Good Roads. 115 



wavs of commerce; over them are carried many more tons of 

 farm produce than over all other freight carriers combined; over 

 them all raw products first must move. The Department of Agri- 

 culture at Washington, basing estimates on the best data obtain- 

 able, fixes the cost of hauling over country roads, in round num- 

 bers at $1,000,000,000, or more than one-third the market value of 

 the entire agricultural product of the country, and by careful com- 

 parison with the cost of hauling loads over the good roads of 

 European countries, it is found that two-thirds of this enormous 

 expense is chargeable to the bad condition of roads. 



The fact that the national Government has established a depart- 

 ment of road inquiry at Washington, is an evidence that national 

 aid is not far distant. The Post Office Department at Washington, 

 has for some time, been discussing the advisability of establish- 

 ing postal savings banks, and the investment of deposits that 

 would accumulate in such institutions has been a troublesome 

 question in the department. Inasmuch as all safe investments 

 are eagerly sought by rich corporations and the wealthy men of 

 our country, they need all and more chances for safe investments 

 than the present conditions of the financial world present. There- 

 fore before the proposition for the establishment of postal savings 

 banks can take form, some new scheme for investments must be 

 founded and created. The proposition to loan such funds as 

 would accumulate in such institutions to counties for road pur- 

 poses at a very low rate of interest, say two per cent., is not a 

 visionary one of my own, but is being discussed by eminent, care- 

 ful and thinking men, and may eventually be formulated into 

 some plan the advantages and benefits of which are clearly beyond 

 our powers of imagination. 



Advancement and improvement in all civilized and enlightened 

 countries travel on the car of time. Mark the changes in local 

 travel and transportation. But a few^ years ago the cities were 

 content with putting down pavements, thereby giving better facili- 

 ties for travel and transportation for the benefits of trade. Then 

 very soon the horse street car was brought into use to facilitate 

 travel in the busy centers, but soon that became too slow and 



