The gold leaf., 1902-11-20
THE VALUE OF uOOD ROADS.
Charlotte Observer

The value of good roads has had a
practical demonstration in Mecklen-
burg county for a number of years
past. In fact, the movement origin
ated in this county and Charlotte
has been the Mecca ofnumerOus dele
cations seeking information on the
building of good roads. The move
ment in Mecklenburg has never been
permitted to lag and each month
sees an addition to the good roads
mileage ofthe county. In other parts
of the country where there has been
a halt:effortsss are being made for a re-
vival of good read building. The
good roads bureau of the United
States government is doing excellent
people to the value of good highways
and has recently given out some
figures, the entire correctness of
which will be substantiated by the
people of fMecklenburg, who have had
experience with all sorts of roads.
The bureau endorses the report of it's
engineer who finds that the cost of
moving one ton by horse power over
one mile of sandy road is 60 cents,
over damp sand 30 cents, over ruts
and mud 80 cents over broken stone
and ruts 26 cents, over an earth
road that is dry and hard 1S cents,
over a broken stone road in good
condition 8 cents, over compact
gravel road S.S cents, over stone
paving 5.32 cents, over asphalt 2.7
cents.
The value of improved roads is
demonstrated in another way by a
writer in Lippincott's Magazine who
tells Of the improvement to a road in
New Jersey. He says:
Formerly y it took a wagon weigh
ing 1000 pounds, with four horses
and two men, to haul 2A tons ofpro-
duce to market from a Camden
county farm and bring back a load
of fertilizer of the same weight, and
then they were a whole day doing it.
Often enough the wagon got mired
and then it took more than a day.
Over one of the new roads it now
takes only one man, two horses and
one wagon weighing 2,3OO pounds
to carry load of four tons to mar
ket and bring another load of the
same weight back; and the round
trip is made in half day.
Commenting on these facts, the
New Orleans Iimes-D Democrat thinks
that in the face of such evidence, ''it
is wonderful, not that the movement
is growing, but that it is not grow
ing more rapidly" 1t cites the fact
that the State of North Carolina is
now building a road over the Blue
Ridge Mountain. whose greatest
grade will be one foot in thirty. The
road will be an expensive one to
build" says the New Orleans paper,
"but will pay for itself in the hauling
of the first three crops. One horse
can draw rs much produce over this
road as three could over the noun
tain roads now in existence, which
amounts to the difference between
offiuence and penury to the 'one-
horse farmer" The farmers OF this
part of the country have seen enough
of the beneficial results OfgOod roads
to convince them that money wisely
expended in their construction is
money in their pockets. In this sec
tion of good roads no man can be
found to raise a voice against them
At first the farmers regarded the
movement with Indifference. but this
feeling did not last long, and a cry
| for good roads came up from al
parts of the county. The most seri
Gus trouble encountered by the road
building authorities has been and Ii
yet. to build the roads fast enough
and in sufficient number of different
| directions to please the DeODle.