It is too soon yet to tell what the results of this new cooperative enterprise of the national government will be.  But the first important effect has been to cause the organization of state highway departments in the few states that did not already have them, and the reorganization of such departments in the states where they were weak; for the Federal Aid Road Act provides that aid may be given to the states only on condition that they have effective highway departments.  The result is that every state in the Union now has an active highway department, and road improvement is going on at a rate never before known.

Investigate and report on: 

The amount of time saved in a year by a farmer in your locality because of good roads; or lost because of unimproved roads.

The wear and tear on vehicles and equipment because of unimproved roads.

Effect of improved or unimproved roads in your county on school and church attendance, social life, etc.

Instances of the exercise of the right of eminent domain in your county for road improvement.

Materials used in road making in your county.  Relative merits of different materials as shown by experience in your county.

Methods of road construction in your county.

Extension courses in road making by your state agricultural college.

The amount of traffic on the roads of your community by non-residents.

The sentiment of farmers of your locality with regard to road improvement.

Organization of the state highway commission of your state.

The state highway system of your state.

History and use of canals in your state (if any).

Influence of rural mail delivery upon road improvement in your county.

The extent to which federal aid for road improvement has been taken advantage of by your state.

THE NATION’S INTEREST IN TRANSPORTATION

Those who live in the most remote rural communities have a vital interest in the nation’s transportation system, including railways and steamship lines.  As we have seen (p. 203), there was the closest relation between the building of railroads and the opening of the public lands.  The market of the farmer and the source of his supplies are not merely the neighboring trading center, but in far distant parts of the country and of the world.  Without railroads, the farmer, the manufacturer, and the city merchant would alike be helpless.

GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF RAILROADS