The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-07-12

ROAD MAKING.
AN INTERESTING PAPER TO.
FARMERS AND OTHERS.
From an Address by Mr.. Roy
Stone. Of the United States
Department Of Agriculture
Giving Information About the
Cost Of Road Building.
One serious hindrance to the eX
tended building OF hard roads has
been the CostlIness of some Of those
built, and the general overestlmate OF
the cost necessary. An expense OF
S, 900 per mile is beyond the possible
means of most country districts, but
our inquiries have developed many
cases where good stone roads are
being built for one fourth of that sum.
The stone roads of Canandaiga, New
York, cost only 5000 per mile. They
are not wide roads, but are heavily
stoned, and they are SO good that
when | was there, in the midst OF a
January thaw, the farmers living on
them were hauling two tons of hay on
a two horse wagon, while the neighbor-
ing dirt roads were practically im-
passable.
Without going into details, | Judge
that such road can be built on the
average in the Southern States, with
paid labor, for 81 per rod. Supposng
the road to be built with such labor,
and financed upon the State aid plan
adopted in New Jersey, as modified in
an act lately passed by the Assembly
of New York, the cost would fall
equally upon the benefit district, the
county and the State, the benefit
district including the habitual users OF
the road, and estimated to extend an
average of one mile on each side Of it;
the lands of the users would be assessed
in proportion to their benefits for one
third of the cost, payable in ten annual
instalments, with interest, beginning
one year after the completion of the
road, the county, meanwhile, advanc-
ing the money, and having authority
to issue short bonds for this purpose
and long ones for its own share.
The total cost would be one dollar
for each acre OF the benefit district,
and the users ne-third, spread over
the ten years, would be less than 4
cents per acre yearly, including
interest The county would recoup
itself largely by the saving in cost of
road repairs, and the State by the
increase in taxable values.
If con ;ct labor were used in the
manner have proposed Ohe State
furnishing road material free on board
cars, the cost to the State would be
only that of fuel, oil, explosive and
repairs Of machinery, amounting, &C
cording to the report Of the Massa-
chusetts Highway Commission, to 6
$40 cents per cubic yard of stone,
crushed, or for the I 200 yards required
to lay a mile of road nine feet wide
and eight inches thick to sSI 90 per
mile.
The additional cost Of the road
would be the railroad freight, which
if based on bare cost, would not ex-
ceed IS cents per cubic yard for an
average of say IS miles, and which
for 1900 yards, would be 5000 and
the wagon haul Of an average distance
of perhaps three miles, 40 cents per
yard, or $3.50 per mile, making
S861.6o, and adding IS per cent. for
incidentals, total Of nearly 81, 900
per mile, of which the portion to be
shared between the county and the
benefit district would be about the
same as before, the advantage OF using
convict labor accruing wholly to the
State.
Supposing that the State will aid in
road building in either Of these ways,
the question then resolves itself into
this: Whether the local property can
bear the tax proposed and whether the
county can borrow the money needed.
AS to the first part, the present
average tax for road purposes, in
Guiding labor, is about 10 cents per
acre; adding cents to this tor 10
years, would be slight burden for so
great a benefit, and it would Tighten
the tax thereafter by diminishing the
cost of repairs on the roads.
The New York Highway Manuel, by
careful computation, makes the annual
value of good roads sI.2o per acre. If
this be correct, the benehciaries would
only be paying one-thlrieth Of what
they receive.
As to the second part, will not
enter into the question whether the
counties ought to issue bonds for this
purpose. Enough Of them will be
found willing to do it to make start,
and the others will follow rapidly
enough. | have found no case where
a county regretted having issued
bonds, even for the entire cost Of
building expensive roads, running way
up to $1,000 or $4,000 per mile.
Certainly no county will regret it if
they can secure good roads for an
issue of less than $500 per mile in
long bonds The issue of short bonds
to cover advances on behalf OF the
district is practically no Indebtedness,
as interest and principal are botn TO
be paid by the district, and the
county has full power to enforce pay
ment, through taxation.
The issue of long bonds, moreove:
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