The Monmouth inquirer., 1924-10-16
GOO
ROADS
BIG VALUE OF GOOD
ROADS IN ARKANSAS

The value Of good roads has been
of Phillips county, Arkansas, by the
recent completion there of 81 miles of
concrete pavement. The county is
largely dependent for it's progress
upon the cotton and sweet potato
crops There are two seasons when
cotton needs extra labor. Formerly
it was the practice to hire negro fam
lilies temporarily, housing them on the
plantation Nowadays 1t is hard to
find families for this temporary work.
Last year the cotton crop was saved
by hauling bus and truck loads of
women and children from Helena to
the cotton fields each morning and
taking them back that night. Labor
ers would work that way who would
not live upon the plantation. With
out the concrete roads this transporta-
ton would have been impossible.
In former years sweet potatoes were
taken to market as soon as they were
dug, because If they were stored to
wait for higher prices the roads would
get so rough the potatoes would be
bruised and spoiled In transport. Now
planters have big storage rooms and
sell potatoes when the price is best,
getting double what they have re-
ceived during the summer months.
Travelling over the concrete pave
ment truck will haul 100 crates OF
sweet potatoes to town, making four
trips of 25 miles each day. Before
the pavement was built 1t would have
required four mule teams to do the
same work now done by the one truck.
Phillips county, says Sebastian
Straub of Helena, Ark, in describing
the benefits of the new road system In
the Concrete Highway Magazine, lies
in the crotch formed by the confiu-
ence of the Mississippi and White
rivers.
1.-THE SOIL" he explains, sis an al
luvial deposit varying from a sandy
loan to gumbo. The lower end OF the
country is subject to overflow by back
water from the Mississippi Original
" the land was entirely covered by
dense growth of timber. numbering
first removed the valuable trees, then
some farms were cleared and planted
to cotton or corn. This latter devel-
onment has occurred within the last
ten wears. and there still are great
tracts of uncleared land which, II de-
welcomed, could be made into some OF
the richest cotton plantations IN the
state.
cone drawback has been the dill
Guilty of getting to the more remote
corners of the county. The earth
roads, raised but little above the sur
rounding low land, are often impassa-
BILE to loaded vehicles for eight months
In the year. During that time people
90 to and from town on the train or
horseback. Even in good weather SIX
mules were required to pull TWO OF
three-ton load over an earth ROAD To
the nearest railway siding ana
12-mile trip to town required the
whole day. On that account much Oh
the good farm land lay as the iumper-
man had left it, covered with smali
trees and underbrush."
The new 61-mile concrete highway
which connects Helena with the out
living sections is IA feet wide, but on
curves 1t is 10 feet in width, to con-
form with standards of the Uniteo
states bureau of roads. The pavement
Is six inches thick.
In the past nearly all cotton was
hauled to the nearest railway siolng
and shipped directly to Helena. Now
however farmers can haul forty OF
eftv miles to Helena, load their cotton
on a boat bound for New Orleans anu
save 20 per cent of the rail freight
charges. or about $1,000 on 7'ooo 10
1OOOO-ton cargo.