13fi MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL RErORT. 



ders of the several states, but whenever we touch that which comes next 

 to the home and next to the man in the matter of home affairs, whenever 

 we touch upon the question of roads, we immediately hear that the Gov- 

 ernment is going beyond its function and entering the domain of state 

 rights and state affairs. I am glad to say, gentlemen, that we are grad- 

 ually but slowly and surely breaking away from that distinction as applied 

 to the road question. This amount voted by the Chamber of Commerce 

 in New York was accepted by the Government, and this department is 

 doing a great work. The amount of work that that department is doing 

 to promote Agriculture throughout the United States is almost inmeas- 

 urable. They established in that department a little division called the 

 Office of Public Road Inquiries. Sometimes we wonder why it is that 

 such a large name was given to such a small office ; it was done with the 

 idea to restrict the office to the work of inquiry and not for road construc- 

 tion, having to encounter the prejudices which existed at that time. This 

 was in 1893. Gradually from year to year smaller sums of money were 

 appropriated for this purpose, and this office was maintained only issuing 

 bulletins from time to time and spreading information where it could be 

 done. In the fall of 1900 a National Convention upon the subject of 

 "Road Improvement" was held in the city of Chicago, and from that con- 

 vention was organized the National Good Roads Association with its 

 headquarters in that city. They invited all of the states to do something 

 that would arouse the people and attract their attention to the importance 

 of improvement of the highways. With that end in view, different plans 

 and schemes were devised. The idea was suggested that there might be 

 some great railway system that would be willing to furnish a train, that 

 the manufacturers might equip that train with the necessary road machin- 

 ery, that the Government would lend its influence and that this train 

 would traverse the system of this railway and construct object lesson 

 roads, that they might hold conventions, that they might co-operate with 

 the local, State and Government officers, railroad officials, road machinery 

 people, the press, which is the great educator of the Union, and ihro'igh 

 them, stir up and arouse and stimulate an interest upon this subject. The 

 first great train started from Chicago and held its meeting in the latter 

 part of April, 1901, in New York. Tliat campaign lasted for three 

 months over that great railroad in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, 

 Tennessee, Kentucky and the lower portions of Illinois. Following this, 

 there was a meeting at the Lake Shore at the Buffalo Exposition. And 

 then in October came a train that was operated over the great Southern 

 Railway that went through the states of Virginia, the two Carolinas, Ala- 

 bama, Tennessee, portions of Kentucky and Georgia and down through 

 that country. This itinerary consumed about five months' time, visiting 



