The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1905-07-01
CORVALLIS TO CELEBRATE.
National Good Roads People to Join
Novel Features-The Pro-
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A convention of the National
Good Roads Association of the
United States, is to be held in Cor
wallis, Tuesday, July 4th. The
road experts who have been at
| tending the great roads meeting at
the Portland Exposition, will have
charge of the sessions of the con-
vention, and the results of study of
roads, their history and how to
build them, will be given with con-
ciseness and strength that will be
worth the while of every man in
Benton cotnty to hear. There are
a number of the experts, and. with
special train and the cooperation
of all the railroads of the country,
they travel everywhere, telling the
story of the benefits of good roads
and of what methods to follow to
get best results They tell a ter
rible tale of the difference between
the roads of Europe and those of
the United States. They say the
roads are so much better across the
Atlantic that it costs a farmer there
but six cents to haul ton of prod
ucts a mile, while in the United
States it costs IS cents. They say.
the average haul in Oregon is 2
miles, and that therefore, on ac-
count of the poor road it costs a
| farmer S. per ton to haul off his
wheat or other farm products. when
it only ought, with roads like they
have in Europe, to cost him but
IL cents.
They talk about smooth, hard
turnpike, as dry and hard in the
dead of winter as it is il summer,
and say enough money is spent in
every county of Oregon during ev-
cry period of IS or 20 years to have
such system OF turnpikes radiat-
ing from the county seat to the
limits of each county in every di-
rection. They are going to come
to Corvallis later on and with their
machinery build mile of model
road to show the people how road
building should be done. They
claim a perfect turnpike or macad-
am only costs SI,7oo to s., 900 a
mile, and that every year each
county should devote part Of the
road fund to the construction of a
few miles Of permanent road. A
road so constructed should last
hundreds of years, perhaps thous-
ands of years, with an expense for
repair only $50 or $40 per mile pei
year. With such a system once
built the road tax would be a
mighty simple thing, because the
roads would not be wearing out
continually and replacement be SC
often necessary.
The experts condemn the use OF
: gravel, They say it is only a tenn
porary method, and there is nc
question but that they are right
: about it. One-tenth the effort ex-
pended in the past on Benton roads
would doubtless have been sufh.
: cient to have completed a system oi
: turnpikes.
They say that the gravel being
: smooth, creeks in the road bed and
: never becomes compact. Only
crushed rock, with its straight
| lines and angular surfaces, is avail
5 able for perfect roads. Even grav-
el after being crushed is not the
best, because one side or other por
ton will invariably be left round
and smooth.
The proposed convention viii
take on the character of a 4th O
5 July celebration. All the detail
d are not yet complete, The even
: ing entertainment will include
e stereoptican exhibition shown!
: roads of all kinds, among them be
:, ing one 14S miles in length, il
Egypt that has been in use in per
: feet condition for 5000 years
{ There will be morning session a
10 o clock, an afternoon session a
two, and an evening session at 8
If the farmers of Benton ever ha
opportunity to hear speeches tha
will be of striking interest to then
now is the time. They will hea
statistics labout roads, history {
roads. how roads affect them an
their products and property, an
T. everything imaginable in connect
ion with the subject, all boile
down for hasty use. All the know
ledge, that is, real, complete expe1
knowledge on the subject will b
brought to the front at the CONVEX
> ton, the first time Benton farmer
ever had a chance to hear sue
things.
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