SOUTHERN
GOOD ROADS
By
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Co. Lexington, N. C., February, 1911
Lnleretl at Lvxim-’lon !’<>*( OiTie**
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bcctirul class matter
Good Roads and Conservation
By DR. JOSEPH HYDE PRATT, Stale Geologist
There is
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very close relation between good mads
.nwl 1 In 1 successful carrying ( 1 1 1 1 nf 1 ln< principles of
conservation, in
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i-1 . the construct ion of good
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unis
is tint? phase nt eoiiservat it'll. Ill llic lirsl place. con¬
servation, as applied I" (Ilir natural resources. llleans
not on
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their preservat i m and roiisei'val inn hut means
also tli-.il ivc will he aide to utilize llietn perpetually.
Tile problems relating to the euliserval ion id' these re-
soil rees are nut lueiil but luitioital and state iptesl ions ;
they are (juestious thill affect and are 111' interest not
only t i the individual but to ilm whole people, and.
therefore, in adoption measures looking toward the
conservation of these nal nral resonrees tin- nation must
he considered before tin- state and tile whole people
before l lie individual. This does imi mean . . ssarilv
that the federal lVermnen shall conlrnl and dominate
all policies relating In eonsefva I ion ; although. person¬
ally, 1 believe that this would lie Hie very best step
tluil could be taken for the most successful accomplish
meld ol' all measures l-ebl filin' In eonsi-iwal inn. 1 1 does
mean, however, that the federal g'nvcrumeul all mid
have ai least some supervision in the carrying mil of
these policies, so thill wind is done shall react In tile
■rood of all t he states and not simply to 1 1f individual
stale and often to tin- disadvantage of ad.j lining states.
There are so niaii.v ipies| ions mining up relating In
conservation that 1-11111101 In’ applied to the individual
state, and the necniitplixliint'Jil of the desired results
can only be obtained when they an- eonsulereil ;is in¬
ters! a I
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problems To illustrate. i hi might take the
question of tin1 pmleet ion of forests from tires: one
state may pass most rigid laws relating to the protec¬
tion of ds forests from fire and yet the ad joining stale
may give n * protect ion at all In its forests, and forest
fires, starting in Ibis state, gather great headway so
that it is almost impossible to prevent their crossing
the imaginary stale line and doing a great deal of de¬
struction in the slate which Inis rigid lire laws that are
being enforced as far as that slate itself is concerned.
Such a condition can. and does exist in the Southern
Appalachian region: and unless all the slates will take
up the i|uestimi of lire protect mil for lileir forests,
there will always he more or less destruction of the
forests near tile borders of these states from tires tluil
have originated in adjoining stales.
Another illustration of tin* need of some federal su¬
pervision is in the protect ion d' mountain front from
destruction on account' of sawdust that is thrown into
many of our streams. Many of our mountain streams
How from one state to an dlier and from one comity
to another, and it has very often happened that a mini
her nf counties of a state- on the lower waters ofa stream
have passed rigid laws regarding the throwing of saw¬
dust in these streams and yet the counties higher up on
these streams have no xiirli laws, and their lumbermen
are allowed i > throw sawdust in the streams, with the
result that the counties lower down, who have till-
rigid laws against throwing sawdust into the stream--,
derive llo lielieiil whatever frill 1 1 these laws Os I lli-ir
streams are tilled with sawdust from tin- counties
above. Tll.is rail also be true when- the streams HoW
from one state to allot her; ni'' stale, on the lower wa¬
ters of a stream, may have laws against throwing saw¬
dust or other deleterious material into the stream,
while the state which contains 1 tu- Upper waters of the
streams may have no such laws whatever, am] thus the
lil-sl stale loses all of tile lielu-lit that its good laws
sh mid give.
Maca«lam Kmul in Kiism‘11 County. Vivirinin. This is an
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of First Class Construction
This is also true in regal'd to the conservation of
water-powers. One stale will pass laws for the conser¬
vation and proleiTinti of its water-powers, and yet the
sources of the si re, -mis are within another stale wli 'll
is doing nothing whatever I ) protect its water supply,
and lints Hie water-] rowers ill Ha III llel- si ;||e are large¬
ly decreased ill power on account of tile lack of pro
lection in the slate where the streams originate.
From 1 lie above it can readily lie seen that there
should he federal supervision for carrying out the prin¬
ciples if conservation that are interstate in their ben¬
efits and decidedly state supervision in connect inn with
Hie conservation of tile natural resources ol'llic various
comities composing the Stale.
I'] Very state should lie interested ill the development
of every other slate, for no advancement can lie made
ill any me without its being directly or indirectly a
hoiielit to all I lie others
\Ye should carry the uliesl ion Ilf eim.servalioii further
than its applica! ion
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our natural resources and apply