The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-04-26
Good Roads Camp Ign.

| To The indie penlent
! The excellent editorial on Good Roads"
in you' issue OF tho 23d prompts practical
suggestion. the execution Of which will re-
move one potent aud constantly acting
cause OF bad roads. without imposing any
burden. The cause eferrsd TO is the de-
structiVe actlon OF heavy loads car led on
wagons with marrow tires. the roar wheels
OF which track exactly with the front ones.
The best constructed maeadani roads can
not Withstand suoh wear and the eleot on
an ordinary dit road Is 70 cut 10 into ruts
anu chuck uOles which serve A. water chan
nsls and furnish the most favofablo cOudl-
tions for rapid disintegfation OF roAdbed.
1 no remedy for this particular factor OF
bad roads is wide tires that do not track;
10 nas loag been IN compulsory use abroad
and recsntly IN some OF our sister states.
Carefully conducted tests have demon
strated that under most conditions lesa
Iower 10 required to move given weight
IA a wagon nAving wide tTes than ths same
with narrow tires; hence the user OF vide
tires 10 directly aud immediately benefited
By them entirely apart from their value
as road rollers. Rufal Word. under title
"iolllnR versus Cutting" prints the fol-
lowing: "rhe wagon should he a road
maker, not a roaI dest oyer. 10 ought TO
conse We hauling the heavier than the
lighter load The broad tire does this. Ia
France srs found the best roads in Euro. .
and over them roll only she whee.s OF
bioadsst tires. II 10 the law there that the
load shall be distributed over the Ia gest
possible surface consistent with the weight
earned, the power e1erted and she nesds OF
the peOt 10 10 wheel loads to market. Tie
tires OF French market wagons are oil The
way from three TO ten inches in widtn, the
greater number are ON four TO six
inches. There, too, the hind and forward
wheels do not track. Each pair Of wheels
track alone and thus tue combined with
OF the four tires serves the purpose OF
road roller 90 keep ths roof OF tue road
smooth, compact snd free from cutouts. o.
what a Q generally known as chuck holes.
Nv suggestion IL that our next legislature
enact law requiring after, say March /,
1896. for all wagons without springs the
width Of the tire TO be propOrtoned 30 load
carried (the exact dimensions being de-
tefmined by careful comparison OF accessi-
BILE data aud tue rear axle enough longer
than front one TO prevent tracking. 10
encourage early use OF such wagons provide
that the owner OF etcn vehicle conforming
to this law before March ]. 1896. Ds credited
on his road tax q spscinc sam for every
three months OF anticipated timsi to gun
ish infraction Of the Jaw infiiot penaty.
equal 90 cost Of making change, for every
tnsee months disobedience.
The movement tor good roads In America
was initiated by the l.. A. w. (Lsagus
American Wnselmen) and has besn carried
forward largely By their persistent efforts.
This orQaniz ,tiOn Is working systemati-
oally, publishes a monthly magazine Good
Roaos" dVotsd 10 tins cause, and the l25
members OF Il residing IN hontana. puT-
poss making an aggressive CAM aiRn along
the lines above indicated. They ask and
believe will obtain the active Co operation
OF MoatanA's press and Iublic spiilted citi-
zens Idaho IL eporled TO have q law on
thls subject surely Montana will NOS neg
lect q u after Of such economic i'm Eottance.
Il. II. RAY
l.. A. W., No. 81 35.