OCR Text |
Show Efficient Roads Our National Need There are over 2,000.000 miles of FO-called roads or hishways fn the United States, but there are only a lion t 30,00U miles that can be de-scribed de-scribed as "improved." Ten thousand thou-sand miles of this 30,000 are not traversable a ftcr a heavy rain. Europe Eu-rope hns long considered efficient road systems as public utilities, quiic as essential to national defense as to the civilized life of its communities. communi-ties. We arn thus furnished with a precedent and ob.ieet lesson. Tho task before this country In developing an efficient national road system is a tremendous one and its solution will require constant co-operatton co-operatton between the slates and the nation. The absolute lack of unity of aim In carrying out road improvement improve-ment in the past hns prevented efficient ef-ficient road construction in this country coun-try and it Is hoped t ha t the federal aiit, made possible by the Hankhcad-Sluickleford Hankhcad-Sluickleford act, wil result In a comprehensive com-prehensive plan whereby a national system of highways will ultimately result. re-sult. Instead of building the capillaries capil-laries of a national system of transportation trans-portation first and neglecting the main, arterial roads, as we have done, we should concentrate our first at- tention on the first and most Important Impor-tant main lines of communication and let the development of the innumerable in-numerable feeders of only local im-porta im-porta nee follow. There are o.OtSn.oOO registered automobiles auto-mobiles in the United Slates, or one to every twenty-five in population. A $5 contribution from each would complete com-plete the Lincoln highway in Nevada, Ne-vada, Utah, Wyoming, Iowa and Illinois Illi-nois with a ribbon of concrete. With these sections completed, the Lincoln highway would be a boulevard drive trom Now York to Hnn Francisco and each contributor would effect a tire saving alone of JiS should he only drive o00 miles of the highway, to say nothing of the comfort, peace of mind and tho saving in temper effected by sucb perfect conditions on America's Amer-ica's famous transcontinental highway. high-way. The benefits which would accrue to each village, town, city, county and state traversed along the way would be enormous, to say nothing of the increased rural school attendance at-tendance and thp boon to the farmer who now pays three to four limes ns much as is necessary per ton mile for tho transportation of his products. |