742 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
"The demand for good highways," it says, "is general among the 
farmers of the entire United States. Education and good roads are the 
two needs most frequently mentioned in the hearings. Highways that are 
usable at all times of the year are now imperative, not only for the 
marketing of produce, but for the elevation of the social and intellectual 
status of the open country and the improvement of health by insuring 
better medical and surgical attendance. The advantages are so well un- 
derstood that arguments for better roads are not necessary here. With 
only unimportant exceptions, the farmers who have expressed themselves 
to us on this question consider the federal government is fairly under 
obligation to aid in the work. We hold that the development of a fully 
serviceable highway system is a matter of national concern, co-ordinate 
with the development of waterways and the conservation of our native 
resources. It is absolutely essential to our internal development. The 
first thing necessary is to provide expert supervision and direction and to 
develop a national plan. All the work should be co-operative between the 
federal government and the states. The question of federal appropriation 
for highway work in the states may well be held in abeyance until a 
national service is provided and tested. We suggest that the United 
States government establish a highway engineering service, or equivalent 
organization, to be at the call of the states m working out effective and 
economical highway systems." 
Mr. Chairman, the report and recommendations of the commission are 
highly valuable, as its careful investigation, including personal visits to 
all sections of the country, and correspondence with 550,000 residents of 
the country districts as to the most pressing needs of the farmers for 
the improvement of their condition, shows that public sentiment is unani- 
mous in favor of better roads as a practical means of supplying existing 
deficiencies in country life. 
In his message to congress accompanying the commission's report. 
President Roosevelt summarizes the conclusions arrived at by the com- 
mission, and states that as the result of its investigations the following 
three great general and immediate needs of the country life stand out: 
"First. Effective co-operation among farmers, to put them on a level 
with the organized interests with which they do business. 
"Second. A new kind of schools in the country, w^hich shall teach the 
children as much outdoors as indoors, and perhaps more, so that they 
will prepare for country life, and not as at present, mainly for life in 
town. 
"Third. Better means of communication, including good roads and a 
parcels post, which the country people are everywhere, and rightly, 
unanimous in demanding." 
Mr. Chairman, the satisfaction of the first tw^o of these needs will be 
greatly facilitated by the adoption of a system of improved roads ex- 
tending through all the farming sections of the country. Bad roads are 
the chief obstacle to co-operation among the farmers, and improved roads 
will make co-operation possible. 
The need for a new kind of country schools cannot be met so long as 
our dirt roads, w^hich at certain seasons are almost impassable, prevent 
the attendance of the farmers' children at centralized schools where they 
