National Highways

One of our country'e great minister'e oí f i nance,- o"" wlio was :i stnte.8man and political economist,- left as a Oeatnbed legacy. these corete: "Tlie histary oí all civlliaed countrlea ntteste the fact tbat the nation beet equipped in these respecte (meajis of communicatiotn), rapklly lwcomes the most powerful, the richest and the most prosperons." This opinión was the result of inany ycars of study and Bervloe to the United States Government, by Honorable Wm. Windom, w'ho elosed his carthly career as Secretary of the Treasury. Said that lrofoimd constitutional lawyer, Daniel Webster, in the Senate of the Onited States: "I lo-ok pon a road over the Alleghanies. a canal .aroaind the fadls of the Ohio, ot a canal or railway froni the Atlantic to the -western waters, a.s being an object large and e.xtensive eoough to be fairly said to be for the common benefit." is genei-ally, nay, it is universally concedetl, that good roads are a necessity in the economy of a natiou; tbat they are actually investments which give a return Justifylng the initial expense and maintenancc. In ooiie localities and ior short distancea they Hiiccessíully compete with railroads, water courses and other tneane of transportation. In ' cent dlstances taey act is feeders to tlie other transportation routes. ,They ture the crreatest factors in the lom of ccoeomy to ,the agriculturist, tui'd to every business enterprise that resulte in a produce to be hauled. They are absolute eesentials to the ■military features oí a vast nation ■where large jnasses of men, artillery and munltiona of war are to be moved, and at the same timo, act for lts owu protection during transit in bbe presence oí au omony. The United States breaeury profits Í by the prosperity of 'tlie people of the country. Funds appropriated for interna! improvement, is an invesiment paying mach ' enorvnous margina as wnuld excite the envy of the inoney kings. It doea aJready induce the opposition of railroads on parallel lines 0Í water eourses, although thcy cncourage the invostniente in liarbors at their terminals. In one of the harbors of the country, the United States Government invested several hundred thousand dollars in deepening and widening the channel marked out by miture, and .tliereby inereasod its custom receipts from about two millioms to nearly cight millions of diollars in gold. Internal improvements facilitating and cheapening haulins' and transportation of bulky products, are profitable to th general government. In dmproving the w&terways of the country, it is the custom of the govoplnent to make one great channel or thorouglifaro to wliich connectious can le made by private onterprise. Ia the same majiner, liiglnvays on land to principal points would le excellent investmcnts in creating ! tional thoroug'nfares, and would be the aneans of inviting and even inducinp: Ktatp, county and private enterpo-ise to mtersect and make available themeelves the great charme! of oommerce. The government lias constructed, and to-day, onder appropriaiiu.ns gi-anti'd iiy congress, is eon■striicting national- not "post roads," but national hlghways within t He coniiii 's o.' states. That these roads are b as to grandeur in mile. does Jiot alter the fact that th ■ i nstitntional principie involved is conceded by the legislation. principie is alsoi emphasized by the fact that dne consideratiom, dea.iul referénee to authorities including- the autocrat oí consti tu tional interpretatkm, the Supreme ('ourt of United States, ivas given by the legislatoi's n-hen deallüg itb the queation. Wagon roade are the íeeders oí the markets, the railroads, the marine channcls o,' oommunication and commerce oí tlie world. Bvery person, every proiesskm and every line of bustoiees is direetly or indirectly interested, and the revenues oí the United Stotee Government tlie most. The government ie a business concern, and must profit by ita in-vestmeut the same as any otlier. It is not to be expected tluit it will proiit if it does not invest. Wliile people may differ in opinión as to most means oï procarlng the samo end, all agree that tlie end fchouild be attained in ïsame way oi providiag the country ■vith good roede. K an additlonal and more rapid means of obtaining the result lies in the direction of natiouial actian, toen it would seem to be íolly to ignore it. In the crusade fr highway Improvement in this country, .which had its initial at the hands af The League of American Wheelmen, the policy lias necessarily been the elow one of agitatkm and education of the masses to tile Btaaidard that wauld give a due oomprehension of tlic intrlnslc value oi good roads in the everyday business and pleasure of the individual, the g-eneral prospeiity aecomplished by them in which all particípate; the demand ior legislatioai which such an education creates, and the pushing of road enactmonts in the legislative halls of the different States. In brief, educatiooi creates the dernand, and the demand jiaturally contemplates legislation. In a woa'k of oducatiom, tJije kindei-gaa-ten systcm oí object lessons is not tío be lightly ignored. Such object lessons would be the construction oi national highways to principal points, and they would more quickly edúcate the people than any other proceiss in the whole curriculum. As the general government would profit enormously by the education of lts citizens in this respect, it follows naturally that the funds expended would be a.n .excellent busiik'sm investment and justifiable in every conceivable vray. The gañera} governruent ateo has the civic machinery at hand to build natkmal roads without tlie additional expense of employing engineering talent. Havlng educated its own engineers, and pa.ving tliein regular salaries which are no1 incn'ascd or diminislied by the niagnitude oí tÉe dutiesthey ave éalled ufxni to porfarm, the additional duty of Imildiiiig roads ■would be .undertaken hy tlie United States with a well corps oí ougiiMKírs, wJuo already have iWariiv of the other 'svorks of inti'rnal 'impi-oviMiu'iU. and who are peialiy trained iu similar cnlerjn-iscs undertaken by the Koverninent. As this aa'tk'lr "v;.s opened by a uno tation from onc stat-esman. il may Vi'll be closed by t!ie golden sv'orda oí inotlKT. 1 'resident Madisou, in a ïnessage to congress, wrote: "A-mong tlie means oí advancins the public intereste, the occasion is a proper one lor recalling the attention of congress to the general iinportajice of establiebing throughout our country the mails and canals AJliicli can lKst be exx;ut'd nnder the national authority. No objects within the circle of political econoony no richly repay the expenuses bestowed on tiem; there are none, the utility of which is more unlversally a.certainel and acknowledgod; none tliat do more honor to tüe Governnicait "vvhose wise and enlargi'il patriotism duly approciates them. Nor is there any country which presenrte a field wliere nature invites more the art of man to complete, her own ■work for their accommodation and benefit. These considerations are Btrengthened, moreover, by the poli tii-nl effect of these facilities t'or inn icinninunication, in bringing and binding more cloeely together the variou.s parta of our extemled confed4-acy. White the statee imlividually, wirh a. laudable entorprisa and emulation. avail themselves of tlieii' local advantagee by new roa ds, by navigable (sanáis, and by lmprcmng the Kircains susceptible o;1 navigatioai, the general Roveinment is more urged to simular uBdertaJdnge, requiring a national juvisdictirm and national mcans, by the prospect of thua systematically connil tiim' bo inestimable a work."