The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1922-06-02

Right down the creek all would stalk.
But restless would fan progress
Let's travel faster, carts are best
With wheels wide, and wagons long,
The creeks oft times were all wrong,
Upon the hills roads must be,
They climbed the ridges suddenly
Every rise and every bump,
They headed for it the jump.
When finally getting on the top,
At every tree and rock they'd stop.
Around the trees, and round the rocks
Kinks upon kinks shocks upon shocks.
They had all day, wended slow,
Stopped to talk with John and Joe.
There was no hustle, noise strife,
They lived and died the simple life
Canto Second.
Awakening for Better Roads.
But, 10, with genius, wheels and gas,
These tortuous trails were doomed to pass
Gas buggies came to travel in,
On City streets did this begin.
The country folk with lordly scorn
Jumped and ran at honk of horn;
When from the Asphalt, brave and bold,
Autos dared these trails to roll
Their drivers said, ut seems to me
We could have streets extensively"
Those early times of auto days
10 deserve all praise,
For the rural folk could not see
How surfaced roads help would be.
Our fathers, and our grandsires, too,
Travelled dirt, it still will do.
You city folk with fine,
Stay your streets, all the time.
Peacock walks we will not build,
And see the grafters pockets filed
Canto Third
Transformation by Autos.
few years passed in this way,
And the Autos swift, were here to stay.
The Wizard Ford, cheap made,
And soon to every shed one strayed.
Then up arose, loud and shrill,
The farmers cry, "Good Roads Well Build"
What use our car, they all did say,
If when it rains, at home must stay.
The movies twice week.
And John to his best girl must speak.
Thus from Henry and his Tin,
The good roads boom did begin
1t rose and swelled, a tide,
Bonds voted far and wide.
Missouri, while little late,
Issued in dollars great.
Canto Fourth
Highway Department Formed
How, now, they cried, shall it be spent,
And into roads get every cent.
The politicians then replied,
Leave that to us, we'll decide.
No, no, they say it must be
Spent very wise and honestly.
If that's the they all did sneer
You'll have to have engineer.
They work for little, mere songi
And honest as the days long.
A road department they did make,
Even with their necks at stake.
The Engineers were turned loose,
Politicians declared truce.
A chief, of course, there must be,
To guard all things, efficiently
Assistants, too, he would need
To handle details, with all speed.
The state is long, furongs wide.
Divisions must decide
With due thought for topography,
The state divisions, six shall be-
Division Four above as told
Was carved from hills rough and bold.
Canto Fifth.
Description of Division Four
The Ozark range is covered fine
With mighty Oak and lordly Pine.
It's mountain torrents dash and leap,
Pour through canyons and gorges steep.
Through alluvian plains, wide and low,
Wind mighty streams, deep and slow.
Biologists long ago discovered,
That seven times, with the sea were covered;
Save only portion of Iron County,
Which only below the sea.
When the Great Jehovah, God of Might,
Formed this earth and gave it hight
And allowed his laws, their course to take
This section did from the seas up break.
Its granite peaks without life,
Clearly show this marvellous strife
The rest of the land plain as can be,
Was seven times covered, by sea.
Thus with Granite, Porphyry and Shae,
It's Gravel and Limestone, road builders quail
With peaks so high and valleys deep,
Economy forces grades oft times steep,
While trying for grades not too steep,
Nor curves too sharp low yardage to keep,
The engineers of division four,
Test all their skill, and then some more
Canto Sixth.
Fins.
Now some boys talk of farming others take the
Some land in the pulpit some stay at home with P
But OF all the ways OF living, the that is for
Is to work like fool, and pack like mule
On Damned old survey line.'
We climb the hills at sunrise stakes upon the back
Stumble through the jungles, the weeds your faces
The ticks get meath the hide, then bury quick and
The "skeeters" sing so merrily it almost makes us
Then wade creek so chilly your teeth they play
Or cross upon shaky log, on all tours like COO
Oh, ladies, in your mousines oh, plutocrats so ri
Whene'er you travel highways or even hit the dit
Remember, oh, remember, these roads they would
If engineers hadn't bazed the trail throughout this
They set the line with utmost and laid the grs
You owe to them the very fact in high you pull til
And still remember you roll is justice always
Is recompense in equal metes to skill that is show
The doctor and the lawyer their fees they do den
Il engineers should ask more pay, they really mig
When payday comes, they hustle up and grab their
And after all the bills are Maid nnstare sfamn "a