Marble Hill press. (Marbel [sic] Hill, Mo.) 1881-1923, 1908-05-21
Good Roads and Good Times.
BY 3. F. WINTERS.
[ Continued from last week. !

Continued from last week.
Uniformly good roads over the coun-
try would prolong the crop moving period
for several months and thereby not only
relieve the traffic congestion, but the
financial situation as we'll. With good
roads and equalization of the traffic, the
railways could furnish better facilities
to their patrons and with 10 to 20 per
cent less car equipment than at present,
with the intermittent and erratic ship
mcnts. The greatest need Of this coun-
try to-day is good roads.
A. j. Earling, president of the Chi
cago. Milwaukee and St. Paul railway,
says:
"The benefit Of good roads could not
well be overstated, as they Apply to ev-
eryone, from the railway viewpoint.
They would make our stations accessi-
ble throughout the year and tend to
equaIize the movement of freight and
relieve the congestion that at times is
very great, especially at the crop moving
season."
w. B. Biddle, third vice president of
the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific,
the St. Louis and San Francisco and the
Chicago and Eastern Illinois railways, in
charge of traffic, says:
eve are much interested in road i'm
provement and consider it subject in
which the shipper and the carrier are
mutually concerned. The bad condition
of the country roads during certain sea-
sons OF the year, when traffic is largely
suspended, results in congestion at other
seasons, with inability on the part of the
farmers to reach the stations. There is
no question but that the improvement of
the roads will result in more equal dis
tribution OF traffic, enabling carriers to
move it to the greater satisfaction of
the public and with less cost to them
selves.
"Our lines have studied this situation
and have made repeated efforts, through
highway officials, to create an interest
in good road movements and have re-
peatedly offered to make exceptionally
low rates upon material going into the
construction OF good roads. Our efforts
in this direction are somewhat hampered
by reason of regulations requiring US to
apply such rates as we may make for
this specific business to all traffic OF a
similar character"
1t is, however, felt that some means
can be found to overcome this. There
is another phase of this congestion to
which the railway official cannot be ex-
pected to call attention: the fact that it
forces the working of train crews for
louger stretches than human nature can
stand without rest or sleep, thereby en-
failing accidents and wrecks. This fact
is indelibly written into railroad history.
The great bulk of the worlds food sup
ply passes into the elevators in the grain
centers, where it is subjected to a heavy
storage charge-whiCh in Chicago is
equal to 9 cents per bushel per year
whereas it could be stored upon the
farm for one-third this expense. Scien-
tifically, the produce should be moved
from the point Of production to the point
Of consumption no faster than it is need
ed. This plan would cheaper the food
stuffs at least 10 per cent. The plar
would make the cornering of the mar
ket by powerful grain spectators i'm
possible. The storage capacity of the
elevators at Chicago alone is estimated
to be between 50,OO0,000 and 60,0O,OO(
bushels.
To be continued