 | University of Virginia record October 1, 1915 |  |
MATERIAL FOR THE AFFIRMATIVE.
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF FEDERAL AID FOR GOOD
ROADS.
By Representative Stephens of Mississippi.
Extracts from Congressional Record, April 30, 1912.
The Constitution says that Congress shall have the power to establish
post offices and post roads. Under this authority post-office
buildings have been erected at a cost of millions of dollars. Yet it
is argued that we have no right under the Constitution to extend
Federal aid in the construction of roads. The word "establish," when
referring to post-office buildings, is held to mean that such houses
can be erected, but when post offices are to be established it is contended
that it means that the Government shall designate over what
road the mail shall be carried, and that the Government has no right
to build roads.
I submit that, as the right to establish post offices and post roads
is given in the same sentence, that as the language makes no distinction
between the right in regard to offices and roads, this shows
clearly that it is not intended by the framers of the Constitution that
"establish" should be given one construction when referring to post
offices and a different and more restricted construction when referring
to post roads.
That Congress has the right to extend aid in the matter of constructing
and maintaining public highways is shown by decisions of
the Supreme Court of the United States, from which I quote:
Supreme Court Decision.
Without authority in Congress to establish and maintain such
highways and bridges, it would be without authority to regulate one
of the most important adjuncts of commerce. This power in former
times was exerted to a very limited extent, the Cumberland or National
Road being the most notable instance. Its extension was but
little called for, as commerce was then mostly conducted by water,
and many of our statesmen entertained doubts as to the existence of
in consequence of the expansion of the country, the multiplication of
its products, and the invention of railroads and locomotion by steam,
land transportation has so vastly increased, a sounder consideration
of the subject has prevailed and led to the conclusion that Congress
has plenary power over the whole subject. (California v. Pacific
Railroad Co., 127 U. S. 1, le. 39.)
Also:
Congress has likewise the power, exercised early in this century by
successive acts in the Cumberland or National Road, from the Potomac
across the Alleghanies to the Ohio, to authorize the construction
of a public highway connecting several States. (Lucton v. North
River Bridge Co., 153 U. S. 525-529; Indiana v. U. S., 148 U. S.
148.)
That the Federal Government has the right to extend aid in the
construction of roads was recognized by Jefferson when he said:
During peace we may chequer our whole country with canals, roads,
and so forth. This is the object to which all of our endeavors should
be directed.
Again, he said:
The fondest wish of my heart ever was that the surplus portion
of these taxes should be applied in time of peace to the improvement
of our country by canals, roads and useful institutions.
Henry Clay was always an advocate of internal improvements, and
was in his day the ablest and most persistent advocate of the building
of national roads. He said:
Of all the modes in which a Government can employ its surplus
revenue, none is more permanently beneficial than that of internal
improvements. Fixed to the soil, it becomes a durable part of the
land itself, diffusing comfort and activity and animation on all sides.
The first direct effect is on the agricultural community, into whose
pockets comes the difference in the expense for transportation between
good and bad ways.
Some have argued that this is a subject over which the States
have absolute control, and raise the question of State rights. One
of the greatest advocates of the State rights doctrine was John C.
Calhoun. He saw no encroachment upon the doctrine by Federal
aid to roads. While Secretary of War, in a report to the House on
the roads and canals, he said:
No object of the kind is more important, and there is none to
which State or individual capacity is more inadequate. It must be
perfected by the General Government or not be perfected at all, at
least for many years.
Precedents for Federal Aid.
Let it not be said that internal improvement may be wholly left
to the enterprise of the States and of individuals.
It is interesting to note that in the early days of our country's
history Congress did appropriate money for the purpose of building
roads. In 1806 Congress authorized the construction of a road
from Maryland, known as the Cumberland Road, and various appropriations
for it were made from time to time, aggregating about
$7,000,000. In 1811, 5 per cent of the sales of public land in Louisiana
were given by Congress to that State for the building of roads and
levees; in 1816 a like amount of a similar fund was given to Indiana
for roads and canals; and in 1817 a like sum was given to my own
State, Mississippi, for this purpose; in 1818, 2 per cent of a similar
in 1820, 5 per cent to Missouri; and in 1845, 5 per cent to Iowa.
Congress also appropriated money for a road from Georgia to New
Orleans, and one from Nashville, Tenn., to Natchez, Miss., as well
as many other public highways.
I think it has been thoroughly shown that Congress not only has
the power but has frequently exercised the power to contribute to
the construction of roads; however, this bill does not authorize the
construction of roads, but simply provides for the payment of a
fixed rental on all roads used by the Federal Government in carrying
the mail, if the road comes up to a certain fixed standard. It is
but right that the Government should pay for anything that it uses,
and in doing this it will encourage the people in the States to improve
their roads.
I realize, Mr. Chairman, that there has been so much written and
spoken upon the subject of good roads that there is little, if anything,
new to be said. If I needed any excuse for speaking on this
occasion it would be that it ofttimes requires a repeated statement
of facts to get it firmly fixed in our minds and to arouse us to the
necessity for action.
As I have said, a good deal of opposition to this measure comes
from Representatives of city districts. It is a mistaken idea that no
one but the farmer gets the benefit of good roads. Every citizen of
this Republic will derive direct benefit from the improvement of the
roads of the country, because the products of the farm must be
conveyed over country roads to market, and the consumer must bear
a part of the burden that is laid upon the producer because of bad
roads. Even the railroads are interested in good wagon roads, because
of the fact that in many sections of the country, owing to bad
conditions of the roads, the farmer is forced to convey his products to
the market at such time as he may be able to find the roads suitable
for travel, thereby placing most of the agricultural products for
transportation within a limited time. The farmer is also interested
for the same reason; that is, that he is forced to sell his products
within the same limited time.
We have heard much comment upon the fact that people are leaving
the farm and congregating in the towns and cities. One cause
of this has been the bad condition of the roads. In my judgment,
there is nothing that will tend more to the upbuilding of the country,
making farm life more attractive, than the improvement of the
road. There is no phase of life, either social or economic, which is
not affected by good roads. The value of lands, the attendance of
children at school, the social relations of the community are all affected
by roads. Good roads-make social intercourse and communication
between farm and town less difficult, thus destroying the isolation
of farm life, especially in the winter season. They increase
the productive area by making lands that have not been cultivated
more accessible. They increase values of property, reduce the cost
of transportation, cause greater interest to be taken in farming,
thereby increasing the general prosperity of the country.
Some Results of Good Roads.
Improved roads are breeders of traffic. It is generally found that
new industries, new and greater production, spring up upon the line
of well-built roads, which increase commerce and enlarge business.
On the other hand, bad roads keep a community from developing
and cause material loss in many ways. There are no statistics which
show the loss to the farmer due merely to the greater cost of transportation
is estimated that it amounts to many millions of dollars each year.
As I have said, every citizen is directly interested in improving the
roads of the country; that the farmer is not the only one benefited,
but if he were I should vote to improve the roads of the country,
because he is the first and most powerful producer of wealth and
he has a right to insist that a portion of the money that he pays
to the Government shall be returned to him by way of benefits from
the Government.
I care nothing for the suggestion made that a few great highways
be built from one end of the country to the other, because I believe
that that will be very largely for the benefit of those who desire to
take pleasure trips in automobiles, and that those who are entitled
to the benefits of good roads, or a very few of them at least, would
receive no benefit whatever. Rather do I prefer to expend money
in order to bring the farmer in closer touch with the towns and
the town man in closer touch with the farmer to the mutual benefit
of each.
PUBLIC ROADS IN RELATION TO HUMAN WELFARE.
By Logan Waller Page
Extract.
The advantages of improved roads have been carefully computed
and estimated in dollars and cents, and so enormous have they been
thus demonstrated to be, that they present a convincing argument
of the necessity for road improvement. But there are other elements
of advantage which more urgently recommend the improvement
of our roads, advantages which deserve far more serious consideration
than any financial advantage which may accrue, and which
can not be measured according to any monetary standard, but must
be looked for in the elevation of our citizenship and the moral and
intellectual advancement of our people.
Most of our cities and towns have good streets and driveways,
which facilitate business and recreation and bring the schools and
churches within easy reach of all. Contrast the lot of the country
child on his way to school in the winter with that of his city cousin
with only a few blocks of paved street to walk. The country child
must leave home an hour or more before school opens, in order to
be there on time. The roads are wet and muddy almost all of the long and
cold winter months; in many places the country is open and the
cold winds are merciless in their attacks upon him, so that, by the
time he reaches the schoolhouse, which is oftener improperly ventilated
and poorly heated, his feet are cold and wet and his body so
chilled that he is unfit for study or recreation most of the day. This
produces a lowered condition of resistance to the attacks of pneumonia
and other disease germs, causes broken and irregular attendance,
and creates an aversion for school. Parents sometimes keep their
children at home rather than have them subjected to such conditions,
on the theory that the injurious effects upon the body from such exposure
will be greater than the beneficial effects upon the mind.
In many parts of the country the roads are impassible for pedestrians
at certain seasons of the year, which makes it necessary for
children living near railroads to walk to school over the tracks and
trestles. Many accidents occur every year in various parts of the
killed in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania while making their way
to school over railroad tracks.
Revolutionize School System.
That improved roads would revolutionize our country school system,
there would seem to be no doubt. Improved roads make it
possible to consolidate or centralize the schools and to establish
graded schools in the rural districts. Such schools centrally located
will accommodate all of the children within a radius of from four
to five miles. In many communities having the advantage of improved
roads, commodious buildings have been provided, more competent
teachers have been employed, and modern facilities for teaching
have been supplied at a minimum cost. For instance, since the
improvement of the main highways in Durham County, North Carolina,
the number of country schoolhouses has been reduced from
65 to 42, of which 17 are graded and have two or more rooms, and
employ two or more teachers.
Facilitate Rural Free Delivery.
The schools and churches of a community are its greatest moral
and educational forces. Next to them, perhaps, stands Rural Mail
Delivery, which brings the people of the rural districts in daily
touch with the cities and business world. It places in their hands
the daily papers, magazines, and all of the current literature of the
country, so that they may be as well informed as to what is transpiring
in the political, literary, and commercial world as their brothers
of the cities. The beneficial effects of this service upon the
happiness and home comforts of our rural population is immeasurable,
and nothing contributes to its efficiency and regularity more than
improved roads.
Improves Health Conditions.
The public road bears a direct relation to the public health. Although
this is sufficiently obvious to those who have given attention
to the matter, it is nevertheless a subject that has been overlooked
by the general public. Figures and statistics do not apply to the
discussion of this phase of the question, but experience and observation
will justify the statement that many an infant has been sacrificed
at birth, owing to the difficulty experienced by the doctor in
reaching the farm at the proper time. Every country doctor is an ardent
advocate of road improvement, since he knows better than anyone
else the direct bearing that the condition of the roads has upon
his ability to get about and provide the aid and succor which it is his
business to supply. The impossibility of rendering first aid to the
injured, whether child or adult, over bad roads, is undoubtedly responsible
for many deaths and deformities.
The danger of spreading disease by means of dust and poor drainage,
particularly in relation to tuberculosis and typhoid fever, emphasizes
the fact that the condition of the public highways is a subject
that can not be overlooked in any earnest inquiry into the compelling
reasons for systematic road improvement. It has been said
that the public road is the main dust factory of a nation, and the
thoughtful man can not deny the truth of the statement.
ERA OF GOOD ROADS.
By Congressman Saunders of Virginia.
Extracts from Congressional Record, April 30, 1912.
Mr. Chairman, the era of national aid to State roads has arrived,
and whatever form the opposition to that policy may take, whether
the form of constitutional quibbles, or form of freak or humorous
amendments, such as propositions to pay for the use of the sidewalks
in the cities, or the form of amendment ostensibly in aid of the bill,
but really an embarrassment to the true friends of the measure, who
have labored in season, and out of season to put this principle into
working shape, these efforts one and all will be found as futile to stop
the progress of this movement, as Mother Partington's mop proved
to be as a weapon of defense in her famous contest with the encroaching
waves of the Atlantic Ocean. This bill rests upon constitutional
authority, and its operation will interfere with no single
one of those State functions whose beauties and merits have been
so eloquently acclaimed by some of the participants in this debate.
The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Madden] spoke of the delight
with which he paid his local taxes in aid of good roads. It is not
proposed to interfere with the exquisite pleasure of that experience,
or to take anything from its felicitous charm. Under this bill he
may not only continue to pay local taxes with all the pleasurable emotions
attendant on that operation, but when so minded he may increase
the joy of that process by increasing his contributions to the
roads of his community. There is not a friend of this measure who
will seek to hinder him from pursuing this charming, this patriotic
course of aiding local enterprise, in the rôle of a cheerful giver.
The gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. McCall] spoke of this
measure as interfering in some wise, not very clearly depicted, with the
functions of the States, and as tending toward centralization. I do
not recall that New England was affected with this form of apprehension
when we passed the law for the White Mountain Reserve,
a proposition for an expenditure of public money which rests upon
a far more narrow base, and is far more tenuously connected with
the Constitution, than the proposition to aid the construction and
maintenance of post roads in the States by means of a national appropriation.
Many gentlemen who have criticized the pending proposition,
have very clearly shown by the nature and character of
their criticism, that they are absolutely unacquainted with the terms,
the purport, and the purpose of this measure.
The gentleman from Texas [Mr. Slayden] in the course of
his remarks, referred with just pride to the liberal attitude of his
people toward the cause of good roads, and the extent of the local
contributions in aid of that cause. We are mindful of the fact that
many States in this Union have done splendid work in this direction.
The thrill of this movement for betterment of roads is being felt
in every State, and I rejoice that it is so. But may I ask my friend
from Texas, and the other gentlemen from other States who have
assailed this measure how, and wherein, will a supplemental fund derived
from the National Treasury by direct appropriation, paralyze
local effort, or hinder the work of local development?
In many of the States, notably in my own, the roads are established
and maintained by local taxation, with a supplemental State fund
that is afforded upon prescribed conditions. Just a moment ago I
was talking with a Member from New Jersey, and he mentioned
the fact that in his State, as in Virginia, the country and local contributions
that instance did State aid paralyze the arm of the community? Did
State aid cause a recession of local activities? On the contrary, as
a direct and immediate result of that coöperation of effort, the State
of New Jersey affords a most splendid illustration of what can be
done by united effort in the way of securing good roads of the highest
type. When county aid is supplemented with State aid, and
State aid is supplemented with national aid, pray tell me why this
aggregate aid may not be efficiently employed, or why national aid
would operate to paralyze local endeavor, when State aid has merely
served to energize it? In the great fight now in progress in the
Mississippi Valley between the States and the Father of Waters, do
the States disdain the help of the Nation on the ground of its paralyzing
effect on local activities?
There is no great nation of the modern world which has not aided
the local communities in respect of both construction and maintenance
of highways, and the nations pursuing this policy are noted
for the excellence of their roads. In this regard the Republic of
France is the wonder of the civilized nations. But to achieve her
present state of supremacy in the matter of improved highways
France, as a nation, has spent over 3,000,000,000 francs upon her
roads. This fact explains in large measure the present prosperity
of that country. A few days ago the French Government called on
its people for bids on a bond issue of $60,000,000. In the briefest
possible time bids aggregating over $400,000,000 were received. Comment
is unnecessary. Today France, which has done so magnificently
in the direction of national aid to roads, has in contemplation
a scheme of canalization of her rivers. This is but another form
of domestic improvement, in aid of internal commerce, and like her
roads, these canals will further increase the facilities and wealth of
that wise and thrifty people.
Why should this great Nation, a Nation that in other respects
stands in the very forefront of the nations, hesitate to pursue a course
that has been pursued in other countries with such splendid results?
Is our authority to enact this measure questioned? Consider for a
moment the authority of the Federal Government over rivers and
harbors. This Nation exercises at present the right to regulate the
height of bridges over navigable streams, to determine whether these
bridges shall be built or not, to provide that bridges if built, may be
built by private corporations, with the right to charge tolls, to provide
for the taking of private property to afford approaches to the
bridges, to provide that feeders leading into channels of interstate
commerce may be constructed, and to that end that the land of private
parties may be condemned.
Community Benefits.
Communities that have built good roads, will find their reward in
this bill. Communities that desire to build good roads, will be encouraged
to go forward. Every community will be stimulated to construct
more good roads, and to transform existing dirt roads into
improved highways, in order to receive the larger compensation attaching
to permanent roads falling in the two first classes. The
critics of this measure seem to fancy that the roads of the States
are to be exclusively constructed, or maintained by the appropriation
which it carries. Nothing of the sort. It is merely a supplement to
local efforts. A permanent road on which the State spends $25 per
mile, per annum, for maintenance, may not be very adequately maintained
by that expenditure. But the expenditure of $50 per annum,
of this bill to afford the additional $25.
The cost of maintenance for a well-constructed dirt road, depends
upon a number of factors, and is a fluctuating quantity. Many of these
roads can be well maintained during a large portion of the year, on
an expenditure of $10 per annum, per mile, and admirably maintained
on an expenditure of $25 per annum, per mile. This bill will afford
$15 per mile, and the local authorities will be required to provide the
additional amount needed to maintain the road to the prescribed
standard.
The State of New York will be entitled to something like $1,000,000
per year when its roads are conformed to the requirements of this
measure. Will the gentlemen from that State who either directly,
or indirectly, are opposing this plan of national aid to State roads,
undertake to tell this House that this large sum will be rejected,
or that if received as a supplement to State contributions, it will
not give impetus to the State and local activities in the great cause
of road improvement?
The State of Texas is interested in this measure to the extent
of about $800,000 per annum. That great State boasts of what it
has done in the way of road building, and it is conceded that its
record in this respect is altogether creditable. Will the Representatives
from Texas tell this House that the sum of $800,000 as an addition
to their State and local contributions, is a negligible item, or
that once in hand this considerable sum, will not energize and stimulate
the whole scheme of road building in that State? If road building
is a State function, a material increase of road funds will induce
a more efficient discharge of that function. Throughout the Union, in
every State, and in every community, the stimulating effect of the
compensation contemplated by this bill will be noticeably felt. The
sentiment of the country favors permanent roads, and the general
tendency is toward their construction, but for the present many communities
are unable to build them. During the transition era, and
until the existing roads are replaced by the ultimate form of permanent
roads, the dirt roads should be maintained in the form most
suitable for efficient use. Hence the provision of the bill in aid of
dirt roads.
NOT CLASS LEGISLATION.
By Congressman Bowman.
Extract from Congressional Record, April 30, 1912.
Mr. Chairman, the district which I represent contains not only
large and important cities, but also an important farming community,
and they are both equally interested in the construction and maintenance
of good roads. The majority of the people of Pennsylvania
are interested in the construction of good roads. In my judgment
there is no other thing which will so advance civilization as that
which promotes the interchange of intelligence and commodities between
the different parts of a country and the different peoples who
reside in that country. It is a difficult matter to excite sufficient
interest to construct a road. It is still more difficult to secure the
continued interest which will keep that road in repair. I consider
this measure as most admirably framed to produce that result. The
amount which is proposed to be given as rental for the use of the
different classes of roads would not amount to the interest on the
the class named in the measure, but it will be an inducement to keep
those roads in good repair. It has been stated that it would require
$16,000,000 the first year in order to meet the provisions of this
measure. If it did take $16,000,000, that would mean that there were
about 800,000 miles of road kept in good condition throughout the
United States. At present in this country there are less than 200,000
miles of improved roads, and if by an expenditure of $16,000,000
you could have 800,000 miles of road that were passable at all times
of the year for vehicles of all classes, that were graded in conformity
to the topography of the country and "with ample side ditches, so
constructed and crowned as to shed water quickly into the side
ditches, continuously kept well compacted and with a firm, smooth
surface," it would reduce the expenses of transportation from the
present high figures to what it now costs in France, namely, 7 cents
per ton per mile. This measure would permit the farmer, the fruit
or the truck raiser to get his produce to the market at a much less
rate, and thereby it would be a benefit not only to him but to each
person using his products in different parts of the country. It would
permit the merchant in the city to carry or send anything he had
of value to the farmer at a much less cost, and the result would be
an economy to each individual as well as to the Government, as the
mails that were transported over the roads would be carried at a
much less actual cost, which would result in a diminution of the cost
per mile to the Government from what it is now paying for this
service.
Something has been said about the cost of inspection. Each man
in charge of a rural delivery route would be a constant inspector of
the road he covers, and the man who is sent out as a general inspector
could, with a small expenditure of time in addition to that
he now occupies, discover the condition of the roads. I consider the
measure of great importance to this country, and will do as much,
if not more, to advance civilization than any other measure that I
have seen introduced in this Chamber.
GOOD ROADS VERSUS BAD ROADS.
By Senator Swanson of Virginia.
Extracts from Congressional Records, July, 1911.
Mr. President: There is no question before the American people
today more important than the improvement of the public roads and
highways. The progress of this Nation in nearly all directions has
been phenomenal. We have established our preeminence in most
things. We have become the greatest manufacturing people in the
world, the products of our factories exceeding those of Britain and
Continental Europe combined. Our mines furnish the world more
than one-half of its mineral products and wealth. Our plains and
prairies are recognized as the granaries of the world. Cotton continues
the king of plants, and the world's comfort and clothing are
dependent upon the white fields of the South. We occupy today the
foremost place in the world's commerce, our exports now exceeding
those of Great Britain. Our wealth today is greater than that
of any other nation. Recently we have become supreme in finance,
our banking capital being the greatest possessed by any people. The
world's financial heart now throbs in New York, and its pulsation
affects the world. We now surpass all other nations in the amount
of colleges and splendid universities. In miles of railroad, navigable
rivers, and improved harbors we are unsurpassed. Our progress
in these directions has been so wonderful that its story reads
more like romance than history.
Yet, Mr. President, as amazing as are these varied achievements,
it is admitted that today we have the poorest public roads and highways
of any civilized nation. Of the 2,155,000 miles of public roads
within the United States, less than 200,000 miles are macadamized
or improved with hard surfacing. Thus, more than nine-tenths of
the public roads and highways of the United States during rainy
seasons are almost impassable. No other enlightened people in the
world are cursed with such a wretched condition. Our energies and
our money have been generously expended in every other direction,
except in the betterment of our public roads.
After careful examination and thoughtful consideration I am satisfied
that our neglect in this respect has been one of the greatest
misfortunes that has affected us as a people and should be remedied
as quickly as possible. No one can over-estimate the annual loss
incurred by our people in traveling and hauling over these wretched
public roads. Our internal commerce exceeds the interforeign commerce
of the entire world. It is estimated that 90 per cent of our internal
commerce must first or last be hauled over the public roads.
The average haul of this vast commerce over the public highways,
after careful investigation, has been estimated to be on an average
of a little more than 9.4 miles. The same careful investigation fixes
the average cost of hauling these products at 23 cents per ton per
mile. The cost of hauling per mile over the splendid roads of France
is on an average of about 7 cents per ton per mile. The average cost
in England and Germany is about 11 cents per ton per mile. If the
more important and main lines of our public-road system were improved
as are those of France, Britain, and Germany, it is estimated
by good authorities that our products could then be hauled over our
entire system of roads at a cost of 12 or 13 cents per ton per mile.
This would result in an annual saving in this item of hauling alone to
the people of the United States of more than $250,000,000. This is
the annual "mud tax" paid each year by the people of the United
States in hauling their products over poor roads. This loss, if wisely
and properly expended, would in 20 years macadam or furnish hard
surfacing to all the public roads within the United States. But this
does not include all the loss occasioned this country by its bad country
roads. The poor condition of the roads makes it unprofitable to
market much of the products of the farm. If the cost of transportation
and the cost of production exceed the selling price, it makes
it impossible for the producer to dispose of his products at a profit;
hence production is arrested. In many sections farmers fail to raise
certain crops because the cost of hauling them over miserable country
roads is so great that they sustain loss instead of profit. The national
loss from this source amounts annually to many million dollars. Our
bad roads, making it impossible in many sections to market certain
products of the farm, have prevented a great diversification of crops
which exists in France, England, and Germany, with their splendid
road system. We can not overestimate the loss and injury to agriculture
resulting from this source.
Bad Roads Cause People to Leave Country.
Another great detriment that has come to this Nation from its
wretched country roads is that it has forced the people to leave the
disclosed by the census returns. In 1790 only 3.4 per cent of our
population dwelt in our cities; in 1850, 12.5; in 1900 the percentage
was 40; in 1910 it was 46. This explains why so many acres of
fertile land still remain untilled, while the city, with its unsanitary
and unwholesome tenements, is crowded with human beings whose
standards of living and methods of life result in their mental, moral,
and physical decay. Statistics gathered by the Office of Public Roads
and compared with the reports of the United States census reveal
that in 25 counties, selected at random, possessing only 5.1 per cent
of improved roads in 1904, the decrease of population averaged 3,112
for each county for the 10 years between 1890 and 1900. The records
of this department further show that in 25 counties similarly selected,
which possessed an average of 40 per cent of improved roads,
there was an increase averaging 31,095 to the county. These significant
facts show more eloquently than language the great benefits accruing
from improved roads. Statistics gathered from the same
source show how education and school attendance are affected by
improved roads. These statistics show that in five States in which
about 34 per cent of the roads are improved 77 out of each 100 pupils
enrolled regularly attend the public schools. That in other five States
in which the improved roads only amount to 1.5 per cent only 59 out
of each 100 pupils enrolled regularly attend the public schools. These
figures prove more forcibly than language the advantages accruing
to education from good improved public highways.
Each census discloses that our urban population is very rapidly
increasing at the expense of our rural sections. This is not desirable.
It means an immense national loss, not only financially, but morally,
intellectually, and physically. The pleasures and profits of country
life are largely dependent upon the condition of the public roads.
Social intercourse and pleasure are only possible in those sections
where comfortable traveling is possible over the roads.
Good school facilities and good public roads go hand in hand.
They are companions which can not be separated. Carefully gathered
statistics disclose that efficient country schools and the attendance
of scholars are invariably dependent upon the condition of the
public roads.
The country has been the great nursery which has furnished the
men of genius and patriotism who have builded this mighty Nation.
We should do what we can to encourage our population to remain
there, and develop our wonderful soil and agricultural resources.
Then, the agricultural people of this Nation are the mighty sources
of patriotism and courage who will preserve this Nation in the coming
hours of storm and stress.
Bad Roads Hinder Development of Waste Land.
Another great loss sustained by this Nation on account of its
wretched public highways is that it has left undeveloped and uncultivated
more than 400,000,000 acres of available and desirable land in
the United States. If our roads were properly improved this land
would be at once occupied by thrifty and prosperous farmers, thus
adding greatly to the national wealth and power. Farm lands would
greatly increase in value from improved public roads, and the country
population would rapidly increase, greatly to the betterment of
the Nation, both morally and materially.
Some economists have estimated that the annual loss to this Nation
on account of wretched country roads exceeds more than
$400,000,000 annually. I do not believe this is an exaggeration.
There are 850,000,000 acres of improved and unimproved farm land
in the United States. It is estimated by the Agricultural Department
that good roads would increase the value of this land from $2 to $9
per acre. This great increase of value would more than pay for the
cost of improvement.
I feel justified in saying that one of the paramount questions before
the American people to-day is the improvement of our public-road
system. The farmer, in the future, in order to increase his
profits, must reduce the cost of transportation. As the farming lands
of Canada, South America, and Africa are opened and developed, the
farmers of this country will have greater competition. To meet this
competition, they will have to reduce either the cost of production
or the cost of transportation. I hope this Congress will not adjourn
without reducing greatly the cost of production. The cost of production
in this country is greatly enhanced by the excessive tariff
duties imposed upon everything purchased, on account of the Payne-Aldrich
bill.
The Democrats of the House of Representatives have sought to
bring the farmer relief from these excessive exactions by passing a
bill known as the farmers' free-list bill, which, if enacted into law,
will greatly reduce to him the cost of living and the cost of production.
I hope the Senate will promptly concur in the passage of this
bill, and this deserved relief will come to the great agricultural masses.
The cost of transportation to the farmer is composed, first, of hauling
over the public roads, and then over the railroad or steamboat
lines to the markets. Within the last 70 years the cost of transportation
over the railroads and waterways has greatly decreased, while
the cost of transportation over the country roads has been increased.
In 1837 railroad rates were 7⅓ cents per ton per mile. Now it is
estimated that the average cost of hauling by rail is 7.8 mills per
ton per mile, or about one-ninth of the original rate. Seventy years
ago the charge for hauling on the old Cumberland Pike was 17 cents
per ton per mile. This charge permitted a profit. It is now estimated
that the cost to the farmers, without profit, is 23 cents per ton
per mile. Thus, while transportation over railroads has decreased
to about one-ninth of what it was about 67 years ago, transportation
over the public roads has increased about 35 per cent. Water transportation
has so decreased that it now costs the farmer 1.6 cents
more to haul a bushel of wheat 9.4 miles from his barn to the depot
than it does to haul it from New York to Liverpool, a distance of
3,100 miles. This fact strikingly illustrates the importance of road
betterment not only to the farmer, but also to the rest of the country,
who are users and consumers of farm products. The greatest saving
to accrue in the future to farmers from reduced transportation will
come not so much from reduced railroad transportation as from reduced
cost of transportation over the public roads, resulting from
their improvement.
Who Uses Roads.
The travel over our roads now is national, State, and local. The
travel being national, State, and local, the cost of constructing and
maintaining roads should be national, State, and local. It is not just
to expect local communities to construct and maintain roads over
which the travel of State and Nation far exceeds the local. It is utterly
impossible for local communities to bear the expense of constructing
macadam or hard-surface roads. To do so would require
such a heavy tax as to practically bankrupt the communities. A system
The only way that this can be accomplished is by the appropriation
of money out of the State and National Treasuries.
The cities are as much interested and are as much benefited by
good country roads as are the people in the rural sections. Good
roads enable the people of the country to easily come to market not
only with their produce, but also to make purchases. The trade and
commerce of cities are greatly enhanced by being surrounded by
splendid roads. In addition, it adds to the comfort and pleasure of
those living in the cities. Thus, good roads enhance the value of
property alike in city and country. Many of the cities, when permitted
to do so by their charters, have united with country communities
in appropriating money for the construction and maintenance
of public roads. The charters of many of the cities prohibit them
from making such appropriations. The best and the fairest way to
enable the cities to aid rural sections in the construction and maintenance
of good roads is by appropriating a fair share of money for
this purpose out of the State and National Treasuries. By this means
the cities and rich communities are enabled to share with the country
sections their fair burden of road construction and improvement.
Since both city and country receive benefits from good roads,
each should share its part of the burden. I believe this is willingly
conceded alike by the citizens of the city and country.
Mr. President, in addition to the reasons previously presented
as to why the National Government should extend its aid for the
improvement of public highways of our country there are other considerations
of justice and fair dealing which demand this. The United
States Government now uses more than 1,000,000 miles of the public
roads of this country in carrying its mails over them, either through
its star-route contractors or its rural-delivery carriers. It uses daily
this vast mileage of roads without giving to the States or communities
a cent of compensation. Last year this Government paid to the
railroads of this Nation $50,142,200 for using their tracks to carry its
mails over their roads.
The counties and States contribute their money for the construction
and maintenance of these country roads as much as do the
stockholders of the railroads for the construction and maintenance
of their railway tracks. If it is just and fair that the Government
should pay this vast sum of money for utilizing the tracks of the
railroads, it is equally as just and fair that the Government should
contribute a fair compensation to the States and communities for
using their roads for the conveyance of the Government's mails. An
argument for the one is equally as conclusive as for the other.
Hence, I insist that as the carrying of mail is a Government function,
and entirely monopolized by the Government, that the Government
should make just and fair compensation to the States and communities
for the use of their roads. The time has come when the
States and local communities should insist upon this.
Good Roads Is a Saving to the Government.
Another consideration which strongly presents itself to my mind
as to why the Government should extend national aid to road improvement
is that it would result in the saving of a great deal of
money to the Government. The Government now expends $42,000,000
annually for rural delivery. The average route of a rural-delivery
carrier is about 24 miles. The carrier is unable to make a greater
distance than this on account of the bad condition of the public roads.
If these roads were properly improved, a carrier could easily and
if the roads of the country were properly improved that in the
reduced expenses incurred in its star-route service, in its present Rural
Delivery Service, and in the extensions which will certainly come in
the future, the Government would save $8,000,000 or $9,000,000 annually.
Patriotism and wisdom alike demand that the Government
should make this great saving and at the same time add materially
in the advancement and prosperity of our country by generously aiding
road improvement.
Mr. President, I am unable to see any strong reasons why the
Federal Government should further hesitate in the extension of a
proper and liberal appropriation for the construction and improvement
of public highways. To contend that it has no constitutional power
to do so is absurd. No one has ever disputed that the Government
has not power to establish, maintain, and repair post roads. It has
established through its star-route and Rural Delivery Service more
than 1,000,000 miles of post roads, which it daily uses; hence it not
only has the power under the Constitution, but aso has imposed
upon it the imperative duty to bear its fair share of the burden of
improving these roads and keeping them in proper repair.
Webster, Clay, Jefferson, and even Calhoun, who was very strict
in his construction of the Constitution, all advocated national aid for
the construction of public highways.
Prior to the Civil War the Federal Government had appropriated
$14,000,000 to aid in the construction of public highways.
The 1,000,000 miles of public roads now made post roads by the
uses of the Federal Government are the main roads traveled and the
ones most needing betterment; hence no objection on constitutional
grounds can be found for the Government undertaking to bear its
fair share of the burden of improving the roads that it daily uses.
Besides, this Government has spent large sums of money in the
betterment of the public roads of Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands,
and also Alaska. If it has the authority to expend the public
money there for these purposes, it has equal authority to expend the
public money for these purposes in this country.
I believe that the American people have greater demands upon the
Public Treasury, filled with their contributions, than have the people
of Porto Rico, the Phillippine Islands, and Alaska.
| University of Virginia record October 1, 1915 | |