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Show ROAD C0-0PEITI0I URGED 15 Wl HS Monster Good Roads Gatherings Gath-erings Held Throughout United States. GOVERNORS ACTIVE Federal, State and County Co-operation Needed for Defense Purposes. Insistently the need of roads in connection con-nection with comprehensive preparedness prepared-ness is being expressed all over tho country. In Birmingham, beginning on April 17, a monster good roads gathering gather-ing will be held, in which the senior United States senator from Alabama will play a prominont part. Chairman John H. Bankhead of the senate com-" mittee on postoffic.es and postroads thus comments on the preparedness situation: situa-tion: If we are to have war, wo must have roads; if we have peaco, wo must also have roads. It may be that I can be of the most service to my country, whether in war or in peac.Oj by promoting in every way possible the building of better highways. Governor Stephens Speaks. Out in California the first public utterance ut-terance of Governor William B. Stephens calls for fedora, state and county co-operation in the construction of military roads for coast protection and for defense in other ways." Governor Walter E. Edge of New Jersey was an impelling factor in tho recent adoption or a one-mill tax for state road purposes. The amount to bo raisod is sip, 000,000 and the man sought to be tho state highway engineer engi-neer is none .other than Goneral Georgo W. Goethals, the Panama canal builder. The plans also call for improved communication com-munication between New Jersey -and New York state through the building of a bridge and a vehicle tunnel under the Hudson. It was former Governor Franklin Frank-lin Fort of New Jersey who suggested an ocean boulevard, the name of which could now easily be changed to that of the Atlantic defense highw-ay. One of the last acts performed by President Wood row Wilson as chief executive of New Jersey was to approve a law which looked forward to the state-built road system which will become a reality through tho legislation obtained by Governor Gov-ernor .Edge. Maps Prepared. - Under the direction of Chairman George C. Diehl of the American Auto- mobile association good roads board, a special edition of the American Automobile Auto-mobile association transcontinental map has been prepared, containing the present pres-ent main travelable interstate and intrastate in-trastate roads which would fit into a country-wide system that would lend itself it-self in great degree for military pur- Soses. One of these maps goes to'Presi-ent to'Presi-ent Wilson, one to Major Genera Hugh L. Scott, one to Brigadier General Joseph E. Kuhn of the war college division, di-vision, and a fourth to Director W. S. Gifford of the Council of National Defense. De-fense. While many American Automobile association as-sociation state and local clubs throughout through-out the country have offered their services ser-vices for mobilization purposes, the exact ex-act manner in which they would fib into the plans of the war department has not been definitely decided upon. Announcement is expected in the comparatively com-paratively near future. |