The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-04-16
GOOD ROADS
q. w. cRARY, SRI

All those who have occasion to ride
over the Pensacola and Flomaton hard
road at present certainly feel the de-
mand for good roads on the soil, and
not so much on paper and in the
sweet bye and bye, and all this is more
apparent when we see all along or
near by in abundance first class ma
terial for good road building, i. e.. sand,
clays and gravel mixture, and even
where this has been put on in sugar
coating pill fashion a first-class trac-
ton bed exists. OF course to put this
material on in the right quantity does
not require engineering skill and legal
and financial experts, only plain home
made horse sense doing it in a practi-
cal and economical way, and putting
the cost of many of these frills which
often bob up. in durable, tangible and
public paving road surfacing.
We note in the April issue Of the
Literary Digest. page %. an article
from the Engineering News. of New
York, as follows:
Legitimate highway improvements
financing is making such heavy de-
mands upon the publfc's pocketbook
that diversion Of private funds into
other channels than construction and
maintenance of routes, economically
justified constitutes a menace to the
good roads movement.
The public has made such a ready
response for money that the good road
slogan has been seized upon by scores
of road boosting organizations as a
means Of supplying easy money to
the promoters who head these bodies
At the present time there are some
what more than 200 of these organiza-
tons which select highway routes for
their boosting operations, give them a
fine sounding name, like the Yankee
Doodle Highway. and then proceed to
go out for money. Some Of the funds
may be used for legitimate purposes of
highway promotion. but the chances
are that large portion does no other
good than to fatten the pocketbooks of
the professional road boosters.
The danger in the. situation is that
the public once yictimized by one of
these booster organizations will with
hold funds from legitimate highway
development projects
With taxes of one sort and another
constituting heavy burden for all
OASANSAAoB linus Az AA6AWdy l1lVIOV6-
ment should not be dissipated in wild
cat schemes Instituted largely with
motives Of personal gain.
Conditions in the road boosting !
business-for 1t has developed practi-
caaly into that-have reached a stage
which has indicated to the American
Automobile association the desirabilitv
OF thorough wedding out process.
All good road associations, of course. |
are not open to charges of useiessness
and dishonesty. but enough goats have
mingled with the sheep to warrant a !
separation of the flock to the end that
more money should go into road build |
ing and less into road boosting.
Now. as good road booster. thinI, /
il we want good roads. we must be
county boosters in order to settle IN
our cut-over lands, and then the de-
mand for access and egress through
them will automatically boost for good /
roads; also afford means by which the
revenue can be raised with which to
build the roads all over the county.
The farmers. through organization
are boosting the county by trying to
raise cucumbers and Irish potatoes
thus opening the vaults OF our natural /
resources. the soil. bringing in wealth