The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-10
Page Returns From
 Paris Road Congress

superb apartments were set playing,
 tribute by France to the visitors, for 1t is
 only on rare occasions that the water is
 turned into this chain of basins.
 At the reception at the Hotel de Vile the visitors were also treated to scenes of splendor foreign to American ideas of simplicity regiment of the picturesque
 uniformed chasseurs of the French army
 were detailed to stand at attention, one on either end of every step of the grand marble staircase down which the dele gates passed; and thence fin double rows to the state dining rooms and grand sa-
 Ions. Gratifying and impressive as were these examples of almost royal hospital ity, the chairman of the American dele gation found more interest In the perfec- ton of the system of roads with which
 the republic is provided, and in the sys- tematic method of maintaining them to the highest degree of efficiency. He was told that on the magnificent road leading , from Paris to Versailles 5000 automobiles pass either way on each fine day; but he noted that it was in such perfect condi- tion that 1t was practically as dustless as
 the carefully swept asphalt street of a large city.
 No better macadam roads are built in France than can be and are built in this country; but the maintaining of these roads is attended to with the utmost care, and for that reason the highways are in- | variably in such splendid condition that l they excite the envy of American vis- l itors
 | Prior to his arrival at Paris MT. Page i spent some days in England in the com l pany of some of the famous highway en- I gineers of the empire, examining roads l throughout England. It is his belief that | England has arrived as near to the solu- | tion of dustless roads-the present day l problem of all highway engineers-as any nation. Her engineers have given the use l of bituminous materials for spraying mac adam roads the utmost thought and care I Spraying highways with such materials l after science has been called to the aid l of the highway builder has tendency to l preserve the solidity of the roads and prevent the formation of dust; and Eng l land has made such progress 1n this branch of road study that many miles or | suburban roads are as free from the dis | ease-breeding dust nuisance as the best kept streets of the principal cities of the world.
 So firm are the highway scientists in | the demand that these conditions not ] merely maintain but improve, that the I first fight against the horse has been | taken up by the automoblists. l When the motor car began to come into 1 use the teaming interests of the world | were strong They berated the automo- | bile in unmeasured terms; said that 1t was l a menace to the public and to the horse; | that it endangered life and limb-in fact, advanced every argument against 1t that | from time immemorial has been advanced l against the advent of every great inven- | ton or civilizing influence.
 l In the early days of the American re- | tublic the pack saddle men fought bitter l ly against the advent of the wagon. They 1 declared it would make possible the car 1 rying of heavier loads and the consequent 1, running of the pack-saddle industry; the wagon men fought the stage coach on 1 the theory that it would facilitate traffic
 and throw wagon men out of work; the stage coach men battled against the rail-
 roads on the theory that the running of | steam cars would drive out the stage l coach driver and each n4turn was forced Ito make way.
 The fight of the horse car men against 1 the trolley car is remembered by all. The l claim was then made that 2,000.0 GOO horses 1 would be thrown out of work and that horse breeders would starve. The trolley is well-nigh universal-and yet more | horses are raised each year than the year before, and they bring better prices.
 The horse interests have ever fought | the automobile There have been thou l sands of columns of argument published against it, and short-slghted men have advocated such heavy taxation against 1t that great and ever-growing industry would have been sadly hampered had half the unwise legislation planned been put l into execution.
 Now highway experts, aided by the mo tor car interests and by powerful asso- | cciation of London and its suburbs, have 1 turned like the trodden worm and started an attack on the horse.
 The claim they advance is that the pol luting of all public thoroughfares is done, not by automobilists, but by horses; that if no horses were allowed to drop organic matter on public thoroughfares, the aust | nuisance would soon be naught but an unpleasant memory. They advance the logical statement that the nuisance ere 1 ated by hundreds of thousands of horses 1 is detrimental to public health and a menace to the pawements, and they charge