La Junta tribune., 1899-04-01

I ADVANCED
y point Of enthusiasm in road build
| ing has been reached which threatens
the peace of mind OF the state authori-
ties of View Jersey. particularly the
( lawmakers
This state apparently has the lead in
the hard road business. and perusal
of the report of the road Improvement
( department indicates that all hard roads
( lead to urban. suburban and agricul-
I tural prosperity,
The cullated facts demonstrate that
I the suburban localities having the lar
I gest number of hard roads, particularly
stone roHds. are securing the largest
{ number of home builders and a notice
Z able increase in valuations. while in
! the agricultural districts where stone
! roads exist farms are renting quickly
/ and selling at higher prices, While those
/ on the lines of the old dirt roads are
{ fast going TO decay.
( These facts are forcing themselves on
I the attention of the farmers. and as a
7 result the agricultural counties are now
making a rush for state aid to build
/ hard roads
I The largest farming county in the
I state is Burlington. which stretches
I from the Delaware river to the ocean.
This county has ON file application for
( ll6 miles of road. more than one fourth
demanded by the whole state.
In seeking the reason why Burling
/ ton wants to add l16 miles to the 7b
that it already has the new status of
the stone road question is ascertained
! They are needed to establish quicker
connections between the farmer and
producer of food stuffs and the con
sumer.
They al gue that farming is becoming
profitable because the middlemen are
avoided-that is, the railroads that car
ry the freight and the commission men
who ms rule, absorb ii all
With stone roads farmers are able to
carry their own products to the cities
and find direct customers, and. even
better, they do not have to depend ON
the city consumer entirely. but they
can easily reach those who live in the
towns. boroughs and villages. who, Us
rule, We're supplied from the city
markets through the local stores. be-
cause farmers and growers preferred to-
ship by rail rather than waste tiine and
horsetiesh ON mud roads.
The small communities are multiply
ing fast. and there is a material im-
provement in home consumption, and
the result is the farmer has become en-
thusiastic and almost hysterical over
stone roads.
The demand of Burlington is un-
usually heavy. and under the ordinary
slow progress Of the present scheme it
will take at least ten years for the
county to get the roads that it has al
ready petitioned for.
Somerset county. which has been
strong in its opposition to the stone
road improvements, is now second in
its demands, asking for 6l miles. Som
erset has farmers who want the roads
for exactly the same reason that Bur-
lingtoI asks for its l16 miles, but Som
erset has large estates. elegant homes
and rich New York commuters.
They find themselves in rivalry with
Union and Bergen counties because
many New Workers have built homes in
these counties on account of the advan-
tages of hard roads. Somerset finds
itidt ~ 30 AHtTTihS Wv many btcA sAAAf~o
in the real estate line So now they are
clamoring for stone roads at a cost of
quarter Of a million of dollars.
The intense interest that is taken in
good roads is shown by the fact that
100 more miles are now petitioned for
than the road department built since it
came into existence. There are now
filed in the office of Henry l. Budd, the
state road commissioner, petitions from
nearly every county.
The ability to construct a greater
number of miles each year arises from
better understanding on the part of
the state and counties of the principle
of road building. 1t is claimed now that
New Jersey is getting better roads for
less money than any other state
On that account Massachusetts,, New
York Rhode Island. Virginia, Mary
land and Connecticut have all officially
inspected New Jersey roads and favora-
bly, commented on them. Commissioner
Budd in his report says:
Roads are now costing all the way
from 30 to 10 cents a square yard. In
wet places, where telford is necessary.
the cost reaches 10 cents The cost of
the majority of our roads this year i'll
the lower part of the state ranges from
so to so cents square yard
I'm the upper part Of the state, in
Morris and Passaic counties. they are
building the bed of stone four and six
inches deep; consequently the expense.
where rock is mined along the road.
ranges only from 90 to As cents per
square yard
1t is only matter Of a few years
when New Jersey will have three COM
plete avenues reaching from one end
Of the state to the other. One line will
run from Atlantic City to Jersey City
and from Jersey City to the western
boundaries Of Morris and Passaic coun