Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1900-12-27
Roam eoMl1zssIoNER auDD.s RnfoRT.



I Scores the Railroads and Quarry Owners.
In tile seventh annul report Of the de
partnent Of public roads submitted to the
Governor last week, Commissioners BVdd
takes occasion to score the railroads and
quarry owners for combining and increasing
the cost Of material and transportation,
necessary in road building
The report contains a review Of the work
done during the year under the state aid
road law and shows that As miles of stone
and gravel roads we're constructed. With
but few exceptions, and those in Atlantic,
Burlington and Monmouth, the roads built
were constructed OF stone.
The annual appropriation by the Legis-
lature of $3.50, 900 was only sufficient to pay
the states share Of the cost Of eighty three
miles. State aid on the remaining sixty
five miles will have to be met out of next
years appropriation The demand for
state aid stone road building is becoming
so great that Commissioner BtIdd recon-
mends that the annual appropriation be
increased from $50, 900 to 5000, 600. Mr..
Budd also recommends that the amount
that county may spend in any one year
for permanent road building be increased
from ene-quarter of one per cent. to one-
half of one per cent. of the ratabies
Mr. Budd laments that the increase in
the cost of labor and material, as we'll as
freight rates for hauling stone during the
past year made the annual appropriation
sufficient only to pay the States one-tllird
of limited mileage. He takes occasion to
express his views very freely in criticism
of the increase in the price of stone and in
the rates Of transportation. Stone went up
from 30 to 100 per cent and this he attrib-
utes 10 a combination on the part Of
owners OF quarries The increase in the
rates Of transportation, Mr.. Budd says, was
from 10 10 20 cents per ton.
COUGHING BY RAILROADS.
IN one county alone, he says, the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company this year
has transported for the state aid roads over
A, 600 tons of crushed stone, receiving for
freight on the same, at the rate Of 50 cents
a ton, about S25, 600, an increase over last
year Of about 81, 000, and the distance did
not average over % miles from the quarry
to points OF delivery. The freight charged
amounted to about one-third Of the cost Of
the roads. ?
Mr. Budd expresses the opinion that the
quarrymen by making such advances are
working ultimate injury TO their OWN
and he asserts that all great trusts
have only succeeded in maintaining a con-
tinuons commanding position by doing
great business upon a very small profit
upon each individual unit Of their product
The increase in the cost OF labor, ma
terial and transportation during the past
year, Mr.. Budd says, brought the average
cost per mile for constructing stone roads
up to s., 354 as compared with an average
cost of about s., 900 per mile in 1899 This
increase, he says, is developing demand
for the use Of gravel instead of stone in the
building of permanent roads.
The report win this year be accompanied
by road map with all the improved roads
properly marked. It will show continuous
good roads from jersey City to Camden and
Atlantic City and from Trenton to the
seashore.
STATE AID ROADS.
The number Of miles of permanent roads
built in New Jersey since the passage of
the state aid road law in 1893 is 5ss. This
includes the sixty-6ve miles built during
the year, for which state aid will be pro-
vided out of the 1901 appropriation 1t
does not, however, include the many miles
Of stone roads built in Union, Essex, Hud-
son and Bergen, and perhaps other counties,
at either county or township expense before
the state aid law was passed.
The following table shows the number Of
miles Of road built in the different counties,
for which state aid was furnished, and the