eights, and finally drive
railroads to government ownership. Long before the close of the first
half of the twentieth century, thousands of miles of these fine wagon
roads, will be found in every State. Responding to the demands of
legions of voters, who reside in the co-operative farm villages
bordering these charming highways; a strong force of legislators, will
everywhere rise up, as eloquent advocates of the good roads movement.
Honest and faithful, inspired by a tenacity of purpose which will brook
no opposition from railroad lobbies; encouraged and strengthened, by an
ever increasing army of enthusiastic voters behind them, these tireless
legislators will not halt, until the entire system of good roads, so
well begun by the farm villages, shall be taken up, completed, and
perfected by the State. Ten years of such forceful work, will surely
accomplish the task.

"Then, to the champions of the system, shall come their reward. They
shall behold, flowing in mighty streams, over the wide, petroleum
treated, dustless surfaces, of these far-reaching, absolutely free
highways, the traffic and travel of a mighty Republic!

"Then, will come the demonstration of what American genius can do,
toward the evolution of a superior class of rubber tired, horseless
vehicles, which shall prove the best, cheapest and most durable, for
purposes of freight, traffic, and travel, on such a complete system of
fine roads. The best of our present types, when compared with these
twentieth century road flyers and freight rollers, will seem poor, crude
affairs. The irresistible volume of this swift stream of the new
travel, and the new transportation, eloquent with the progress of the
century, will herald the coming of a well-merited doom for the
monopolistic railroad combines.

"Then, local travel and traffic, will make haste to desert the iron
rails. Railroad freights everywhere, will fall to zero. Short
railroads--branches and feeders to main lines--will become useless and
worthless. Many of them will be sold at auction, for less than the cost
of the iron in the road-bed.

"Then, shorn of their ill-gotten gains, the mighty railroad kings of the
land, will fall from their tall pedestals of pride, where for years,
they have posed as owners of the earth. With financial ruin staring them
in the face, they, and the whole brood of erstwhile railroad kings, will
make urgent haste to sell to the government, at the bare cost of
construction, suc