Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 233, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 October 1915 — Road Building Discussed. [ARTICLE]

Road Building Discussed.

Lawmakers are recognizing that there is a greater need of road legislation than ever before. Congress will have the good *Toads question to answer at its coming session. There is a demand from all over the country and the issue must be met. There are over automobiles in use and they need good roads, must have good roads. Champ Clark, speaker of the house of representatives, in a recent speech in his home state said: “First and last tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of wagons and buggies have been broken up ami destroyed by reason of the bad roads in Missouri, and hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of horses, mules and oxen have been wasted in the same manner. Good roads mean increase of population, increase in wealth, increase in church and school attendance, increase in social affairs, in short, increase in the joy of living.” Former Secretary of State Bryan in an argument against any extensive military defense expenditure, set forth that $5,000,000,000 in eleven years would gridiron the United States with hard roads twelve miles apart, so that no citizen would live more than 6 miles from a paved road. Bryan said in another meeting that it is only a question of time utnil the federal government will lend its assistance in the building of state roads. The chairman of the state highway commission of Maine, referring to federal co-operation in road building, asserted that the first expenditure in a state should be for connected seacoast roads, which would permit the quick mobilizing of troops at any threatened point of attack. Everything points to new laws for road making. Isolated counties should not undertake the proposition. Connected north and south and east and west roads are of the greatest importance. The national congress and each state legislature should get busy on laws for road making. Federal aid for interstate roads and state aid for county roads looks to be the best plan. If there are readers of The Republican with well defined ideas about road building we should be pleased to publish communications from them.

J. M. Clifton, of Fair has received a telegram that his brother died Wednesday at Beaverton, Mich. He is survived by four brothers, J..M., D S., Charles and Sam Clifton, and one sister, Mrs. Nettie Hopkins,- also of Michigan. He is also survived by a widow and three children. He moved to Michigan from Fair Oaks six years ago. The cause of his death is not known.

Com went down to 58 cents today, 4 cents less than the quotation of yesterday.