The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-02-07
Constituents Of Representatives
Urge Them to Vote for Pas
sage Of tile Measure.
WHAT 1T MEANS I. rs FOR
GOOD OF COUNTRY
yTllis Country Has Best Railroads
iii the World and Perhaps the
Worst Wagon RoadsI'hc
Cost Of Hauling Eats
Up All Of the
Profits.
IRON our Regular Correspondent.

(Frpm Our Regular Corrcspondcnt.) #
WASHINGTON. d. c., Feb. 6.-The
chances OF the passage Of the Brownlow
bill, extending government aid TO the
States for tho purposes OF road construc-
ton, arc improving constantly. Despite
the fact that the Republicans are doing
y nl they can to keep down the appropri;,
4 tions ut this session, which Will close
j or the eve OF Il presidential election, 1t
lis believed that the bill will pass. unless
Ethe bill, granting n pension to every sol
tt1cr who served as much aR three months
In the Union army should get hhcad OF
Il 1t, with a favorable report from the
( Committee on Invalid Pensions. IT Is
/ said now that the prospect Of this Is not
I nearly so strong as 1t was 4 few days
!, ago. The members OF Congress from all
sections are receiving letters from their
J, constituents in the rural districts, ask
ling them to vote for the Brownlowf bill.
| or some measure that will result N CIV
4 ing them good roads for the transporr-
itation OF their products TO market. = nc
result Is seen in an almost unanimous
sentiment in favor OF ~ bill which VIII
bring a bout the result soug hit 1yt&
4.s 1the Natioriai Good Roads AsHoc1nt ttons
which met here in annual convention q
short time ago. is doing q great dea !
OF work to mould public sentine ent or
rather direct heSsentiment known 70 eH :
tst In favor or the general Improvement
OF the highways Of the country X me
president Of the association. Mr. samuel
Hill. formerly OF Seattle. but now re-
siding In this city, is devoting his days
and his nights to the service or the
cause Of improved highways. He is IN
many ways a remarkable man. A Har-
ward graduate, and now u member OF the
board Of overseers of the University;
born in North Carolina. and drifting
west on the tide of civilization through
Chicago. Minnesota and Iowa, to the
West until he landed on Puget Sound:
he Is as much at home on the steppes
OF Siberia as on the bouleyards OF Paris.
familiar with Russia and Japan. France.
Germany and England, and now resides
i1Il this city.
Mr.. Hill may be called n cosmopolitan
spent in studying the problem OF trans
portation has taken him thirty times
across the Atlantic Ocean, and two or
three times around the world, and hay
ing, devoted himself to this question IN
ali the leading countries Of the word
ne speaks with authority thereon. G.
"The problem OF transportatl ton BY rall
and water has been solved lie said TO-
day. "and it IL up to the farmers 70
4 solve their problem OF getting their pro-
ducts from the farms to tho railroads.
am trying to apply to wagon haulage,
tho same rule that has been applied 20
railroad haulage in the State Of wash
tnEton. James j. Hill was the first man
that found out what It cost TO make
transportation. He laid down the RUE
that railroad company Is q manufac-
turing corporation, milking one COM
modlty which it offers for sale; and that
is transportation, IIe calculated what 1t
costs to move a ton q mlc-what It costs
tt. run a train a mile, and laid down the
rule that nothing should be done for
less than cost. But at this time when
man wiped an engine with q piece OF
waste, he threw 1t on the ground. Now,
tho waste Is placed IN Il can and later
in a tank and the oil squeezed out and
used again. Everything In Mr.. Hills
calculations is carried to the fourth de-
cimnl place, and from his office IN tho
last five years have gone out fltteen
presidents or managing officers OF I'M
K portant railroad lines,
n APPLY SOME PRINCIPLES.
.'Nr. Fill set minimum rate that an
engine must haul and his trains cannot
he started until some responsible man
has first determined the fact that the
engine hus it's full rated lading capacity.
1 l am trying to apply the same princl-
pies to somo OF the farm products on
The wagon roads that Mr. Hill applied
to railroad transportation ! have Sc
cured statistics from the various eleVh-
tors, markets and the like, taking the
names of every farmer bringing IN q
load, the distance travelled, the number
Of horses used and tho kind Of road
over which the load has come This
data has already been tabulated, II
shows that In many places the cost OF
moving a ton a mile was one dollar ANY
ono can see that II farmer cannot haul
hay sixteen miles to- the market that
costs him sixteen dollars a ton for haul
age and soil his product at a profit. The
prime necessity, therefore. Is that some-
thing should be done to tighten tho bur-
den on tho back of the farmer; to les
t sen tho wagon haulage from the farm
/ tn tho market,