The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-03-24

"a dirt road may be quite satisfactory for
a certain district at the pres cit time II
properly made and maintained, and serve :
the purpose Of bringing to that section
a prosperity that will enable IT to indulge J.
in the luxury OF more expensive kind
OF road indeed make. the better kind q 4
necessity to meet the requirements of its /
growing traffic.
One of the points brought out by ian ex-
pert with reference to the maintenance
of dirt roads, that must appeal to farm
{ers, is based on an idea familiar to all
iugriculturists In relation to soil tillage,S
but not always, perhaps rarely, applied
TO roads.r2It is that the roads should be
plowed and narrowed as crop land and
Heightened, where necessary with sand and
the sand narrowed in. This, with. prop.
erly cleared cutters, and shoulders der trim.
med clean, will do away with much Of
the miring by letting in the arEand evap-
Grating the moisture. The scraping of
washings back upon the road Is prohib-5
tied. sE5
AS a question OF expediency State aid
has obviously justified itself by expert
ence, since everywhere it has been tried
| 1T has led to local communities expanding
more OF their own funds on road build
ling than ever before. The roads have
! been found to pay.
| Federal a1uy is another III
| the ranks OF those who favor it are being
recruited, and in Congress it has >many
i friends It is held that if the govern
1 ment may protect manufacturers by a tar
J If, expend millions on the water high
| ways, and give CT its public lands to en-
courage railway construction, 1t may SINH
/ larry give aid to the traffic over public
\ highways. 1t is confidently predicted that
/ there must and will be added to up to-
4 date transportation methods-water and
i rail- and the rail now includes the troll
i ley-a system Of highways properly con-
i structed on which the tor coach shall
4 takeit place. This shall reach out even
4 as the United States mails do to country
4 not tapped by rails, and not only mails.
but express matter, freight and pnssen-
& gers will have ideal public service in tho
automobile.
Martin Dodge, director Of Public Roads
Inquiry of the Department of Agriculture
says that the vehicle propelled by ANNA
power over Il common country road Is
about as expensive to-day as it was fift,
4 or a hundred years ago. and 1t "stll
p costs by that means, for passengers, tel
+ cents a mile, and for freight. twenty-hv,
cents q ton q mile" The country peopl,
Z suffer for lack Of cheap transportation
he says, and good roads will give it. Th,
cheapness which results from great mum
bers cannot DO attained by them, 70
while they are great In numbers they ar
too widely diffused. They cannot lif
themselves UP by the boot-straps Th
original cost of good roads that will civ
reasonably low-prlced transportation mus
be In part met by the whole public. Tina
tho prosperity good roads will bring wi
enable the country people to maintain til
good roads there seems, no reason t
doubt, if
4 ; Il F5
When this idea has realized materi
form tho honk of tho stagecoach Will h
heard In the land, Tho merry voices
tho passengers wllrting through tho coun
F. tryslde as they are whirled by glen an
| glade. over hills and down the valley, pas
| castled rock and brook and meadow nh
| home folk will wave them cheer rs the
| fly pnst cote and farmers house, and 81,
| them welcome when they stop to drop
| traveller or bundle. May bolt win 1
| the long-eSpected missive, fort the "honl
/ lns" Will take the place OF the carrier
i whistle. 81 ~ 8s9 "A