho United
States Public Roads. addressed the
, association.
Describing Transcontinental
Truck Tour. Or. johnson said we
ere entering upon an era of national
progress In which the motor vehicle
on the modern highway win take as
important a part as the railway has
taken since the invention Of the loco
motive. There Is this difference, how
ever said the speaker. when we
bt lit our railroads. we ttre provided
proper road bed, then We bought our
rolling stock and then. but not until
then. did we put our rolling stock in
comm ission.
Now, howeve-.' he continued, I'VE
have reversed the process. we have
bought our rolling stock, "A costly and
delicately, constructed, mechanism
| and put it in commission before pro-
vsdtng suitable road bed. upon
which to operate It. The result Is
| such an appalling economic waste
| that no community IS rich enough to
permit II to continue.
| The people OF the United States
already have six and one-half million
motor vehicles costing six and one
| half billion. this makes it a problem
| OF serious confederation.
! Ho urges that congress be asked
| to build hard serface roads, go that
| one can PASS from one country to
| thn othor. without unavoidable de-
| lay DIR. johnson said the transcon-
tsnental trip clerely revealed the In
| su!hcfency OF bridges and culverts.
/ On this trip they broke 145 bridges
declared DR.. Johnson, he also dem
'onstrated tho necessity OF wider road
heds This trip was an experiment
| on the part of the government, over
| the Lincoln highway, the main object
| or which was to try out tho value OF
| motor transportation across the con-
tinent and to bring the people Of tho
| United gates the greatest Importance
| or government motor transpor Ia tion
and to boost good roads. The Good
Year band accompanied them on
this trip and from the time they fefr
washington. until they reached San
Francisco, they passed through a
country OF waving flags. People
thronged along the highway as they
passed. As result OF the trip. orders
10 the factories for automobiles have
In very few placed In the United
States. did they find the road beds
1; wide enough. Three strong points he
made, wers that We must have
stronger bridges and culverts. the
roads must be made wider and the
roads mus be built cr hard surface.
Dirt roads after a rain will not bear
truck transportation. He said the
nigh cost Of living was caused by the
hogh cost Of Transportation. with
crops perishing In the fields. caused
by irnposs'blity to reach markot
He urged the good roads assoc,a .
Iton 70 petition congress to add to the
personnel OF those taking inventory OF
war material. 50 as to expedite the
diNrinutior of tractors, trucks etc. for
troad building. mentioning one store
house he visited where there were
three people taking inventory OF auto
mobile rarts amounting to several mill
non dollars. which means that e will
be srreraf years more before these RI,
available for distribution.
He said motor vehicles had the de-
cisive result In winning the war II
was INC nnto- truck that saved Parts
and Chateau-Thierry.
T. He said when the war was over
q four million American bows had
learned thu value OF good highways
and every one came home boostine
good roads
| The program for today Includes al
dressos by wade II. Massie. v NJ
fferce and several members OF the
legislature At the morninr eAesIou
senator Swanson. and RI. G. Shirley n,
tho afternoon session noA q,
Governor John J. Cornweli. OF West
virginia, al banquet at Murphy
hotel tonight