Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-10-17
THE FARMERS HIGHWAY.
Tho badness of Country Roads and Ne.
oessity for Improving Them.

IL has been shown ny the experience
Of other countries, and to a limited de
gree in those portions of our own coun-
try where good roads have been con-
structed, that a properly constructed
road is not only conducive TO pleasure,
the satisfaction and convenience Of all
who use it, but that from purely eco
nomic standpoint it is vastly cheaper
than the miserable dirt roads to which
we have long been accustomed. In
many Of the countries of Europe, and
notably in England, France, Italy and
the German states, the public road is
looked upon as the most used, the most
needed and the most to be cared for Of
all public institutions. The people of
those countries have ascertained by re-
peated experiments, and by long use of
o splendid system of highways, that one
horse working upon a good road is sufii-
cient to do the work for which two
horses, and in some cases three, were
formerly required. To illustrate more
exactly, it is found by repeated careful
experiments that an ordinary wagon
with wagon load Of one gross ton, 2,240
pounds, when drawn upon level road,
requires an eXcrtion Of different degrees
of horizontal force us follows:
FORCE REQUIRED TO TON
Pounds.
On best asphalt pavement. .................... IS
On well rolled macadam, with stone founda.
uOn................ .................... 4G
On common earth road ......................2 POO
From an inspection of this table it
will be seen that the horizontal force or
pull required to move the loaded wagon
over the common earth road is about
four and one-half times the force rcQuir-
ed to move the same load over the well
finished macadam road. 1t is therefore
easy to conclude that an immense saw
| ing Of time, labor and horses would re-
suit from the general adoption of roads
OF this character, and by pursuing the
inquiry little further it may he seen
that the annual loss to our state in main
tanning our system of social commercial
communication by the use of as bad a
| system Of dirt roads as was ever endured
by Il civilized people is almost incalcula-
| bic. They day when this condition OF
| affairs might have been excused has
| gone by. OUr roads are "Constructcd'
| and maintained in very much the same
manner as in colonial times when the
state was poor in lands and poor in
! purse, and internal communication So
limited as to make the building Of the
better system of roads inexpedient, il
not ilnpracticable.
In the last annual report of the United
States commissioners Of agriculture
! OSSSl the present need of better roads
throughout the country is set forth il
language So timely and 50 emphatic that
the writer has deemed it proper to quote
briefly from the words of the report
The commissioner says:
The common roads Of the country are
the veins and arteries through which
flow the agricultural productions and
the commercial supplies, which are the
life blood of the nation, to those great
ducts of travel and transportation the
railroads of the country.
while our railway system has be
come the most perfect in the world, tn,
common roads Of the United States have
been neglected and are inferior to thos,
OF any other civilized country lin tn,
world. They are deficient III every ueces
sary qualification that is an attribute I,
a good road-in direction in slope il
shape and service, and, most of all, il
want of repair. These deficiencies hav,
resulted not only from an ignorance o
true principles Of road making, but ais
from the varied systems of road build
ing in force in the several states of tn
Union, due TO defective legislation. TIL
principle upon which the several state
have based much Of their road legisla
ton Is known as the road tax system O
personal service and communication, whicl
is unsouud as Il principle, unjust in it
operations. wasteful in its practice an,
unsatisfactory in its results. 1t il a reli
Of feudalism borrowed from the statut
labor of Engltad, and its evil results ar
today apparent in the neglected and il
conditioned common roads of the com
try.
at is question of vast importance t
the welfare of this nation thas these al
'teries of agricultural and commercii
life should receive the attention an
effort that their Importance deserve:
and that an effort should be made t
: remedy the defects now existing, and c.
tablish a system that could be made un
form and efficient in all the states of tn
union
by the improvement of these comma
roads every branch of our agriculture
, commercial and manufacturing indus
tries would be materially benefited
Every article brought to market woul
: be diminished in price, the number {
, horses necessary as a motive powe
would be reduced, and by these an
! other improvements millions of dolla,
. would be annually saved to the publi
The expense Of repairing roads and Il
wear and tear of vehicles and hors,
would be essentially diminished, and II
thousands Of acres Of land, the produc
4 of which are now wasted in feeding III
:. necessary animals in order to carry {
v this character of transportation, woul
5 be devoted to the production Of food fC
;. the inhabitants Of the country. In IA
n the public and private advantages whiC
: would result from effecting this gre
# object in the improvement of our hig
= ways are incalculable, not only to Il
=. l