Show 4 t ILYS 4 are riot not the property of one 0 X class of men out ar arc the prop 4 X erty and interest inte reit of every one t whether he be merchant or J farmer or cr X ed weak or tiang high or 4 1 low savage cr zed they z X are the property pro party cf us Ls all and T we ahl in their up 0 21 building sr 44 the ferst great american highway was lai doutin 1711 from new york to philadelphia and was called the old york road this thoroughfare was of great use in the early eighteenth eighteen century and the example set by its builders was followed by other towns along the atlantic At lauti seaboard whore 0 1 the colonists appreciated the go of means of importation where ere no water routes chartered began the build ing of turnpikes or toll locis iodus by the middle of the century and penn sylvania connecticut and new jersey led in this class of boil woi h A macadam road was constructed in 1792 between philadelphia and lancaster being the first in the united states of this character of construction by 1811 there were 4 miles of turnpikes in new yolk and the new england states from 1810 to 1837 the national government nt spent in constructing the old cumberland load and 12 other great national highe highways ays the road aiom dashington yas hington to cumberland md ald was the only one completed be fore the panic of 1837 which with tile ane introduction of railroads put an end to national road building the railroads and canals had their era about this time and it was not until within a few deais that the nation awoke to the fact that count ry roads were anere an important part of the national progress congress Con giess was inas finally induced to make an annual appropriation in the agricultural bill for the office of road inquiry chis sum has been increased from to mole moie than and to its jual cious la Is due much of the propaganda for improved hig highways throughout the country the next great factor working for lood roads waa ma the auto automobile autom moUlle with the remarkable increase in the num ber of machines in this country countr the agitation foi good roads has grown many fold and the farmei is reaping the benefit the automobile needs a solid roadbed and when this Is once built the farmer appreciates its bene tits and insists on expansion of the aik oik until practically aery ery part of the rural district is reached another factor for good roads is the f free ree deli delhery Nery mail system in country communities when the gov eminent employs a rural mall mail larri carrl or er woo ino finds the roads for a great portion of the bear ear tile the arlier service brings numerous pro and the farmer soon discovers that the fault lies iles not in ill the flee department but in tho the pool means of transportation in his corn com eunit this is an all incentive Incent he to road building and la in many portions of the united stales thea inauguration N of ofa the rural free delivery system liag has been follo followed NNed by an all awakening of public sentiment in favor of good roads better country loads means a ro re in the cost of living fo for r statistics show that it boule times costs the farmer as much to haul his truit fruit to the ralli oad station as it costs to ship it from iowa or one of tile the da KOUS to tile atlantic seabird wall with the i deduction in tile the initial cost co st of 1 country produce tile the city dweller leaps eap the benefit all of which make it to tile the nation s advantage to promote tue tile cause of good roads |