Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-18
If you have cRtdfsh, use the surest remedy
DR.. Sage s.ssE,ss
Sc Profits nj Good Roads.


| The Post has just recently called atten-
ton to the great necessity for good roads
in Harris county. Public opinion is dis
tressingly apathetic in this matter. No
subject is at this time of more vital i'm
portance or more readily admitted to be
of paramount Importance, and yet the
public is slow to take the first active
step recent exhaustive article in one
of the magazines calls attention to one
of the obstacles in the way of arousing
general interest among the farming or
producing classes particularly. 1t
is that specific illustrations are not
presented Of the loss to the country by
the continued dependence on old roads.
Proceeding, therefore, to particularize in
some instance of waste and loss of profit,
the writer cites the difference in the size
of the loads that are hauled on the imper-
feet roads and those that could be carried
over first class highway, and nclden-
tally also the wear and tear on stock, re-
duced to dollars and cents The conclu-
sions are worthy of attention and FefIec-
ton. 1t seems that any one of the
better class of permanent roads
will enable a team TO draw on the
level about four times the amount drawn
on common dirt road in good condition.
On the basis of the experience of Illinois,
where considerable attention has lately
been given to the subject of road improve
ment, it is estimated that good roads,
even good dirt roads, at all seasons of the
wear would reduce the cost of transpOrta-
ti0ns on our country roads more than one
half, while good permanent roads would
make the real cost of hauling less than
one-quarter of what it is now. In other
words, the first-class highway gives the
producer coming to market four loads
to one now marketed over the miserable
excuses for country roads. These de-
auctions are taken from no less eminent
authority than Bradstreet and based
upon the discussion of the monograph not
long since published by the American
Economic association. 1t looks like
quadrupling farmers motive power
without the purchase of additional stock
or vehicles, ought to constitute power
full practical appeal to one IS self interest.
But this is not all. The estimates con-
clude that the saving on each
head of draft stock is S25 an
nualIy by system of good
ure your convention may decide upon
Leasing, Solomon & Rosenthal, Sanger
Bros. Cameron, Castles s. Storey, G. C.
Mccullough, Kellum s. Rotan, j. G.
Stephenson & Son, Moon Bros, Tom
Padgitt, w. n. Grand, Eikel s. Bru-
stedt.
Mr. William Cameron was appointed
delegate to represent these parties as
delegate from Waco.
Now l desire to state that if Mr.. Clark
and others call those gentlemen poll
ticians and demagogues, then 1 am will
ing to admit that the convention was of
that kind. However, | would beg to
ask whether Mr.. Clark or the merchants
of Waco handle the freights and COM
merce of Waco, and whether Mr.. Clark
is building up the city of Waco, or
whether it is the merchants, manufac-
turers and business men of Waco that
are building it? If it be true that he is
the man that is building up the city and
country, then 1 am willing to admit that
his judgment and opinion should be
worth more than the merchants of his
city. Respectfully, s. ID. BLAKE.