Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-06-19
FOR BETTER
HIG.H | AVS.

5
HIGHW AVS.
An Argument for Improved High /.
ways. With some Convincing Facts
~ TO tho Economic Value Of Good
Roads.
The ignorance and Indifference which
once permitted the loss OF millions Of
dollars annually, and submitted to the
constant hardships and annoyances
caused by bad roads. have today been
replaced by widespread recognition
OF the value OF reliable highways, and
by the most aggressive efforts to se-
cure them. The fact that America has
been notorious for It's lack OF great
highways, and Its vast network OF
crude and periodically impassable
roads, is due primarily to the lack OF
knowledge by the masses Of the people
as to methods of making good roads
and their vital necessity. The direct
cause is found in the waste Of public
money collected for the benefit Of high
ways. Sufficient sums have been APP
been sufficient labor along futile lines
in every state in the union during the
past century to have given this country
the best roads in the world. And yet,
barring the recent Improvement in
several states-an Improvement which
affects only about per cent of the road
systems OF the entire country-there
are no good roads. There are plenty Of
fair-weatheT roads, good in dry seasons,
but these in winter weather are any
thing but passable. In many states
most Of the farmers and residents of
the smaller villages are completely iso-s
lated for periods varying from two to
six weeks during the worst OF the win
ter season. And yet among these very
people has existed the greatest opposi-
ton to the expense of building good
highway.
Strange as this may seem on first APP
pearances, lit is not so strange when the
general ignora nee concerning the sim
pie method of building and the modest
cost that attaches to mile of good
road is taken into consideration Farm
ers generally would like to have good
roads. but they imagine that their pres
.ence means an intolerable burden of
taxation. They do not stop to consider
the intolerable tax they are paying in
loss of opportunity for want of them.
Thus the farmers of New Jersey did
not discover what they had lost until a
few model roads were built in their ter
ritory, when the truth concerning pre-
vious disadvantages became startlingly
plain. In answer to a general inquiry
sent out by the chairman of the New
Jersey state board Of agriculture, as to
whether the roads had worked an im-l
provement in their conditions. hundreds
of replies We're received-all Of them af-
firmatio and some so concise that
they may we'll serve as Illustrations of
the value of the whole movement One
wrote:
I'VE are very proud Of the country
road in our neighborhood, so recently
put in shape. Even before it was laid
by the state property near it advanced
nearly so per cent in value. A case IN
point is that of piece of property right
here which could have been bought for
$4,000 before the road was built, and
only few days ago the owner was of.
fered 100000 for the same farm. and it
is two miles away from any railroad
station. There are many more cases
here Of the same sort. We favor good
roads"
Another wrote:
Good stone roads-and stone seems
to be the only way of making roads
permanently good-are of great impor-
lance and benefit to us farmers. 10
make any profits We must haul heavy
loads. With the taxes / pay it is but
just that l be able to go to and from
town with as great load as my team
can haul thru town. without having to
use four extra horses to insure getting
thru the sand. We ought to be able to
work our teams all the year round. ir-
stead of having to keep idle while the
frost comes out of the ground.
The average farmer out west has to
haul his product and supplies about five
miles. His teams are good, but they
haul on the average less than a ton
perhaps not more than three-fourths{o of
a ton-a load. The time required to
make the trip averages close upon
!three-fourths of a day. During hauling
season wages are high, and the expense
of the short haul' from farm to sta
ton is made heavier than for the long
haul" that follows by rail or boat. The
substantial Improvement of the roads
| means that just twice as much can be
hauled by any given number OF horses
in just half the time. and that at any
period when horses are not needed on
1.-THE farn-a thing which is never posi-
Bile with poor road. For this is the
worst of the whole bad-road system,
namely: that when it is good enough
/ to haul over them, the farm is good
isenough to work on. and horses and
wagons are needed there. When they
are impassa BILE, because of mud and
water, the farm is also unavoidable, and
horses and wagons are idle. Thus. says
a writer on the subject in Pearson's
Magazine, a double injury is worked.
| 1t has been figured by an expert Of
1.-The government Of Minnesota that if
only the worst places in all the roads of
| that commonwealth could be repaired
i5tstretches of ruts and hollows which ag
gregate only sixth of all the road
mileage Of the state), it would enable
farmers to haul third more of a load.
and to haul ii at third less time.
This means he says. that where
] 1t now takes tfree-fourths Of day to
haul thirty bushels of wheat or potatoes
forty bushels could be hauled just as
easily in halfa day, or eighty bushels a
\ day, If necessary. II means that where