The Monett times., 1922-03-31
NATIONAL SAFETY AND PRO-
GRESS BY BUILDING HIGHWAYS

tne needs OF the country IN Lnal tiine'
The automobile and motor truck
have come into being part of great
economic and social revolution, which
rightly used will mean as much for
our national advancement as the de-
velopment of our rail road system,
perhaps more.
We have come 10 a point where
motor trucks and automobiles are the
individual property of one man or
small group. of men and where there
can be no such abuse as the country
suffers from in times passed by the
misInanagement of railroads and from
other causes.
What the sea is to the world com
merce, free and open To every ship
that spreads its sails or every steamer
that fires its boilers, good highways
will be to the traffic, passenger and
freight of this country. The highway
must be developed to meet the rapid
expanding motor vehicle traffic. 1t
must be built on firm foundation,
so solid and enduring that it may
stand the tremendous pounding OF the
heavy motor truck which are to do
much of the heavy traffic that rail-
roads are no longer able 20 handle.
A few years ago Florida began a
campaign of highway building. 1t
then lad possible the most intolerable
impossible roads than any state in the
Union. They were either bottom
less sand waste or of bottomless mud.
Today one can motor thousand miles
over unbroken stretches Of splendid
highway throughout Florida, and 1t is
literally true that within a thousand
mile trip one would never be out OF
sight of other cars, and often a dozen
others would be in the range of vision
for the greater part of time. Florida
has built thousands of miles of such
roads, and its appetite has been whet-
ted for more.
These roads have developed motor
ing by the tourist and by the local
people to an extent that few would
ever have deemed few years ago.
A horse drawn vehicle is rarely seen
on any of these Florida roads. Motor
trucks are in evidence everywhere.
Motor busses carry passengers on
regular routes of $50 miles or more.
The vast citrus fruit and early veget-
ables business of the state is now
handled almost exclusively from the
farms to the towns and railroad
depots by motor trucks.
What Florida mas accomplished in
the last five or six years in revolu-
tionizing its entire business through
the building of good highways can be
done in Missouri. 1t is probable that
Florida has spent more in proportion
to wealth and population on good
highways than any other State. But
the success which it has achieved has
intensified the realization in that
State of the value Of highways, and
so Florida keeps on in its campaign
new and better highways.
1t must be fully understood that
motor traffic will develop on larger
scale with heavier cars just as rapidly
as good highways are provided, and
that the people, farmers, merchants,
and manufacturers tributary 10 these
roads are the ones who will reap the
profits. Their life is broadened, their
ability to do business is increased, the
opportunity of the farmer and his
family for social life, for educational
advancement, for church attendance
has increased. The farmers becomes
city man in one sense in that he is
within reach of the city at any hour
of the day. The physician is made
available and thousands of lives are
saved annually by the ability of ply
sicians to travel at rapid speed to the
bed side of the sick and suffering.
The merchant and the farmer have
broader opportunity for business.
Indeed, from every standpoint,
every argument is in favor of the
building of good highways, and build
ing 81 permanently and solidly that
thss can stand the increase traffic
fM years TO come. No one should
make the mistake of communities in
road pioneering work who accepted
anything in the way of improved road
thinking it would last forever. Build
for penmanency and with foundation
that will stand hard knocks.
The time is now. 1t can be done
now to great advantage to the
cost of labor and material. Employ
ment can be given to thousands of
men who otherwise would be idle, and
the creation of employment is abso-
lutely essential to the safeguarding
of the life of a nation. Now is the