TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 437 



provements? Let me give a simple illustration. Two one hundred and 

 sixty acre farmers are neighbors with a half mile of road separating 

 their farms. One of them makes a journey across the sea and on his 

 return he talks of little else than the splendid country roads throughout 

 Europe. He soon has enthused his neighbor and together they agree to 

 construct a perfect macadam half mile road between their farms. They 

 get permission from the road authorities and engage a road engineer who 

 has had years .of experience in macadam road construction. They cite 

 him to roads in Belgium as approximately the character of road they want. 

 It must be thirty feet wide, the drainage on both sides must be abso- 

 lutely perfect, the culvert and the small bridge must be of the best con- 

 crete the full width of the road with four foot guards at each end, all 

 grades must be reduced to the minimum, and a sufficient amount of the 

 best crushed rock available shall be used to make when finished a perfect 

 highway. It is a beauty; road makers for miles around come to inspect 

 it. Everyone enjoys driving over it and the two farmers are hilarious 

 over it. When the bills are all in the entire cost of this half mile of a 

 perfect country road, that will cost but little to maintain, is found to be 

 $1,600.00. They draw their checks for $800.00 each, entirely satisfied with 

 their experiment. Are there any real estate men in this audience? If so, 

 will you please tell us how much per acre would be added to the selling 

 value of these farms as the direct result of this complete and perfect 

 half mile of country road? 



The amount of money to be used in this county this year will be on 

 the average of $8.75 per half mile. Possibly some one inquires, would you 

 recommend that such roadways be built by private contributions? No, 

 indeed, I simply used this illustration to prove that such highways would 

 add to the sellins value of these farms and because this should be con- 

 sidered as mucn a real asset as the other improvements referred to. 

 President Taft only recently expressed his opposition to the suggestions 

 that the federal government should make large appropriations for public 

 roads. I think he was right. My theory is that the states and the coun- 

 ties should make such appropriations as are necessary to give, not paved 

 roads, but splendid country highways. In many localities good roads 

 bonds are being issued by counties, recently 



Baltimore county, Md., voted a bond issue of $1,500,000 for good roads. 

 Oklahoma county, Okla., yoted a bond issue of $1,250,000 for good roads. 

 Tarrant county, Texas, voted a bond issue of $1,000,000 for good roads. 

 Brown county, Texas, voted a bond issue of $500,000 for good roads. 

 Cullam county, Ala., voted a bond issue of $350,000 for good roads. 

 Wharton county, Texas, voted a bond issue of $300,000 for good roads. 

 Laurens county, Ga., voted a bond issue of $300,000 for good roads. 

 Monroe county, Ga., voted a bond issue of $300,000 for good roads. 

 Meckleburg county, Va., voted a bond issue of $240,000 for good roads. 

 Sullivan county, Tenn., voted a bond issue of $200,000 for good roads. 



Delaware county, Iowa, as already stated, will have a road tax for 

 1912 of $17,500.00; what a farce. But, my farmer friends, our wholly 

 inadequate system of road construction in Iowa will not be Improved un- 



