The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-12-02
POOR ROADS ARE COSTLY.
The Farmers of the United States
Lose Millions Annually.

was under discussion in April Rep
resentative Benjamin Humphreys of
Greenville, Miss, made the epigram-
matte statement that mo road can
cost the farmer as much as a poor
one That touched the very kernel
of road economies, for careful re-
search and exhaustive study has
proved that the poer roads of the
nation place a mud and hill climb
ing tax of not less than q quarter of
a billion dollars a year on those who
use them
The representative terse sentence
was in answer to query by Repre-
sentative Sims as to the cost of build
the unique burnt clay roads of the
south-a system involved by the ex-
perts of the Office of public roads
of the United States department of
agriculture at an almost incalculable
benefit to the cotton growers of the
south
Mr.. Humphreys had explained in
extenso the skillful methods adopted
by Engineer Spoon, who had been
ordered by Director Logan Waller
Page of the Office of public roads
ito go to the delta district of Mississ-
lppi and make a study of conditions.
He laid logs along stretches of i'm
passable thoroughfares which had as
la basis the sticky "gumbo' clay OF
the south: burnt them to such pur-
pose that the clay was changed en-
tirely in character and then super
vised the construction of road that
for hauling purposes is little short
of the splendid macadam roads of
the North and East.
Depends on the Country.
1t depends entirely upon the
character of the country through
which the road passes" said Mr..
Humphreys, when asked what it all
cost. IF it be wooded so that fuel
can be bought for, say S125 a
cord, the road can be made for $500
ia mile. | may say that it costs from
one-half to one-fifth as much as a
macadam road costs and it is easily
and cheaply maintained
In country where the people
people have never gone into the
building of good roads, the thought
OF paying $4,000 a mile seems prohi-
.bftiye Where the experiment is once
made, however, we all know that
the people, and especially the farm
ers, who usually at first are violently
opposed to the undertaking, demand
that the roads be constructed and are
most willing to bear the tax
In explaining how easily the burd-
en- of taxation would be borne even
II the authorities of his county de-
cfded to expend a half million in
the construction of a perfect system
of high class roads, Mr.. Humphreys
said: If the farmer, instead of haul
ing six bales of cotton with two
mules, as could be done with ease
last winter over the burnt clay road
near Greenville 1.-THE one built as a
model by Engineer Spoon of Director
Pages Officer could have hauled but
two, he would be taxed for bad
road at higher rate than ANYBODY
was evertaxed for a good road, not
counting the wear and tear on mules
and wagon.
have seen seed cotton in the
pens In July which had been picked
after the rains had begun to fall In
the previous winter and which had
not been hauled to the railroad
where the gin was located because
the road was too bad to travel. Think
OF the FAX that man was paying, and
That. too, for q road he could not
travel.
Split Log Drag Effective.
Mr. Humphreys, who has taken a
great interest in the splendid work
being done by Director Page and
who Is apparently thoroughly famil-
lar with the experiments and scfenti-
fic ARRANGEMENTS being made by
that scholarly road expert, named
a number of the publications issued
by the Office and told of the vast
benefits the farmers OF the country
were receik e through their distri-
button. He ferred especially to the
eff1cacy OF the split log drag as
road builder and maintained, and
read letters from men who had at
tanned the most gratifying results
from the use of this simple but eff
fective device.
Too few people realize the impor-
lance OF the truth voiced by the
member from Mississippi during the
debate. He never made truer state
ment In the course OF his distinguish !
ed legislative career than the one
that mo road can cost the farmer
as much as q poor one."
Last year the roads in the United
States cost vast fortune to the
farmers and incidentally another to
the city men; the added cost to the
farmers OF hauling farm products
over the well-nigh impossible roads
being in the end paid by the men
who consume them. Statistics gath
cred from the leading countries of
Europe prove that the cost of haul
Ing over the American road Is far
higher than in any other country;
the average In France, Germany and
England being 12c ton per mile
last year to a cost OF rs cents here.
That difference of 10 cents is the
tax burden the American
farmer is forced to bear because
state and county authorities have
long been blind to the benefits which
would fnllnw an a wa koO;Ou 10 rod