The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-06-24

y when the frost is coming
6 y @ out of the ground and
A" y nearly all the roads in and
FCF around our country towns
are long lines Of mire one cannot help
wondering, when considering the sub
ject of our highways, why the Gov
eminent is not quicker to respond to
the appeals for aid in their improve
ment, and why it does not push the
adoption of a system of roads that
will last for long periods with but
slight expenditure for repairs.
Nearly seven years ago the Office Of
Road Inquiries of the Department of
Agriculture conducted experiments
with steel rails for use on country
roads. and made arrangements with
a large steel works for the rolling CT
suitable rails for this purpose At
that time the eight-inch rails for a
mile of steel roadway weighing about
100 tons, could be purchased for about
$500, and the price has not increased
much since. A sample steel road two
miles in length between Valentia and
Grao, Spain, had then been in use
for five years under exceedingly heavy
traffic, and had shown splendid re-
suits; yet the United States did not,
and has not as yet, profted by this
experiment in an ordinarily unprofit-
able foreign country, and we have to-
day no steel roads for commercial pur-
poses save the short section in Murray
street, New York, laid about year
end half ago. AS fer the foreign ex-
ample mentioned, during the time it
has been in use, the annual cost of
maintaining the roadbed has been
$3.50, against $5470 yearly expended 70
keep the flint stone road which pre-
coded it in repair. The average Traffic
over this read is 5000 vehicles per
day. This example of a steel road and
its lasting qualities is not the only one
abroad but it is the most noteworthy.
But aside from the permanency of
such a road, and the slight expense of
keeping it in repair, the greatest adj
vantage that it offers is the reduction
in power required to haul loads over
it. Tests have shown that while it re-
quires five lime as much power -
pull given load on loose gravel or
dirt road as it does over good mac
adam, and ten times as much power
to pull the same load through loose
sand or mud, on steel rails only one
sixth as much power l.. needed as on
macadam. This great reduction in
power, and consequent enlistment of |
wear and tear on draft horses, is all |
the more valuable in that it is perma-
nent and lasts throughout all sea-
sons; SO that the farmer is not obliged |
to figure on greater loss of time and
fatigue of his horses at one season CT
the year than at another. If self-pro-
PEELED vehicles are considered these
need not be nearly so powerful as
they would otherwise have to be. and
they can be operated with great econ
omy. The Importance of a special
track for self-propelled vehicles was
recognized in the early days of the
locomotive Such track was built
and improved until the steel railway
track of to-day was finally developed.
Now that the self-propelled. vehicle
has again come on the scene in the
form of the automobile it has drawn
attention to the needs of good roads
for all vehicular traffic since the in
crease in power needed to pull a ma
chine through the mire can no longer
be whipped out of horse" but
must be drawn from large reserve,
and, in the case Of the electric auto
mobile, can be accurately measured on
every machine. Thus, when it is
directly to ones notice. and
he total mileage of the machine is =
greatly reduced because of it, and The
,wner sees his expense account rap ;
dly rising and demands a better :
highway. This demand is soon to be
UTILIZED by private corporations, r
which have recognized it, and have ,
levised systems of steel roads that .
an be built at no greater cost than :,
macadam road, and maintained at -
ar less expense. 1t is to be hoped =
hat the supervisors of roads in the g
arious States will investigate the =
teel roads more thoroughly, and that :
rial sections may be built for the T
urpose of comparison with the best =,
roads. 49, Scientific Ameri- =
an.
Good Roads Getting Into Politics.