Public Highways 281 



ought to be maintained by and for all the people. They 

 make travel to and between cities, towns, neighbor- 

 hoods, schools and churches easy, quick and economical. 

 They not only save valuable time, reduce the cost and 

 increase the comforts of overland travel, but the schools 

 and churches are more accessible, hence more useful 

 and effective. The improvement of public highways 

 has for years been strongly advocated by the brightest 

 minds of the country, and these advocates, after point- 

 ing out the importance of such improvement to the 

 material advancement of the agricultural and commercial 

 interests, dwell upon the benefits to the social fabric, 

 which means so much to public progress. It is urged 

 that improved roads greatly lessen the cost of trans- 

 porting the products of the farm to the market, thus 

 increasing the earning capacity of the producer and like- 

 wise increasing the value of the lands having access to 

 such roads. It has been said that wherever the best 

 roads are found there are also found the best homes and 

 the greatest perfection of living conditions on the farm. 

 Good roads are very essential to the greatest degree of 

 comfort in rural living. Good roads make possible the 

 profitable employment of teams at times when field 

 work cannot be done, thus reducing the amount of idle 

 time, and enable the marketing of produce when market 

 conditions are most favorable. It is also notable that, 

 in communities where the highways have been improved, 

 social conditions are improved by reason of the ease 

 of neighborhood visits and attendance upon social 

 events. 



402. When Shall Public Roads Be Built. Good com- 

 mon highways do not exist naturally. They must be 

 made and kept in repair. If the expense of hauling the 



