Show G gives I 1 ves no money for A road xa ad 01 building uil ding M afe T E ideja MEA WF I 1 SOME ROADS I 1 L 7 PLEASE coc AS AS regularly as the sessions roll M around congress sidesteps smothers or overrides all propositions whish would embark the government in the business of road building the logic and importance in tho the outcry for good roads is universally admitted but busi business neso comes perilously near having nob odys attention some dome townships counties and A a few states have made moro more or less real progress towards improving the highways locally where the states take a hand a beginning is mado towards obtaining through routes but despite all that has been said for i a revival of road building notwithstanding editorial support from publications of all partisan shades the movement as yet has no central organization which presses the work along broad lines the federal government thus far cooperates only by giving advice it maintains a small bureau in tho the department part ment of agriculture devoted first to the propaganda of the good roads idea and secondly to the maintenance of a limited corps of experts who when their assistance is solicited will make suggestions as to the best methods for road building under given circumstances cum stances and to a certain extent experiments in tl it use of materials are conducted b the specialists of this bureau H 0 9 the government stops tor for tho the reason that dominant y view in congress has been that this f properly delimits the govern monta 4 function I 1 representative anthony of kansas i introduced a bill in the house last win 1 ter for the construction of a military i highway between fort leavenworth j and fort riley miles by convicts con WIP in the two federal penitentiaries aries at 1 fort leavenworth the bill was lost los acl after a debate that developed into a 4 4 general discussion of the good roads movement the measure had tho the indorsement endorsement indor ot oc r president taft the chief of staff of the army and a nd the quartermaster general genit goner general it T J franklin bell then chief of stated in a letter to rep anthony that aho ho proposed road would unquestionably be of T great military value and convenience farmers of many townships through which the proposed road would run offered to supply all the rock and other material to bo be used in its con st ruction like others of its kind this mens meas i ure was wrecked upon constitutional rocks the opponents of the bill coni con tended that general dell bell did not claim the road to be a military necessity A and that if not done for this purpose tho the government could coid not build it because b the constitution authorizes the construction of only such roads as aro are required to meet military necessities and post roads |