Evening star., 1926-08-01
TOURISTS OF 1926 FIND .zT
BIG ROAD IMPROVEMENT
Changes Perceptible in Nearly Every
City and Hamlet Traversed
by AutOists.

Theirs is some feeling that putting
good roads in every corner and crew.
ice of the country thing which
eventually Will come about-presages
more complete characterization per-
haps, more Of the hard, cold and solid
factors of life, removing forever the
rural outposts or stripping them Of
that which always has made them +
singulariy attractive. E
Such fears. II seems, find no basis in
fact. America never Will lack fits
hidden spots Of beauty, never the call
of birds nor the fragrance of climbing
wild roses, never the tucked-away and {
individual corners which beckon so al
luringly. Good roads cannot, will not.
desire not, to kill the charm Of quiet
villages, the picturesqueness Of an q
cient and weather.beaten houses, the
many things redolent of the past
which even a hurried twentieth cen 4
tury takes time to revel In. Good
roads make It possible for a greater
number to bask in the shadows of the
and countryside, while at the same !,
time they insure the economic prog
ress Of the Nation as a whole.
Much Work to be DOns.
A hurried glance at a detailed road
map of the United States well might
give the impression that the country p
soon must reach an impasse in high
way construction; that there are no
more points to be connected. but few
counties to be cared for, only iso-
lated and unmiportant spots In need
of links.
But a more careful study will re-
veal that while tremendous amount
Of work has been done, vast q
amount still is in abeyance. Those
who know roads and road conditions
are aware that every State still has
some stretches in dire need Of i'm
provement; that whole States are
rather notorious for their relative
lack of modern and comprehensive
highways. and that in every part Of
the country highway engineers have
their work cut out for them over
considerable period. ~
The greatest and most favorable
factor in the whole situation Is that
while America has, in the past, con-
tributed millions toward the con- 2
struction Of highways, and while It is
now viewing with pride a work well
done, II is not content to rest on its
laurels, but desires above all else to
go forward with the program It has
set down.
ActuaIities Are Demanded.
America has had an ideal in road
building and It Is commendable that
that ideal is ever before 1t. And still
more commendable is the fact that
America has not been content with an q
ideal alone-it has demanded actu-
alities based on its ideal-is demand
ing actualities-surely will continue
to do so. It has been said that am
bition Is laudable, but still more
laudable is the will and the power to
translate ambition into constructive
action.
If the 1925 touring season. with fits
hundreds of thousands Of motorists
from every division of the land
swarming back and forth over Amer
lean roads from north to south and
from east to west, pushing over
main highways and into fttletrav-.
eled passages, in the back country
and along the seaboard. does nothing
else it will demonstrate TO all who
are to see the encompassing poten-
tialities of the road building program,
the changes which already have
been wrought. and will give a strik-
ing indication of that which the
years hold in store.