Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1901-03-08

g that amount.
e Now how is this loss made up?
, 1. By this depreciation of the land.
] 2 Additional cost of hauling
Il 3. Loss of time in hauling.
4. Wear and tear on vehicles.
3 5. Wear and tear of horses and har
: ness.
| shall give you the experience o
two farmers who bitterly opposed th
. building OF hard roads, but after the,
were built would not do without them
, One says that he saves now with tn,
improved roads more in repairs on hi
: wagons and harness than the Who'll
amount of his tax for roads. Anothe
said he was opposed to the improve
ment at first because be thought it wa
going to be a burden on him, but sine,
the imprOy ement was made be ha
been paying off Il, 900 of his mortgage
every year, whereas before he coult
not pay the interest on it. He figures
it in this wayne used to have tive
teams hauling into and from town al
the proper seasons; but since he has
had the benefit OF the improved roads
be has disposed of one team and is now
doing more work with that one than
he did before with both.
The farmers In and around Canandai-
qua, New York, have built, from to
5 miles OF hard road year for several
years by direct taxation upon their
own property. They have petitioned
the legislature for the privilege Of in
creasing their taxation beyond what
the law allows. One of them being
asked if he was not burdened with the
taxes said: ''In this one week, by the
advantage OF having these stone roads
and getting to market with my hay
when it was selling at good price my
teams have earned $5 every day, while
my neigh boris teams on the old roads
are eating their heads off. We could
not afford not to have these roads"
This mans experience illustrates some
of the least motto cable advantages Of
permanent roads for the increase in ths
cost of haulage actually done Is by no
means the only loss by bad roads.
There are many other items of loss
that OF perishable products for want
of access to market; the failure to
reach market when prices are good;
the encouragement from cultivating
products which would be marketable
if markets were always accessible. But
the greatest of all these is the enforced
idleness of men and draft animals du-
ring large portions of the year. Ex-
penses go on every day whether men
have work or not and horses are eating
up profits whether they are adding to
them or not. There is no reason why
every man in the country who depends
upon his daily labor for the support
OF his family shall not have it, and it
is criminal to tolerate any system that
deprives him of it. Good roads are the
highways to wealth. Everywhere
when the roads have been made per-
manent, the farming communities are
growing rich. The people have no
time to waste in talk; they do not
trouble themselves about politics; they
are contented and happy II their
fields are too wet to work, they go on
the road. Their marke ting and haul:
ing are done in bad weather; every day
brings it's earning to man and beast
for there is always paying work on a
good road, and if man has no haul
ing of bis own to do he can get work
from others and good wages. 1t is not
an uncomm mon thing in France to see a
farmer 40 or so miles from home in wet
weather with heavy load. If he sees
a prospect of few days rain he puts
his tarpaulin over his load, cover
over his horses, and waterproof coat
on, and starts to market, They choose
the wet weather for hauling for they
cannot work their ground and their
roads are as good then as in dry wealth
er. On the improved roads of North
Carolina, two horses will easily haul
at one load twelves bales of cotton.
There are just one Or two memoran
da wish to repeat you to base your
own calculations on, and by which you
may get a clearer idea Of the enormous
ly wasteful system under which we
are living, we tolerate a road that is so
low in the scale of good roads that no
calculations can be made about it and
which, even when it is at it's best con-
dition, Gas in the Gypsy Hill Park in
Staunton in good weather). requires
four times the force for hauling that is
road, while hard and permanent road
is within our reach and will bring
prosperity and contentment to our
people. If we will only take charge of
our own affairs ourselves.
| | wish you to consider this also; one
mile On d three degree grade is equiv
alenJ to four and a half miles On a
level; that is, the force required to
raw d ton four and one half miles on
a level will only draw the same load
one mile on grade of three degrees.
AS TO wide tires: piece of clay road
was made thoroughly wet. Over one
portion of the mud road thus formed "a
heavily loaded wagon with 2 inche
tires was repeatedly drawn: over the
other portion wagon with tires 4 and
5 inches wide, and the front axle short
er than the rear. The narrow tireG
wagon cut and rutted its part of the
road to the depth of several inches, the
remainder of the road was rolled by
the wide tires into SIN Doth surface
and it required twice the force to hau