The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-06-19
PRESIDENT Names
COMMISSION
Who will Represent the U. S.
AT Paris.
Where the international Road
Congress Is 10 be Held
10 October.

President Roosevelt has directed
that this Nation be strongly and Off
cially represented at the Internation-
al Road Congress- to be held at Paris
the week beginning October IL, and
credentials have been issued naming
Logan Waller Page, Director Of the
Office of Public Roads of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture, Chairman
of the Commission. The other menu
bers named are Colonel Charles S.
Bromwell of the United States Crops
of Engineers. now serving as Sup
erintendent of Buildings and Ground
of the District of Columbia, and Cliff
ford Richardson of New York, an emil
nent chemist and one of the Worlds
acknowledge authorities on btu
mious road building materials.
This coming Congress, which will
be attended by distinguished delegate
from every country in che world is
regarded by highway engineers and
experts as probably the most impor-
tant ever summoned for the discus
sion of an economic question. Is
need is the direct outgrowth of the
advent of the automobile, for while
thousands are ignorant of the faci,
the soft tires of the modern motor
car are the greatest menace the hard
surface thoroughfares of the world
have ever been called upon to face.
To understand how pneumatic tire
made of rubber could possibly injure
a road surfaced with particles of crush
ed rock, one must have at least faint
understanding of the theories on
which first Tresauget of Limoges
and then MacAdam of Ayr built that
cass of highway. They figured that a
road composed of crushed stone would
not only endure the constant traffic
of iron-tired vehicles, but would i'm
prove because the metal-bound
wheels would be constantly crushing
the stones and forming rock dust.
That dust, they argued, not merely
SLIT itself into all cracks and inter-
stices, but would fill all surface in
capabilities and when wet would be roll
ed into a smooth, impervious, water
shedding shell-like surface.
Thew reasoned well built wisely
and for over a century and a quarter
the so-caled macadam road did every
thing that the famous French and
Scotch highway engineers claimed it
capable of. 1t came to be the ideal
road for suburban sections, and thou
sands of miles were built. France TO
date has spent $500, 900 on her
Incompatible system of rock-surface-
Nation routes and the United States
has followed to a degree, possessing
at the present time approximately 49,
900 miles of this class of highway.
Prior to the advent of the auto
mobile the roads improved, bur the
modern speed vehicle had not been
traversing the suburban highways Ions
before a pronounced retrogressiOn OF
the most general travelled s,retche.
was very noticeable. Complaints came
from farmers and dwellers along sub.
urban roads that a great dus nui.
sance had also sprung up and thai
emerald laws We're taking on me hue
of London fog and the box hedge was
dove grey rather hen green. Fruit fal
mers no,ed their products becoming
gritty and prices fell off.
Investigation proved al once tina
the new conditions mad been created
by the automobile and highway engi
neers in every civilized land began
studying The new condition and seek
, ing for a remedy. | this counir,
Director Page conducted series o
interesting experiments in which va
rious classes of automobiles were sen
at varying rates of speed over selected
stretches of road, while exper. pho
tographers pictured their progress ant
produced proof thar The tractiv,
force of the rear tires did the damage
While he was watching that worl
and was experimenting with various d.
laying liquids, France was doing tn,
same on an even larger scale. Tina
country which eXpends vast sum
annually on maintaining the well-nigl
perfect system of highways il ha
been building since the days of IN,
first Napoleon, made a most com
plete set of measurements and learn.
ed that the automobiles had caused
the roads of the Republic to retrograd
fully forty per cent. Ii was decided
to summon the thought, skill ana