Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1890-11-07
GOOD ROADS AND LAND VALUES.
Thomas Nevins, of Orange, N. j., Shows
That They Are Closely Related.


The group of New Jersey towns known
as the Oranges is probably as well paved
as any similar locality in the United
States. In fact many of the Orange
roads are equal in excellence to the
far famed European highways. The
Oranges are near New York city, and
much of the land therein is owned by
rich men who do business in the metrop-
oils, but prefer the freedom and good air
of well kept country places to residences
in the city. All improvements-good
streets. gas. water and sewers-which
are in the city are also to be found in the
Oranges, and one man should be largely
credited for that fact. That man is Mr..
Thomas Nevins, of East Orange.
Mr. Nevins may safely be spoken of
as a man who has made colossal fort
une out of the improvement of road
ways; not by profits on road making
contracts, but by increase of land val
ues caused by road improvement. There
is no man in the country who knows
more about the practical effects of road
improvement, and there is no man more
anxious to have every one else know MS
much as he does. He said the other day:
The relation between good roads and
land values is not appreciated in this
country. and any man who helps edu-
cate the people to the Importance of the
matter is doing them a real service. |
have lived in the Oranges for nearly
quarter of a century, and have had an
excellent opportunity to watch their
progress from a collection of farms con-
nected by dirt roads to one of the best
paved and most magnificent residence
localities in the United States. More
over | reverse the opinion of most peo-
pie. The general idea is that the roads
Of the place are well paved because rich
men have come here. | assert that the
rich men have come here because the
roads are well paved.
Good roads mean everything to com
munity. In agricultural localities they
mean the difference between prosperity
and adversely: III towns they mean the
difference between growth and stagna-
tiOn. In the latter instance this is
generally recognized, but the average
farmer doesn't believe it. To the latter
! y
opener" Ny brother owns farm of
1913 acres in Union county, n. j. a few
years ago he valued the land at from
$50 to $15 an acre. but he was unable
to sell at even that price. The farm
was improbable. Bad roads made it
difficult and expensive to get its produce
to market. and the profits did not repre-
sent a fair rate of interest ON the est
mated value of the land. Every day that
he owned the farm meant a dead loss to
him. By and by the road improvement
craze" struck Union county. About sixty
miles of good Telford highways were put
down. What is the result: Well, my
brother has within few days refused
5000 an acre for his land. And the cry
that increased taxation more than eats
up the increased valuation certainly does
not hold good where the increase of valu-
alton is 1925 per acre. Moreover the
farm yields a good profit now. And
absolutely all of this has been brought
about by the introduction of good roads
People ask how good roads can affect
the profits of a farm. and although every
writer on the subject has answered the
question dozen times it will do no
l.dTm to answer it again. The answer is
simply this: Good roads make markets
accessible. \ team can pull twice as
much over a smooth Telford road us
/ over the average country dirt road. and
pull it twice as rapidly. | have teams
engaged this very day hauling stone to
the new Prudential Insurance building
They dow $500 pounds at load. The
roads which they travel over are hard
and smooth | know by experience that
these same teams cannot draw more
than 1900 pounds over the ordinary dirt
road. Each farmer has certain amount
of produce to transport. If each team
can haul twice as much over good roads
AS it can over bad roads, why, the farm
er will require only half as many teams,
and the money expended in the purchase
and keep of the extra horses may be de-
voted to farm improvements, ETC., which
would otherwise be necessarily neglect
ed. There are other savings in labor
hire, time and wear and tear upon har-
ness and vehicles which are not easy to
figure up, but which are very real and
figure largely in the profit account at
the end of the year.
Why, there are fully GOO miles of Tel
ford road in the state of New Jersey,
and | know what I'm talking about
when | say that the increase in land
values, brought about by good roads in
Union county alone, would pay six times
over the cost of every foot of stone road
: mt down in tla state
Some things have occurred in my own
!. business experience which illustrate
pretty we'll the increase in land values
which good roads will bring about. A
few years ago | bought forty-tive acres
of land for $1,000 an acre, not far from
Orange. opened up the land and put
in the best kind of twelve inch Telford
road, This with other improvements
brought the expense of the land to me
up to $40 a front foot Pretty good
, price, you say? Well, wait minute
| sold that land pretty nearly as fast as
| G. nd draw IN the deeds and | sold