The Future of Road-making in AmericaHulbert, Archer Butler
History
The Future of Road-making in America
Hulbert, Archer Butler
Roads; Roads -- United States; Roads -- United States -- Design and construction
"And ought not the people have the opportunity to attend church? I am
coming to believe that what we need in this country, even more than
education of the intellect, is the education of the moral side of our
nature. I believe, with Jefferson, that the church and the state should
be separate. I believe in religious freedom, and I would not have any
man's conscience fettered by act of law; but I do believe that the
welfare of this nation demands that man's moral nature shall be educated
in keeping with his brain and with his body. In fact, I have come to
define civilization as the harmonious development of the body, the mind,
and the heart. We make a mistake if we believe that this nation can
fulfil its high destiny and mission either with mere athletes or mere
scholars. We need the education of the moral sense; and if these good
roads will enable men, women, and children to go more frequently to
church, and there hear expounded the gospel and receive inspiration
therefrom, that alone is reason enough for good roads.
"There is a broader view of this question, however, that deserves
consideration. The farm is, and always has been, conspicuous because of
the physical development it produces, the intellectual strength it
furnishes, and the morality it encourages. The young people in the
country find health and vigor in the open air and in the exercise which
farm life gives; they acquire habits of industry and economy; their work
gives them opportunity for thought and reflection; their contact with
nature teaches them reverence, and their environment promotes good
habits. The farms supply our colleges with their best students and they
also supply our cities with leaders in business and professional life.
In the country there is neither great wealth nor great poverty--'the
rich and the poor meet together' and recognize that 'the Lord is the
father of them all.' There is a fellowship, and, to use the word in its
broadest sense, a democracy in the country that is much needed today to
temper public opinion and protect the foundations of free government. A
larger percentage of the people in the country than in the city study
public questions, and a smaller percentage are either corrupt or are
corrupted. It is important, therefore, for the welfare of our government
and for the advancement of our civilization that we make life upon the
farm as attractive as possible. Statistics have shown the constant
increase in the urban population and the constant decrease in the rural
population from decade to decade. Without treading upon controversial
ground or considering whether this trend has been increased by
legislation hostile to the farm, it will be admitted that the government
is in duty bound to guard jealously the interests of the rural
population, and, as far as it can, make farm life inviting. In the
employment of modern conveniences the city has considerably outstripped
the country, and naturally so, for in a densely populated community the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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