Consolidation the Great Cry. 



Consolidation is the cry from all over the county. The 

 school board can raise the money, they could hire the teach- 

 ers, they could furnish a good education to the children, it' 

 they only get the children to the school, or in other words, 

 if they only had roads. 



Consolidation as soon as possible means good roads, noth- 

 ing more nor less. 



Good attendance means good roads, nothing less. 



Good teachers mean good roads so they can get into th-B 

 country and be willing to stay there. 



Our entire education and community life itself is depend- 

 ent upon this one thing. 



My dear friend of the South, do you realize what our roads 

 and how much is needed to make them equal to your poorest? 

 Our roads are simply a trail with ditches caused by wagon 

 wheels, stumps everywhere or holes where the stumps have 

 been removed. In some places the ditches have been con- 

 structed to carry off the water but unless the stumps have 

 been removed and the road graded at the cost of about $1,000 

 per mile, we have not even the poor beginning of which we 

 should be so proud. 



One of my fellow workers in a county that has attained 

 such beginnings said to me, "Our county has better roads 

 than yours. I drove 16 miles today. We got stuck four times 

 and the horses got down once but the rest of the road was 

 good. We couldn't trot much, but those were the only places 

 we had trouble." 



And yet all Northern Minnesota would be glad if they only 

 had such roads. One good dirt grade road leading into each 

 township would be a source of great joy if it led to a good 

 trunk line. 



Roads Will Bring Other Things Desired. 



Development associations have been formed throughout the 

 state to develop the state's holdings, general farm conditions 

 and trade. Consolidation is being pushed and is recognized 

 as the only thing that is advantageously changing rural con- 



