The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-01-23
BlLLIONSIN 1T.
Money Spent iii Feeding Unnecessary
Stock Will Build Zine Roads.

o1Ock W Ill bu1!u Einc lSOauS.
COB11AA1. VA. Jan 2.-Special--Soon
be time now for the Good Roads League
E to get together and meet" The ques-
ton has been under discussion for years,
when about driving at conclusion
something knocks the chariot Of progress
sion out of the way, sinks it deeper into
the -nire Of Indifference and the days go
on as before
In the summer when the days are long
and roads leading UP to town dusty, the
r1raiist Is busy with his crops, with but
little time for theroughfare consideration.
Later on as the season wanes, his grain
IS shipped OFF to market. Then comes the
gloom, he pays his bills or at them. and
the wheelwright and blacksmith about
gathers 1t all ir-bad roads, rough and
rocky, are not credited with this state
of affairs, wear, breakage, just comes So
fault Of the wagon builder.
Bad zx1ads are expensive articles to every
farmer The true situation has never been
thoroughly Observation-Disclosures
AS a remedy few refor1ners advocate
broad tires-good enough in the June time,
and under certain conditions. A broad
tired wagon out on the roads in this sec
ton ut this season of freeze and thaW,
would so remain for 9 little while unless
pulled out by traction locomotive.
1t is a mistaken idea to suppose that
good roads will bankrupt the farmers. 1t
Is true that in the beginning considerable
money goes into mprove1nent-after COM
pletion, but a. very small percentage Tor
maintenance-build night in the hrst place.
good for all times.
The farmer breads additional taxation,
but does not consider the amount paid to
wl,celwrights as of much moment GOOD
roads are Infinitely cheaper than bad ones,
without entering into detail.
AS to the amount lost each year by the
farming community. we will present the
whole case in a nutshell. Quoting from
The Richmond Times Almanac, thaA
handy encyclopaedia of valua bic 1nforma-
+ Ion,r the census returns show that there
are in the United States about 1oooo. oVV
horses, over 20,000,O00 mules and 49,ooo
asses. The annual cost of feed for these
animals is about one billion. five hundred
and seventy-five million dollars.
On fine stone roads one horse can haul
as much as three horses can haul over the
average dirt road OF this country.
1t is estimated that it~would be neces-
sary to build about one million mlles OF
n1acadamized road in the United States
in order to have as good a system of pub
lie highways as is found in several Euro
rean States At $4,000 per mile this would
involve an outlay Of four billion dollars.
But if one half of the draught animals
could be dispensed with by the building
{ of such roads, there would be an annual
saving OF seven hundred and eighty-eight
million dollars in the food bill. inns IS
three per cent interest on twenty-siX bii-
lion dollars. Consequently,s1f ROAD bonus
were issued bearing three per cent. nue.
est more Allan six million miles OF Llaca-
DANCED toad could be built without IN
creasing the annual expenses one doliaI.
The people are actually paying three Ter
cent. on twenty-slx billion dollars in order
to keep up the present bad roads, Wnlie II
would not cost them one-siStn OF mat sun,
annually to build the 100000 miles needed ie3
In order tic put this country on par WIN
France in the matter of good roads.