Albuquerque Morning Journal

The United States department of agriculture has issued the following very interesting statement relative to road improvement in the various states of the union:

"Rhode Island, the smallest state in the union, with an area of only 1,250 square miles, ranks first of all the states in its percentage of improved roads. Under the direction of Secretary Wilson, a very comprehensive statistical investigation of the mileage and cost of public roads in the United States has recently been completed by the office of public roads, United States department of agriculture. This document reveals many interesting facts. Thus, apparently, it is not because of her small size that Rhode Island is able to boast of 49.14 per cent of improved roads, for Delaware with an area of 2,050 square miles has only 6.22 per cent of improved roads. On the other hand, Massachusetts with an area of 8,315 square miles has 49 per cent of her roads improved, or very nearly the same percentage as Rhode Island. The size of the state therefore, seems to have little or no effect on the percentage of improved roads.

"The investigations further show that there are 2,199,645 miles of public roads in continental United States. Of this vast mileage only 190,476, or 8.66 per cent, are classed as improved.

"As stated above, Rhode Island leads with 49.14 per cent of improved roads while Massachusetts is second with 49 per cent. Indiana follows with 36.7 per cent. Ohio, Connecticut, New Jersey, Kentucky, Vermont and California follow in a descending order, the latter having 17.87 per cent of improved roads. The states of Wisconsin, New York, Maryland, Utah, Tennessee, South Carolina, Maine and Michigan range in the order given from 16 to 10 per cent.

"Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Oregon have between 5 and 10 per cent of their roads improved. Of the twenty-two states with less than 5 per cent of improved roads, North Dakota stands at the bottom with only 0.23 per cent. Secretary Wilson and Director Page, who is in charge of the office of public roads, are ever at work on the problems which confront the road builders throughout the land, and especially those problems which are most frequently confronted by communities in which road improvement has made but little progress."

The proposition of Colonel Sellers that New Mexico shall issue a million dollars in bonds for road improvements, sounded rather extravagant at first blush, but when one takes into consideration that many counties in the United States, some of them with less than one-tenth the population of this state, have expended from a half million to a million and a half dollars in road improvement during the past three years, the proposition for this state to spend a million does not seem so large.

Also, it should be borne in mind that the improvements in other states are made nearly always for the sole benefit and convenience of the local population, with no possibility of increasing immigration or attracting tourists. Here we have the finest climate in the world, scenery second to none in the United States, ruins the like of which cannot be found anywhere this side of Egypt, and historic association excelling in interest anything found elsewhere on this continent.

With good automobile roads, this country would be the delight of the tourist, the health seeker and the home hunter. It would attract men of capital who would come here and locate and aid in its development.

As has been pointed out in the Journal many times, great as are the undeveloped natural resources of New Mexico, her greatest assets are her unrivaled climate, her marvelous scenery and her wealth of historic association.