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General Roy Stone and The New York Times

The Rambler on General Stone

In talking about the proposed Grand Road of America, General Stone said:

It is often easier to do great things than small ones of the same kind, and what the Government undertakes in this regard should be something big enough to excite the imagination and stir the pride and patriotism of the country-something that will put us in respect of roads as far ahead of other nations as we have been behind them heretofore.

Although he was referring to the greatest symbolic object-lesson road of them all, these words could apply just as well to General Stone's philosophy of life. As early as his service in the Civil War, we see a decisive, fearless individual taking on every challenge. Through July 1, 1963, when he led a valiant battle that held off the Confederate advance and was incapacitated by injury, his Civil War experience had been one of bold strikes, rapid decisionmaking, and strong leadership.

These same characteristics were evident in his post-war years as he took on big projects, tackled risks with new ideas, invented devices for transit and steel trackways to address major problems, and earned the respect of those he worked with. These projects did not always result in success, but he continued to show bold initiative even in his last years when he sketched a steel track speedway for Long Island that, had it been built, would have been a major accomplishment.

His contributions to the Good Roads Movement, however, are his monument. Once he became committed to the cause, he was a tireless advocate, researcher, and disseminator. His body of work - exhibits, object-lesson roads, publications, research, speeches throughout the United States, tabulation of data, and testimony in the U.S. Congress and before State legislatures around the country - on a budget that ranged from $8,000 to $10,000 a year is remarkable enough that it seems impossible. The wide range of ideas he conceived and promoted in his Good Roads advocacy reflected his active, fertile, ingenious mind.

General Stone did not expect to live long enough to see his work come to fruition; he understood it was the work of several generations. But he never lost his enthusiasm or his certainty of its success. He laid a foundation for the coalition of forces that not long after his death would result in creation of the Federal-aid highway program in 1916. The program, based on the State-aid programs he thought should be the model, survives to this day and has helped to create the greatest road network and the most mobile society in history.

Neither the Times archives nor other sources tell us about General Stone's personal life. What his wife's life was like or what she thought of her husband's activities, we cannot say. We know that they lost a son, Richmond, to illness, but that their beautiful daughter enjoyed social and personal success. The Rambler, who always likes a happy ending, believes the evidence shows that General and Mrs. Stone loved their daughter and were proud of what she accomplished despite the physical distance that circumstances placed between them. In turn, she gave them two grandchildren, and was a support and comfort to her mother in the years after the General's death. If children are a reflection of their parents, Lady Monson tells us that General and Mrs. Stone were loving, caring, thoughtful parents.

On October 3, 1893, General Stone launched an inquiry that goes on to this day as we continue the search he began for best practices.

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Updated: 06/27/2017
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000