The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-09
''Good Roads Day" at
Providence.
THE SPEAKERS.
DR.. Mendenhall and F. O
Stanley Included.

delegates to the annual meet of the
League of American Wheelmen, never
theless, passed a very profitable and
enjoyable day, attending good roads"
meetings morning and afternoon, while
IN the evening being rendered an eIab-
crate banquet by the local horsemen.
Prof 7. G. Mendenhall,. formerly of the
Massachusetts highway commission.
was the chief speaker in the morning,
and Gen. Roy c. Stone, a division COM
mander under Gen. Miles in Porto Rico.
made a noteworthy address in the
AFTERNOON. In the evening the addresses
were all of general character and
thoroughly enjoyed Tomorrow the del
egates will get down to business and
the an-1mportant question as to wheth-
er the league will continue to have
charge Of the racing will be decided.
FROM present appearance it looks as if
there would be no change.
Tne opening session was devoted to
Good roads" and considering the in
clemency of the weather, the attend
ance other than delegates was good.
PRESIDENT Isaac B. Potter of Boston
called the assembly to order and spoke
1OA ~ llllLuL0S on the SUD-
Ject OF cycle paths. These, he said. were
good roads for the bicyclist and there
fore every wheelman was justified in
asking for the building of the paths.
Ihey could be built with equal adyan-
tage to the public and to the tourists.
while large sums had been expended
upon the work and in New York 1900
mnes OF paths were built last year, most
OF the 4,0OoOOO wheels owned in the
United States could not be used for
nearly one-half of the year because of
pao roads The farmers who had op-
posed the good roads movement in
it's earlier days, no longer did so. real
izlng that the wheelmen had spent
Sl2O,000 for cycle paths alone and that
uhe Wheelmen were' not prompted by
purely selfish motives as pleasure seek
ers.
E. G. Harrison of Washington, D. c..
OF the good roads bureau of the depart-
ment of agriculture spoke briefly of
the work which that department had
accomplished in the west and south
among the farmers, to the end that
state organizations were being formed
and that sample roads were to be built
this spring
Mr.. f. o. Stanley of Worcester de-
scribed the four types of automobile
carriages, the cut Of building and op-
Grating them, their advantages as to
speed and their drawbacks in weight
and fumes emitted from two types. The
electric motor costs more than the gas
ollne. The compressed air carriage car
rying two people, weighs when charged
5oVO pounds; the steam carriage, 500
pounds.
DR.. Thomas C. Mendenhall. of wor-
cester, spoke on "State highways" DR.
Mendenhall is chairman of the Massa.
chusetts state highway commission
and president of the Worcester Poly
technfc Institute. Referring to the ben
e1lt of state highways, he said in part:
1t is now about ten years since the
agitation in favor of improved high
ways in Massachusetts, which culmin-
ated in the existing system of state
road building, began. 1t is but fair tc
say that it had it's origin with the
Wheelmen, Who 5ave continued among
the most active supporters of the i'm.
prevement policy. 1t was not, how.
ever, until 1898 that legislative actor
was had, providing for a commission
authorized to investigate the whole
subject. not only as to the desirability
of better roads, but especially as to the
presence and distribution of materials
suitable for road construction, the cost
OF building roads, etc. This commission
reported at length in 1894, and the legis
lature for that year enacted a law pro.
viding for commission consisting Of
three persons, whose duty it was to di.
rect highway improvement, and an ap.
preparation of $780, 900 was made to en-
able 1t to begin its work. Without very
material modification of the state ther
enacted, the work has been going OF
during the past five years, the tota
sum appropriated up to the present
time being $2,500,0O0.
Many interesting results have al.
ready come from the building of these
state roads. Directly they have proved
to be of great benefit by reason of the
greatly enhanced hauling power Of
those who used them for heavy traffic
In some instances the cost of hauling
ton a mile has been reduced to less
than one-quarter what it was before
Manufacturing communities, compelled
to deliver their product to a railway
station some miles distant, have, BY
the improvement Of their roads, beer
enabled to compete with more favor
ably-situated establishments in othel
states, which was before impossible
The value Of the farms adjacent to the
improved roads has been very decidedly
increased, and property has been made
salable at good price, which would
before bring little or nothing. Indirect
ly the work has been of good value as
affording an example of good roao
building, and in educating road build.
ers in many parts of the state. Many
towns not aided by the state have
built roads after the model of state
roads, and the commission has beer
called upon for advice and engineering
counsel by many towns able to build
their own roads. Should the schemes
now accepted be continued to compile
ton, the state will in time be covered
with network of these fine highways
connecting all principal centres of popu-
lation, and so widely distributed that
none will be compelled to travel more
than a very few miles, perhaps five OF
six miles. before finding himself on one
of these lines of the great system, by
means of which he can travel any
where in the commonwealth. Over this
network OF roads many thousands of
wheelmeh, light and heavy CARRIAGES
and wagons, automobile coaches and
trucks will go with a minimum expen-
diture of energy and a maximum OF
comfort and pleasure"
Despite the continued storm there
was large crowd at the good roads
afternoon session, and the speaking was
fully as interesting as in the morning
Chairman Parsons again presided and
introduced Gov. Dyer as the first
speaker. His excellency, in welcom.
ing the delegates to the state, said, re-
ferring to the old Rhode Island saluta-
ton, What Cheer"
Gen. Roy Stone. who saw active. SER
vice in Porto Rico under Gen. Miles
was the next speaker, and his address
covering as 1t did the roads and other