The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-04-20
ALABAMA PLEAD
FOR GOOD ROADS
Second Days Meeting of United States
Good Roads Convention.
(5y The Associated press.)

| GREENSBORO, N. G., April 10
| Senator Thomas Heflin, of Alabama
was the principal speaker at the sec
ond days meeting Of the ninth annual
| convention of the United States Good
| Roads association.
| Il want to tell you that we have a
| majority in the house and senate" said
| Senator Helm, addressing the roads
people on the proposal to lay seige 10
| the national legislature until it shall
perpetuate the federal aid policy.
The second day was from opening to
| close a season of speaking in which
| which Alabama took the prize. In ad-
dition to Senator Helflin, Mrs. Wal
! lace B. Edmundson, was introduced by
Judge E. P. Toney, Of Arkansas, pre-
siding officer as 1.-The cotton queen of
Alabama" The Alabama woman
pleaded for roads as a right to the
country woman who lives her life in
darkness and dreary monotonousness
Governors D. W. Davis, of Idaho, E.
F. Morgan, of West Virginia, NJ. C
| Mechem, of New Mexico, Aft Taylor.
| of Tennessee and John NJ. Parker, of
Louisiana, sent greetings to the con-
vention. The Idaho governor urged
the convention to go to congress for
big appropriations, certainly a sum
equal to that disbursed during the re-
cent five years.
National highways can be best built
under state control" said he.
Director General J. A. Rountree read
his annual report, which was brief. but
interesting, declaring that much prog
ress has been made during the past
year.
I'VE have come upon new day"
said Senator Heflin, The old way of
working the roads was artistically de-
scribed by him.
The curriculum for the road work
when you and I were boys, was this:
"a few shovels OF sand, a few pine
tops, a wooden plowstock, and an old
board scrape, lame niger and a one
eyed mule"
The Alabama senator declared that
good roads make for good morals, re-
ligion, citizenship. He fancied more
backsliding, more backbiting, more
church rows, more team mucking
more cross spirit had come from
American roads than from any cause.
There is going to be a continued move
ment to stop this cooperative build
ing think I scent it in the air. The
are talking about holding up this
work until a survey can be made. 4
call on you to pass the strongest reso-
lutions here calling not only for SIS
0O0, 900 but 100000, 900. 1 want to tell
you that we have a majority in the
house and the senate. But there are
some opponents Of this plan in both
parties"
Mr.. Heflin declared that not a mo-
ment should be lost in a survey. He
feared that this device would inte~- |
rupt the work and kill the cooperative
scheme. 1t would put the road build |
ing under a commission and anybody |
could see what that would mean.
He pleaded for roads as the remedy
for bolshevism, anarchacy, for social |
ism. The purest American spirit IS |
on the farmer said he. The red
flag of anarchy is never seen on the
farms. The best thing that can hap
pen to these indictments would be a
to the farms. And after |
that if they put their flag above nat
of the Stars and Stripes 1 would drive
them out of this country or 1 would
execute them in it,
The senator in conclusion urged
the body to put squarely up to the
government its duty. 1t had built
roads in Porto Rico, in the Philippines,
bad made inland waterways given