Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1900-01-03
HIGHWAYS OF INDIA.
POTENT FACTORS IN DIFFUslNo ED
UCATlON.

Oh GOOd ROADS.
Good roads which the English have
constructed in India have perhaps done
more to break down the almost insu-
perable barriers of caste and to ameli-
crate the condition of the masses than
all agencies put together.
1t cannot, Of course, be justly claim
ed that good roads are original causes
Of civilization, for it requires public
intelligence to appreciate their value,
but they always promote the enlight-
eminent which builds them. They are
potent factors in diffusing the educa.
ton which primarily created them,
says Professor Sylvester Warehouse
Of Washington university, st. Louis.
In the colonial days Of this country
it sometimes took four years to send
load Of peltries from the trading post
Of st. Louis to England and receive In
return stock Of merchandise. Letters
from New York to the same point were
not infrequently from four to six
months on the way. If these excep-
tional conditions. due to scanty popu-
lation and to a Lack of facilities for
rapid transportation over vast reaches
Of ocean and wilderness, had contln-
ued, the growth of American civilian
ton would have been seriously retard-
ed. But the authorities Of this coun-
try early recognized the Importance OF
good roads. Public moneys were spent
upon the construction Of turnpikes be-
fore appropriations were made for the
improvement of our harbors. The pol
icy Of extending our highways and
railroads has been actively encouraged
by our government and vigorously car
ried out by the American people.
Good roads are always and every
where educational. Enlightening COM
merce. they broaden the range and in
crease the profits Of its exchanges;
diffusing intelligence and the agencies
of spiritual culture, they bear to all
lands the benefits Of the highest civili-
cation.
The economic Importance Of good
roads has been demonstrated by star
Ting statistics. 1t has been shown that
the traction force required to move
1000 pounds at a speed of three miles
an hour over q level road Of iron, as
phalt, loose gravel and soft sand is,
respectively. 8, II, 800 and 44S pounds.
From this statement it may be easily
inferred how costly bad roads are. Iron
and asphalt are mentioned for the
sake of comparison. They could not,
Of course, be used as the constructive
materials Of country roads. But the
difference between good and bad roads
Is so great that the team which can
draw only one ton on the former will,
according to the character Of the i'm
provement, haul from three to five
tons on the latter. 1t is estimated that
the aggregate cost Of transportation
over public roads Of the United States
is now about $1,000.O00,000 a year.
This sum is largely more than one
third Of the productive values Of the
farms Of the country. Careful calcu-
lations indicate that fully one-half Of
this cost Of haulage could be saved by
the construction Of good roads. In
these computations the saving Of $780,
100000 a year Is limited to the trans
portation Of farm products, but there
would be a corresponding economy in
the carriage to the consumers Of vast
quantities of merchandise and hard
ware. The losses which bad roads in
fiict are felt by every industrial inter-
est in the United States.
The improvement of our highways
would be variously profitable. Now
farmers lose many days in the year
waiting for good weather and dry
roads, but the support Of the men and
animals Is as expensive when they are
idle as when they are engaged in
lucrative work. With good roads the
farmers need never lose any time. In
wet weather. when they could not
work on the land, they could carry
their products to market. No rains
would compel them to spend valuable
time In idleness.
1t takes much longer time and re-
quires far greater tractive force to
haul loads over bad roads than 1t
would to draw heavy loads over good
roads. The unnecessary strains to
WHICH, Ddu EOuuS SuUJcCt tcunuo, hoI
nesses and wagons are very wearing.
Rough usage seriously Injuries the
farmers equipment. Improved high
ways would prevent avoidable depre-
citation of property and increase the
gains Of producers.
1t Is hardly worth while to build q
few good highways. Systems of roads
should be improved at the same time.
A draft wagon, light enough to be used
on muddy roads, could not avail itself
Of the full advantage Of rock road.
The wagons used on hard roads weigh
from $500 to 5000 pounds. and they
carry leads of three or four tons. Such
wagons could not be employed on soft
roads They would sink into the mud
and require as much force to move
them as it would to haul their heaviest
freight on a gravel road. Common and
improved roads cannot be profitably
combined. What is fit for the one Is not
suited for the other. Therefore the
main and tributary highways of any
district should all be constructed Mt
once.
Road Progress.
Massachusetts. New Jersey, New
York and Connecticut are probably the
o<ofaS x,h;ch hova mazda tho uraofao<