Show ROAD MOVEMENT IS GROWING question of public highways now in bolves nation as whole values of farm property enhanced tany many of tho the southern and western states havo have made progress within tho the past two or throe years in the enactment of laws which provide for tho the extension of their highway systems and for the construction and caro care of improved roads the now conditions arising from tho the development of 0 automobile havo have enlarged the tha question of public highways from ono one ot of purely local consideration to an economic principle involving not only tho the entire commonwealth but tho the nation as a whole when the traffic consisted of wagons drawn by oxen or mules or horses open roads roada to tho the nearest railroad station or boat landing wore all that was required tho the fact that even such roads roada vere not well built nor kept lit in repair was vaa duo to it variety of causes writes robert P hooper jn in farm lome home each particular locality hail in explanation purely local to account for tho the conditions but na as a rule those these explanations did not explain even to the satis satisfaction fiction of those mak I 1 ing them the fact still remained that nearly or quite 90 per cent of the far carmera of 4 X i cy w N iv f vf saia mb vav s i abt iest IYA k 24 tf arf effs mw A good road in michigan the country were keeping themselves poor by reason of the excessive cost of oc marketing their products these products could be hauled only at seasons when everybody had bad to haul this resulted in temporarily overworked railway service congested markets and low prices the older and wealthier states saw the point first and began giving aid to counties and towns in building improved roads so that produce could be ba marketed ht at any time in the year tho the result was almost electrical in its effect thousands of farms which because of their relative under a bad road system had been practically abandoned became productive again the general values ot of farm property were enormously oil en this was accomplished by the building of a few town and county roads purely tor for local purposes then the automobile became a factor in the road question and the road problem became widened and enlarged with vehicles which would cover or miles a day the conditions in each county rapidly became known to the people in adjoining counties and a broader comprehension of the whole highway question was inevitable in a country where intelligence predominates |