The record-union., 1898-02-13
A TERRIBLE COST.

Some weeks ago a statement went
the rounds Of the press as to the cost
roads, the disparity being amazingly
great. The authority quoted was that
Of officials of Massachusetts, we be-
lieve, who had made extended tests.
Since then the report has been seriously
questioned by number of exchanges.
Now, however, comes a new witness
who verifies the charge. c. E. Ash
burne, Jr., in an elaborate road paper
quoted from by the Louisville Courier
Journal says:
A machine weighing 10000 pounds
was drawn four miles OH the Brock
| turnpike, macadamized road. 1t re-
quired four mules 1900 pounds TO a
mule). and one and one-half hours time,
at d cost OF 10 cents per mule per hour,
| or a total cost for four miles of 80
| cents. After travelling four miles on
| rnacadamized turnpike the route lay a
| little less than 1000 feet On dirt road.
To traye! this 1000 feet it was neces-
sd W use ten VI EL6 OGSl anu
seven men; and with this force it took
| nine hours TO complete the journey. The
cost was $40 so, at which rate four
| miles would have cost $209 0S; or, in
| other words, $20S Is is absolutely
| thrown away for want of a Inacadam
| road A macadam road, such as would
have prevented this enormous outlay,
would cost about 500 per mile
for every foot OF width: that is, a
twelve-foot road, 81. 200 per mile; a
| sixteen-fOot road, $1,000 per mile, etc
Really it seems scarcely necessary
| to print such testimony to establish in
| the thoughtful mind what to road stu
dents is seif-evident. But strange as
| it may seem the general travelling pub
| lie and especially friends who live in
rural districts, while concedfng that the
| cost of haul over poor roads is greater
| than over good roads, as rule insist
| that the disparity is not so great as
| good roads friends and advocates main
tain. This denial we find Is general all
| over the country. 1t must be, there
| fore, that it is due to lack of positive
| knowledge upon the subject, hence
such tests as that reported above be-
| come of educational value.
| In Illinois John M. Stahl has been
experimenting and gathering statistics
| also, and he reaches the conclusion that
the amount Of loss to the people be-
cause of bad roads exceeds a sum
greater than the national debt His
researches led to the conclusion that the
| wagon freight in this country in 1892
.amounted to 500 600. 900 tons, and that
| the average movement of this enormous
| tonnage was for that year over eight
miles Of country highway. This would
| be equivalent to the movement Of A.
| OOO. 100000 tons one mile He places
the cost of moving by horse power, with
ordinary wheeled vehicles, at 25 cents
per ton per mile. This would give,
| then as the total cost for movement of
the tonnage named, the sum of 81 ,OU0
100000, or more than $780, 600. 900 more
than the present national debt.
These facts cause the Courier Jour
nal" to exclaim:
| This stupendous sum is wasted every
year with a cheerful prodigality that
| would be ludicrous We're it not so morti-
| flying. 1t is wasted in the face of
the fact that fairly good roads may be
built under an intelligent contractor
and with raw material near at hand at
as low as 500 or $500 a mile in such
4 localities Iaffarcop County
| What makes it worse is that even
| the primary cost of the roads is not
saved. In jefferson County, where con-
/ ditions do not vary materially from
/ other counties in Kentucky, the sum
of $4,000 to $50 900 is spent annually
upon the roads, but no turnpikes are
| built and few of the old highways are
| kept in repair. Yet, properly managed
| by men whose services could be had
! for the asking this sum would be suffi-
| cient to keep the old roads in good
| condition and build fifty miles Of good
turnpike in addition. In four years
! the county could have complete sys-
| tenn of turnpikes, the value of farm
| ing lands would be advanced So to SIC
! an acre, a million dollars or more would
be saved yearly to farmers and mar
ket gardeners, and rural life would be
made ten times more attractive. Is ii
not preposterous to delay this matter
! longer either In Jefferson County Oh
anywhere else in the State?
/ This leads US to the conclusion that
| old kentucky conditions are, after all
not better than in this much younger
and more sparsely settled State. The
figures of the "Courier-Journal'' for
cost per mile Of good roads are alto