The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-11-12
WORKING FOR BETTER ROADS.
wheelmen Moving in Thirty-one

w no0lm0n MOVING IN Jnliby-CHe
States for an Improved System.
The League of American Wheelmen is
the question Of better roads.
As the Organization extends into thirty
one States and has, so to speak, taken
off it's coat in the work of improvement,
the various Legislatures may soon be in
duced to take action in the matter and
repeal the present road tax system,
which is alleged to be unsound in prin>
ciple and slovenly and, unsatisfactory in
its results. American travellers in Eu-
rope are always struck with the contrast
afforded with the highways in compari-
son with our Own, and by the attention
which is given to the business of road
making abroad. There, roads are re
garded as the property of all the people
and not the farmers alone, but the whole
State is taxed to keep them in excellent
condition of repair
In France the roads are under the
care of a government official, who has
his subordinates in every ACCOMPLISHMENT
of our sister republic, and who requires
from his salaried subordinates complete
reports as to their cost and condition al
frequent intervals. Every dollar spent
by the French government in the perfec
ton of its road system brings the coun>
try and city into closer, and therefore
into more harmonious and civilized reia
tions, improving the methods of internal
transportation and advancing facilities
of farming In Belgium also the roads
are built and maintained by the general
government. In Italy the minister of
public works is at the head of the de-
partment of common roads.
In Germany, England and Ireland the
roads are maintained by district authori-
ties, termed in the cases of the last two
countries county boards, and overlooked
by body known as the grand jury,
whose duty it is to see that public roads
are as carefully and as regularly main
tanned as is the system OF police for the
administration of justice. There the
duty of providing good roads fer farmers
is allotted to an officer termed a county
surveyor" who has map of every road,
bridge and culvert III the county in his
office, together with q report as to its
condition, and who let's out by contract
to adjoining farmers a portion of the
work necessary to each county road.
The farmers bid against each other for
these contracts, and the grand jury pays
out of the taxation of the county the
funds for their repair; the duty OF the
surveyor being to see that they perform
their contract. His certificate is neces
sary before the money is paid.
Here, on the contrary, the farmers also
work upon the roads, each man keeping
the portion abutting on or intersecting
his farm in good condition, thus working
out the equivalent of his road>tax by
labor on the roads.
This system is very faulty, and accord
ing to the pamphlet issued by the League
of American Wheelmen is the main cause
of the ILL conditioned character of roads
While, therefore, the United States
has the best system of railroads in the
world, our common road system is de
clared by the late commissioner of agri
culture to be s'inferior to those of any
other civilized country on the globe. ,
In the pamphlet issued by the wheel
mems league the design seems to be to
urge American farmers to keep the roads
up to standard which would render d
trip into the country a treat, and there
fore more frequent, involving less expen
diture of human muscle on the part o
lovers of the wheel. The loss which
farmers sustain annually by extra expen
diture in wagons, harness and horsefiesl
is cited at $780, 600 One horse, it il
said, will haul as much on a smoothe
macadam road, such as that in Brittany
for example, as two horses on a dirt road
Better transportation, it is true, will also
market the product of farms and be {
great additional source of profit to The
farmer. But the absence of stone, il
many localities, and the consequent in
creased cost of standardization would
entail q severe strain upon agriculture
If, as in other countries the bureau O.
public roads were not made a depart
ment of the Government. Th3 agita-
tion of the question by the League Of
American WheeInen will have one good
result-namely, in drawing attention te
our system of common roads, and il
eventually inducing the State to take
the initiative, or at least to bear a con
siderable portion of the expense of con
struction and of road ir.-Chicagt
Inter- Ocean.