, his very first
move was to build a road. The status of any civilization is fairly clearly
indicated by the condition of the highways. The first sign of rural decay
in a discouraged community has often been the neglect of the
thoroughfares. One of the widespread signs of rural progress is the recent
attention given to good roads. In 1892 the Good Roads Association was
formed. In the previous year the first state aid for good road building
was granted, and since then state after state has appropriated millions of
dollars for this purpose. The proposal that a great macadam road be built
by Congress from Washington to Gettysburg, as a memorial to President
Lincoln, whether a wise proposition or not, shows how prominent this
subject has finally become, in the eyes of the nation.

Progressive farmers have discovered that a bad road is a tax upon every
ton of produce hauled to market; that in effect it lengthens the three
mile distance to ten; that the trip requires three hours instead of one;
and that a good macadam road, or some form of paving, varying with the
nearness of materials, pays for itself again and again, in the saving of
time and money, and wear and tear on rolling stock and teams. The social
effects of good roads are almost as clear as the industrial benefits.
There is more social cooperation. People go oftener to town, they gather
more easily at church and social functions, and the intermingling means
better acquaintance and more helpful friendships. Better business, better
social life, better neighborhoods, follow the trail of better roads--and a
far better chance for the country church.

_Railroads, Steam and Electric_

It is hard for us to imagine a world without railroads! Yet before 1830
all long distance travel was by stage coach or by water. The world-view of
most men was very tiny and their mental outlook correspondingly narrow.
Farm life was seriously restricted by the fact that a distant market for
most goods was impossible. It cost $10 per ton per hundred miles to haul
merchandise to market, a tax which only high-grade goods could stand.

The triumph of the railroads in conquering the continent has been one of
the national marvels. Suffice it to say, though the railroad has helped to
concentrate population in the cities, it has also served in a wonderful
way to develop the country communities, to open up whole sections for
settlement, furnishing a market and a base of supplies, making extensive