Ri ta hd en I i a BE teen : 
54 BULLETIN 1295, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
old logging trails or over logging railroads. It would be hard to 
imagine worse roads than some of these. 
Among the 583 settlers surveyed 65 complained about the roads. 
Most of these settlers were on Projects I, VI, VIII, XI, and XIII. 
Obviously, some of the companies or their salesmen had made promises 
which had not been fulfilled. Where the roads are poor the mail | 
service is poor, and 14 settlers complained about inadequate mail 
service. 
Where land is being colonized over widely scattered areas, fairly 
satisfactory roads may already be built most of the way. Occa- 
sionally land companies under such circumstances give the township 
a few hundred dollars to extend the road the rest of the distance; 
but instances were found of land companies selling scattered tracts 
that were almost inaccessible. 
SCHOOLHOUSES 
Land companies frequently have to make special arrangements 
with the local governments to secure the erection of schoolhouses 
for their settlers. 'The companies studied had not always been so 
prompt in this matter as desirable. Forty-five settlers included in 
the surveys made complaints on this score. | 
VILLAGE SITES 
Several of the companies were laying out village sites. Where 
these were laid out around railroad stations already established, or 
where the company had succeeded in having a railroad station estab- 
lished at the desired point, the company usually had managed to 
control the location and the carrying out of its plans. Under these 
circumstances the extra forethought is well worth while, because there 
is an opportunity to add to the attractiveness of the community at 
very little cost. If the company can bring about the erection of ap- 
propriate store buildings, bank building, community hall, etc., it 
will add even more to the advantages of the situation. 
In several cases where companies had endeavored to lay out village 
sites away from railway stations, they had not been successful. The 
settlers had ignored the grants of land for schoolhouses and churches, 
and had located these buildings to suit their own wishes. Even 
buildings already erected had been left unoccupied. 
There can be no question about the value to settlers of laying out 
tracts and roads properly, of actual road construction, and of secur- 
ing good stores. A symmetrical and clearly defined plan for a 
colony looks well on paper and is likely to make such a deep im- 
pression as to obscure the more important considerations. It is vital 
to recognize that this community planning will not guarantee the 
success of the settler. Except for such things as road building, it 
must be said that community planning is not likely to contribute in a 
large degree to helping the settler pass through the critical period of 
the first few years of his occupancy of the land. And, unfortunately, 
such plans frequently omit actual road building. The roads laid out 
on the plan are likely to be merely trails, and the economic develop- 
ment of the colony for some time will not justify anything more. 
The churches and schools are likely to be largely on paper, and the 
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