The Grit-advocate., 1903-11-06

Iit9u lt9llI by rail or water has been
OF will he carried over the
public roads of the country.
1t is difficult 10 impress these facts
Oh the public. The farmer does not
calculate the Wear and tear on his
horses and vehicles in transporting
his products from home and his par
chasrs TO his home. He does not
! charge for his time in travelling over
the roads. lie is generally IN no par
ticular hurry, and would as soon make
two trips TO town rs one trip. How
! to impress on him and The public gen
| orally the cost of bad roads and the
profit of good roads is Il problem which
| Professor Latta, Of the Purdue lni-
vcrsity, of Indiana. undertook to solve.
and lie seems to have solved IT. lie
| laid Gown the proposition that pcrinh-
ncnt good roads would benefit the
| farmers, hence the communities. II
| five different ways, in that they would:
EconomiZe time and force in trans-
! portation between farm and market;
| Enable the farmer TO take advantage
of market fluctuations in buying and
selling:
Permit Transportation Of farm prod
ucts and purchased commodities during
times of comparative leisure;
Reduce the Wear and tear on horses.
harness and vehicles:
Enhance the market value of real os-
| tate.
In order to ascertain from the farm
| hn
could reduce answers. affirmative or
negative. to his propositions, he ad-
dressed to them the following inter
rogatoricS:
First-Abont what proportion of th"
public highways in your county are
now good gravel roads:
Scconl-rleaSe estimate til" average
| increase lin dollars and cents in the
selling price an acre Of land throughout
the county as the result of such gravel
roads.
Third-If all the public roads in yonr
county were converted into improved
highways. how much. in your J'hS-
ment, would it increase the average
selling price per acre of land through
out your county:
Four,h-What would be fair cSu-
mate of the cost per mile of convert
ing our common dirt roads as they now
exist into good gravel roads. provided
of course, the work We're 10 be per-
formed economically under some com
pc,cnt, general supervision, and not
hampercd by legal restrictions:
Fifth-SuppOsing that your count!
were divided into 100 acre farms, ana
that the average distance of each farm
from the market were five miles. what,
in your Judgment. would be the aver
a-e annual cost Tin dollars and cents
TO each farmer OF our improved high
ways!
In answering the fifth question please
take into account the reduced loads. IN
creased time, extra wear and tear. ana
loss in sales from inability to deliver
products when the market is best.
Averages from forty counties in ms
State. from which he WAS enabled 10
approXimate averages, were as loi-
| lows:
/ First - The average estimated In
crease in the selling price of land duc
to existing improved highways IS Sb'so
pcr acre The estimates from when
this average is made refer III most
eases to lands near the improved roads.
but in Il few instances they apply
TO all the lands of the county. Ihe
average increase. therefore, OF S6.7s
Dcr acre is lower than was intended
for the lands near the improved roads.
Sccond-Thc estimated average ln-
crease per acre that would result from
improving all the public roads is SO.
Thivd-The estimated average cost OF
converting the common public roads
into improved highways is Sl1IG per
mile.
Fourth-Thc estimated average an
| nual loss per one hundred acres, from
poor roads is S16.2S.
He then remarks, as result OF these
figures:
"If these estimates are even approx
matcly correct they furnish Il key
10 the satisfactory solution OF the ques-
| ton of highway Improvement from the
money standpoint. On the basis OF the
last mentioned estimate. the average
annual loss an acre from poor roads
is more than seventy-six cents. IN
five years the losses would aggregate
S2l32 for every section of land. ana
tlis sum would construct two miles at
n cost of Sl21G n mile. which is so a
mile above the estimated average cost
given by the farmers themselves. 1he
present road tax. which. under exist
ing laws. is largely thrown away.
would. under n proper system OF r"hd
maintenance, doubtless keep improved
highways in perfect repair
If the foregoing statmcntS are near
approach to the truth, it follows that
the losses and expenditures which
farmers actually incur on account OF
poor roads would also secure pcrma-
ncn,ly good roads. Can any sane man