706 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, 



cities and rivers and liarburs. We are tlie wealtli prudueeis. (All values 

 come from labor has been known for centuries.) 



But this wealth has accumulated in the cities and we aslv a return in 

 this much to enal)le us to produce more and clicaper. To this end wo aslc 

 you to petition, write letters to your member of Congress and Senator to 

 pass the Brownlow bill at the next session of Conj^ress. 



In niaiiy States miw the Slate gives onc-ihird, the comity one-third 

 and townsliip one-tliird, and the State has competeut men to say how the 

 roads shall be built. We don't want everj'thing done for us. Let us be 

 partners, what we don't work or pay for we don't appreciate or get the 

 good of. In union is strength and we want a union of all in the cause of 

 lietter roads and a better road system. 



Since writing this 1 have read the speeches of the Hon. Wm. J. Bryan 

 and President Koosevelt at the good roads convention at St, Louis last 

 April. Tlicy are lioth of one mind on this question. The need of National 

 and State aid for good roads is general. All say it is not right to put this 

 all on the farmer. That all are vitally concerned in this. Do you know the 

 enormous cost of wagon transportation of the United States? It is more 

 than all of the railroads, steamships, canals and electric roads. We are 

 working at a disadvantage that no other nation has, all are away ahead 

 of us on roads. John M. Stahl, editor of the Farmer Call, and one of tliQ 

 farmers that does some things. Secretary of our Farmers' National Con- 

 gress, of which each county chairman is a delegate and some States pay 

 their expenses to attend, when Mr. Stahl went to figuring out our cost of 

 wagon hauling and loss by bad roads he was afraid to give it out, afraid 

 he would l)e laughed at. He says it is over $900,000,000 yearly, and if all 

 the road improvement that could be made protitably was made, we would 

 save .$.")( )0.0(H).000 a year. We could start farmers' banks on this. Send 

 to Hon. INIartin Dodge, Agricultural Department, Washington, D. C, and 

 get bulletins on the roads. How they make the best of roads in New 

 Jersey with Init four inches of macadam. General Roy Stone says we 

 should have iiostal saving banks as all civilized and half the half-civilized 

 nations do. This would bring the money out of the old socks and put it 

 in circulation, and make all of our roads on a long time low interest 

 bond and luake a safe investment for the money of poor people. With this 

 we could build the Panama canal. 



Push the Krdwnlow bill! 



