L'»&. 



TKe 

 inois Agricultural Association 



'olume 



RECORD 



August. 1935 



Number 8 



Working For Good Roads 



he Farm Bureau s 15 Year Fight for Farm to Market Highways 



By Earl C. SmJfh 



rut rosls i>n 

 ) the point 

 it cheaptT 

 wind dam- 

 hiriK to Kv' 

 cnt at you I 

 1 lu-ii, ver> 

 ,~ »ith a lov 

 utual wind 

 t the fact 

 Is too late 



EARL C. SMITH 



NY 



Illinois 



t l^HE movement for uooil roiids in 



1 Illinois had its inception about 



1917 when Frank O. Lowden was 



I vernor. It may be more than a 



( incidence that the Illinois Agricul- 



■ ral Association was organized the 

 ar before and farmers began to take 

 keen and active interest in State af- 

 irs. Needless to say improvement of 



farm - to - market 

 roads w a s early 

 recognized as one 

 of our greatest 

 needs. Illinois for 

 years had been no- 

 torious for its poor 

 roads. This was 

 true not only of 

 secondary roads but 

 also of many main 

 highways. Gravel 

 wa.s scarce in many 

 areas, particularly 

 11 central and southern Illinois, iind 



black dirt proved to ho poor road 



"uilding material. 



Spon.sored by Governor Lowden. the 

 SliO.miO.OOn bond issue was submitted 



n litlT and approved by the people in 

 -Xovember, 1918. for the piu'pose of 

 iiuilding a system of primary high- 

 'Aays throughout the State. By that 

 ■line the United States had alread> 



iitered the World War. In<lustry. 



tljor and agriculture centered their 



liorts on projects directed toward 



■ inning the war which made it inad- 

 ^able if not impossible immediately 



inaugurate an extensive road build- 



4 program. The record, however. 



I ^closes that contracts were awarded 



'■' r 500 miles of Federal and State 



'ads in Governor Lowden's adminis- 



ition. 



■\n intensive program of Stati' high-- 

 iv paving v.as initiated early in the 

 Iministration of Len Small inaugu- 

 led as Governor early in 1921. Dur- 

 !g the gubernatorial campaign he had 

 ledged himself to build a system of 



■ rimary highways at minimum cost. 

 The S60.000.000 bond issue was pro- 

 posed to' provide primary highways 



connecting all coinitx sials of tin- State. 

 ImnK'diately there was much rivalry, 

 some friendly and .some unfriendly, 

 among groups from cities and rural 

 communities in all sections of Illinois 

 to secure the location of State high- 

 ways and priority consideration in 

 building them. 



Following the reorganization of the 

 I. A. A. in 1919. one of the first com- 

 mittees appointed was the n)ad com- 

 mittee with Zealy Holmes of Peoria 

 county as chairman. In his address 

 before the sixth annual meeting of the 

 Association at Chicago in 1921. Presi- 

 dent Howar<i Li'onard recogniz«><l thi' 

 importance of the road problem when 

 he said: "For years the highways of 

 Illinois have not been famous but no- 

 torious. We know how we ha\i' 

 plowed through mud hub (lee|) to git 



to lown i\in for groct ries and mail 

 and when we think about an all year 

 around delivery of grain and livestock 

 to market, we naturally think first of 

 those months when our country roads 

 arc in their worst condition. We as 

 farmers are vitally concerned in hav- 

 ing a system of countrx highways that 

 we can Use the year around to market 

 our products. A comparativelv few 

 hard surface*! boulevards Wil! not verve 

 the purpose." 



M>- first c iiieilion with the I. .^. A. 

 was in\ appointmenl by Pri'sulent 

 Leonard, m 1.921. to the special road 

 committee of whuh L. K. Birds.ill of 

 Whilesiile Coiinlv was chairman. t)ut 

 tir<t acticii was to <e<l\ froiii (ii>\<r!iiii 

 ."^niall .1 pr<>ti'>ii!KeMunt wheriKy i c :t<i 

 liuiMiiiL' wi'iilii start in all couittii> "t 

 (Conlmue<l on next page) 







THOUSANDS OF MILES OF DIRT ROADS LIKE THIS ONE ARE IMPASSABLE TO CARS 

 and trucks several months each year. Now that the Primary System of Rodds in llltncis 

 is completed, the great need is for improvement of secondary feede' roads. 



