The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-15
BUREAU OF HIGHWAYS.
An Interesting Report on Hauling
in the State Submitted to
the LEGISLATURE.


SACRAMENTO, CAL, Jan. Ia. The
Bureau of Highways, as an illustration of
the work that is in them, placed on the
desk of each Legislator to-day report by
Commissioner Irvine. The report, after a
somewhat extended introduction, comes
down to facts as follows:
The average haul in our State is 1913 miles
and the cost per ton per mile is 22 cents,
while the average in the United States is 25
cents per ton, The total tonnage is given at
313, ,349, ,227, and it costs the enormous sum of
1916. .414,665 sd to transport it on the high
ways. The value of all farm products for 1890
was 50, ,4S0, ,170,454. In other words it takes
nearly 40 cents to market 81 worth of farm
produce.
The increase in cost of hauling actually done
is by no means the only loss by bad roads.
The loss of perishable products for want OF
access to market the failure to reach market
when prices are good, and the fail ure to culti-
vate products which woul be marketable if
markets were always accessible, add many
millions 10 the actual tax of bad roads. More
over, the enforced idleness of millions of men
and draught animals during large portions OF
the year is q loss not always taken into account
in estimating the cost of work actually done.
Information already in the Office OF the De-
partment of Road inquiry indicates that all
things being considered nearly, if not quite,
two-thirds of this vast expense may be saved
by road improvement, and this at a total cost
not exceeding the losses of three, or at the
most OF four years by bad roads,
A machine weighing 10000 pounds was
rawn four miles on the Brook turnpike, q
macadamized road. 1t required four mules
(40O0 pounds to a mule) and one and half
hours of time, at cost of Is cents per mule
per hour, or total cost of 90 cents for four
miles. After travelling four miles on the mac
adamiZed turnpike the route was over about
1000 feet of dirt road. To travel these 1000
feet it was necessary to use ten of the best
mules and seven men, and with this force it
took nine hours to complete the journey. The
cost was $19 80 at which rate to have trav-
eled over four miles of such road would have
cost 5000 O8; in other words, $208 1S was
absolutely thrown away for want of a mac
adam road. Such g macadam road as would
have prevented this enormous waste of money
could have been built for about 800 per mile
for every foot of width; that is to say, a 12-
foot road would cost $1,000 per mile, 16-foot
road would cost $1,000 per mile, etc. From
this one can realize the enormous sum that is
wasted annually on our present system OF
highways.
In California the conditions are so favorable
to the construction of permanent roads that,
with proper legislation III can reasonably be
hoped that the Golden State will set an ex-
ample to all others in the Union. The absence
OF snow and frost obviates one of the great
difficulties that must be contended with in the
Eastern States and the presence throughout
the State OF excellent material for highway
construction is a great aid to the advance
ment of the movement for good roads.
The vast waste incurred by bad roads being
clear, the pro blem of remedying the evil pre-
sents itself The subject has received the at
tention OF able minds and the solution which
has proven most satisfactory is the construc-
t1on, under expert direction by the State, of
permanent main highways. Roads must be
properly located and intelligently constructed,
and to comply with these requirements ex-
perience has shown that qualified persons re-
moved from local influences are better able to
carry out this beneficial plan of internal i'm
provement