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taken to make its real effects permanent. Among other 

 things, augmented prosperity must make it worth 

 while to spend money on improvements. Our farmers 

 must be made prosperous to begin with and having ac- 

 quired the habits of economy through possessing some- 

 thing to economise with, they will be able to appreci- 

 ate the advantages of good roads by having something 

 of their own in which to travel over them. 



If we are agreed that the future prosperity of the 

 cereal farmer, the average Argentine * ' chacarero ' ', lies 

 along the lines of cheap production, that all is desirable 

 that helps to reduce the costs of production and con- 

 tributes towards increasing the actual profits he re- 

 ceives, then good roads or cheap cartage is but one fac- 

 tor, but not the predominant one. 



The real solution of the problem of good roads 

 lies, like many another, in the existence of elr.vators, 

 which by increasing his profits will allow the farmer 

 to indulge in improvements, among the first of which, 

 will be transitable roads. 



' On how much good roads depend on the wealth 

 and prosperity of the inhabitants I will not dwell, but 

 F would like to remark on that side of the national cha- 

 " racter which we all are fond of criticizing: i.e. the love 

 of luxury, and of which in truth the camp man sees 

 but little. Since automobiles have come into use a 

 grand development has taken place in the use of the 

 roads, an/d incidentally considerable improvement: if 

 any logical conclusion is to be drawn from this then 

 the best way of improving our roads is to plan so that 

 each farmer will have his own Ford : a truly democratic 

 ideal for a democratic age. 



Apparently this is understood by our provincial 

 authorities, who, in the case of Cordoba and Buenos 

 Aires at least, seem to have dedicated all their ener- 

 gies in the way of road building to the creation of ex- 

 cellent roads for automobilism . 



The adoption of stone for road repairs, instead of 

 earth, will open up a new industry precisely where it 

 is most needed, .that is in the mountains; stone we have 

 galore and we will need it for many a year to come 

 before all our roads are automobile roads. 



Although I do not hold that macadam surfaces are 

 necessary for travelling to the average farmer or that 

 he will ever get them, if nothing can be accomplished 

 unless we begin from the wrong end and put pleasure,, 

 if automobiling is a pleasure in this country, before 

 work, then by all means let us accept the plan of a 



