The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-05
VALUE OF ROADS
 IN UNITED STATES An Evolution of the Pioneers
 BIazed Trail LOSS IN BAD HIGHWAYS Examp'e of Roads Constructed Dur ing the Height of Roman su- premacy-Proeress In the
 United States.
LOSS Ih BAD HIGHWAYS
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN.

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 the leaves, the title of grass blades being sufficient sign for him. The first road maker was too anxious to get to the promised land beyond the hills to take i much pains with the new thoroughfare. He built temporary bridges, zlgzagged across the plains, threw down a corduroy foundation where the marshes hindered him, and plunged on. The next wagon cut the roads deeper. When settlements sprang up along this route the old road became a public thoroughfsre over which produce must be taken to market and sup plies brought home. When the road be- came impossible, there was problem to be met. Road building soon rose from matter of neighborhood interest to one of national importance.
 A good or bad road determines the price of farm products, and the values of farms have f1uctuated In many states with the condition of the roads. The rapid growth of cities and the consequent depopulation of rural communities can be traced directly or indirectly to the coun- try roads that have prevented intercourse with the world. In New York the shrink age in value of farm property in 1900 was estimated to be $69, 900 coo, and in con nection with this 1t may be stated that this state has only per cent of her country roads improved by surface dress ings and proper grading. In Maryland the shrinkage in farm values is esti- mated at $300Oo0 year, and Maryland has only per cent of her roads im- proved. The nations bill for wagoning farm produce is at least a billion dollars year, $600,000,000 of this is a useless waste and Is attributable to bad roads North Carolina alone Is said to lose sl0,- oO,O00 year in this fashion.
 America had many thousands of years Of historic road making back of her when she started to build her own thorough fares. and in some belated instances profited by them. Today one may travel on Roman roads from Northern Scotland to Malatia, near the Euphrates, distance of nearly 1000 miles, exclusive of the wa ter crossings. These roads were built in the time of Rome's greatness, when com merelal power, order and law were to be kept supreme, and she knew that roads were her best civillzers. She spent from $5O,eO0 to $l00.000 a mile on these roads and the bed is from three to seven feet deep. Our most costly American roads have cost from sl4,OO0 to S15,OOO a mile The greatness of old Peru Is a tale of long ago, yet the massive stone highways or the lncas today defy time and dynasty and death, and stand as a memorial to the people who built them under so much discomfort centuries before the coming of f'l5arro The decay of China is said to be in great measure due to her lack of good roads.
 When the western migrations began and the newly made states realized that dirt roads could not bear heavy travel at all seasons of the year. the study of road making became a serious matter Ono John L. Macadam of England had dem onstrated the efficiency of gravel dress ing on leveled clay surface In 1792 this was tried in the United States for the first time on the pike running iron, Lancaster to Philadelphia. sixty-two miles being completed in two years at a cost or A6o,0OO Toll gates were set along the way, and the era of good roads in America had dawned. It was a slow and expensive process, however, for the gravel was not always available in all the states and the only method of transportation was by wagon. New York turned her experiments in another line and In 1SS7 built the first plank roads in this country This idea took readily and spread like wilw fire. Timber in those days was not only plentiful. but an annoying superfiu- ity, and road making seemed a good way in which to use it up. In fifteen years New York had 2000 miles of plank roads and other states were building them as fast as they could. The cost was usually about $2000 a mile and the farmers and merchants were saved more than that in the long run. However, plank wore out rapidly, and timber ceased to be a nui sance.
 The attention was turned to ma ca dam and telford. In the past quarter cen tury the government took a hand in the road building question and estab- lished a bureau of road inquiry with the late Roy Stone as director. Realiz- ing that indifference to improvement and ignorance of the fundamental prin- ciples of road building caused most of the bad roads in the country, the gov ernment set about giving object les sons in the proper structure of thor oughfares. Six years ago the first tra In load of machinery for experimental sta tions was sent out from Washington. It passed from state to state, stopping wherever there was an expressed de- sire from the citizens to learn how to improve their roads. In the short time that has elapsed a general improve W marked. Last year seventeen roads were built in this fashion in eleven diff ferent states, and demonstrated to the people of each section the possibilities in the nearest road building materials and the advantage of straight roads, more gradual slopes and careful at tention to drainage. The materials used were widely varied, ranging from limestone. granite chert and schist, to slag. clam and oyster shells gravel and sandclay, In California much en- couragement is given the use of pe- troleum on clay and sand roads a treatment that results in a surface like asphalt.
 The problem is greatest in the Missis- sppi valle where the alluval soil is apparently bottomless In the winter months, and there is no available build ing material within reasonable trans porting distance. Corduroy roads have been the last resort for years, but the expense of building and repairing them has been great. Now, through careful experiment, 1t has been demonstrated that the roadbed and nearby fields may furnish the materials for the necessary surface dressing Buckshot mud and "gumbo" clay can be converted into clink- CTS of sufficient hardness to bear the weight of loaded vehicles and to with stand the action of water, and more- over this burning can be done on the roadbed with wood gathered from the plentiful supply in the forests nearby This clinkered clay spread on a roadbed of ordinary clay has stood the test of weather and traffic and including every