Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-18
OF GENERAL INTEREST
Measure Requiring Wagon Tires
Four Inches Broad.
ALL TAXPAYERS CONCERNED
Business Men Express Their Views on
the Subject.
CHARGE FOR LAYING CONCRETE
Contractor Says Higher Prices Would
Be Essential in Order to Give
Wear Guarantee.
ALL. TAXPAYERS CONCERNED
CHARGE FOR LAYING CONCRETE

Every taxpayer in the District of Co
lumbia, in addition to wagon owners. ac-
cording to Mr.. Arthur c. Moses of the
firm of W. B. Moses C Sons is interested
In the proposition to require owners of
vehicles here to provide wheel tires not
less than four inches broad for all con-
veyances that weigh, when loaded, more
than two tons.
Mr.. Moses explained that the reason
all Washington is interested in the ex-
purgation of the Objectionable rider"
from bill 1887 Is because the paving
companies have assured him that If the
measure is passed they will have to bid
a higher price per square yard for lay
ing concrete in order to give the wear
guarantee that Is demanded of them by
the authorities
I'm view of the fact that the District
has not now sufficient money to keep its
streets in the best of order, 1t seems to
me particularly desirable that the meas
ure should not become a law, Mr. Moses
added He also said that from the state
ments of the experts he has interviewed
and from the experience of the contract
ors who do the concreting of all the
streets here it seemed to him from the
first to be "a ridiculous measure
Have Mixed the Question.
matter Mr.. Moses went on to say. ZAP
pear to have mixed the question of benefit
to be derived from dirt macadam road
ways and concrete pavements. The propo-
sitions are entirely distinct. They must be
treated separately If any one will exam
inc concerted street that is little used he
will find that disintegration has taken place
and the concrete surface to be in a worse
condition than in other spots where the
traffic has been continuous.
For instance it was explained right
under the eyes of the legislators on the
plaza on the east front of the Capitol, where
all heavy traffic is prohibited by law, the
concrete surface is nearly always cracked.
1t is the opinion of Mr.. Moses that in hot
weather, when the concrete becomes soft,
owners of two-horse vehicles equipped with
the proposed four-inch tires would have to
employ four horses to each team. and that
the wide tires would push the softened con-
crete in front of them and make lateral
waves in the street surfaces. He added
that concrete must be treated an elastic
and not as an immobile substance.
Interchange of Vehicles.
Mr. w. s. Knox of the Knox Express
Company urged that one objection to the
proposed wide tires would be the impossi-
bility of interchange of vehicles between
cities, as the factories do not make the
feur-inch tread. r.
Mr.. Atchison of the firm of Littlefield,
Alvord & Company said there is no neces-
sty for such legislation is proposed. The
present tires are not more injurious to the
street surfaces than four-inch tire would
be. In fact. he added, 1t is the opinion of
experts that the proposed wider tire would
result in increased damage to concrete sur
faces. To pass the measure would, in his
opinion, be to place an onerous burden on
the wagon owners in particular and the
citizens of the District in general.
communication signed by Mr. William
F. GUIDE of the Business Mems Association
is among t he documents that have been pre-
scented to Congress in opposition to the pas
sage of the rider which requires the adop-
ton of the four-inch wagon tire. The pro-
posed measure Is referred to as IAN unnec-
essary hardship" involving an unwarrant-
ed expense upon the people % the District.
Almost Impossible Conditions.
MI. w. s. Knox of the Knox Express
Company said the rider" sought to i'm
pose almost impossible conditions on those
doing business in this city: not alone the
express companies, but the lumber. coal.
brick and ice dealers. wholesale grocers,
and. in fact. every industry requiring heavy
teaming. The usual width of the tires for
a two-horse wagon is ~ inches. This width
seems to be the standard for such vehicles
hauling from two to three tons.
TO make such h, change as the blu
vehicle owners an enormous expense, and
would deny many farmers in the adjacent
country the privilege of bringing their
produce into this city.
Entails Needless Expenditure.
Mr.. Walter B. Williams, auctioneer said
the proposed enactment would be inn
position on the business men of Washing
ton, and would cause them a large and
needless expenditure of money.
Mr. Sickle the wholesale tODaC-
conist who has three teams in constant
use said that the District Is fast becoming
the experimental ground for fad reform
lists He added that the wide-tired wheels
had been tried in several places and in each
instance had proved to be failures.
I'm combination with other vehicles with
narrower tires" he added, 1.-The result will
be general damage of a serious nature to
the concerted road surfaces in the warm
summer months"
Mr.. W. F. Whaley of Anacostia. in
letter to Representative Rixey of Vir-
ginia, said the proposed wide-t tire wheels
will be too heavy for working in mud
and will cause the vehicle to which they
are attached to turn over very easily on
the dump. The passage of the bill will
prove to be a distinct hardship on wagon
owners in the District" he concluded.