Evening star., 1923-04-22
GOOD ROADS HELP
CHURCHES, HE SAYS
Pastor Leaves Pulpit to Help
Movement for Better
Highways.

Where roads are best churches are
choicest fruits; where roads are poor
est churches are weakest, and igno-
rance, poverty and crime abound"
rms Is the outstanding thought in
an article written by DR.. s. NJ John
son. former pastor of the Austin
Presbyterian Church. at Chicago. and
now director of the Lee Highway AS
socistion, which is to be broad dca ST ed
ey wireless for the American Auto
mobile Association and the Hirhwsv
Education Board as an aid to school
'nlioren in preparing their ESSAYS
on The influence of Highway Trans
port pom the Religious Life of My
onihunity. in competition for the
1900 scholarship offered by the
a!gh"aE Education Board
Value OF Ronds.
DR.. Johnson points out that the
modern highway will do as much for
rural community as q railroad,
school or church. serving as a. means
10 bring the people together and pro-
noting the consolidated school the
Union church and the civic center.
THESE. he shows, result in more reg
ular attendance at church and school
ana better-patd preachers and teach
erS Tor the rural communities
localities. he points out. and the lack
or such in others. threaten the verI.
existence of the church because the
CHURCH depends largely upon the as
NeHioiase OF ITS congregation, and
such aSsemblage cannot take place
unless there Is a good highway to
facilitate movement.
The towns and cities with their
5000 streets and pavements travel
able every day in the year. promote !,
free and uninterrupted movement of
lite. DR.. Johnson shows, while IN
those parts of the country tina. are
served by primitive roads. such move
ment is dependent upon the weather
for TINS and other reasons the back
country has been drained Of its young
people and many of its most enter
pristng citizens being left with little
taxable wealth and lessened social
attractions. while the drawing power
or the town and city has been in
creased by this addition to the popu-
lRtion.
All Over Nation.
Such backward communities. he
says. are found in all parts of the
United States. lying beyond the end
of the pavement. They are stagnant
pools of humanity, and in many parts
OF rural America the three great in
stitutlons that maintain the religious
life OF communicative school the
home and the church-are deteriorat
ing lf the young and strong ahan-
don the country. DIR. Johnson asks
what becomes of the country churc,;
and if school. home and church con
tinue TO decay. what will become of
the religious life of the community?
Failure to support the good roads
movement is sinful because of waste
DR.. Johnson asserts. If commu-
nifty deliberately takes ten years TO
reach stage of advancement that
by reasonable effort might be
reached in four years. and If there
is a church in that community, that
church has fafed to fulfill one main
purpose of its existence.
The application is DR.. johnson says
in conclusion. to let the religious
leaders ascertain the program for
better roads in the community and to
help carry it out, because better
roads mean easier methods of con-
Gregation. and congregation of the
people of any community invariably Y
leads to a better understanding of
the principles governing religion and
tands 10 improve the religious life Of
that community.