Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-05-15
AUTOS ARE ROAD DEsTRoYERs.
So the Experts on Good Roads Have
 Announced.

Washington, D. C., May 15.-Auto- mobiles are road destroyers This is the conclusion reached by the experts of the good roads department of the department of agriculture and of highway experts in practically every country of the civilized world.
 The net results Of the conclusion eventually will be that every owner of an automobile will have to pay tax on his machine, the proceeds of which shall go to the repairing of damages done to roads by the horseless yehi- cles.
 It is not known generally, but nevertheless, is fact, that the good roads department is conducting q series of experiments to determine just what amount of damage is done to highways by automobiles. Tho ex- periments are being made under the direction of l.. w. Page, director of public roads, and he expects to submit an elaborate report to the internation- al road congress which is to be held next October in Paris. In prelimi- nary report on the subject, Director Page says:
 While the racing car and others of various weights and types made many trips over the selected stretch of d mile and half at varying rates of speed, from five to sixty-five miles an hour, corps of skilled photographers equipped with the most modern de- vices for photographing vechicles at very high speeds, made accurate rec ords of the various tests. It has long 1 been known to highway engineers that automobiles were rapidly short ening the lives of the rock-surface roads of the world, and many expert ments have been made in the past six or seven years to determine the actual cause of the damage done.
 'Those who witness our experi- ments could not doubt for moment that the various road experts all over the world are correct in the opinion that very rapidly driven automobiles are tearing up the surface of the macadam road, for not only were huge clouds of dust lifted into the air and blown off the road, but careful examination showed that the mater iai under the wheel tracks of the ma ! chine was distinctly loosened and travelled even during the short period of these tests. No such effects were noticeable after the passing of iron tired vehicles, the series of tests be- ginning with the passing of a horse drawn vehicle. This was photograph ed as it moved along and also as the wagon tires passed given mark. Then the automobiles were sent over the course. The first was a heavy weight touring car moving at five miles an hour. A series of pictures was made of that car on its many journeys at varying rates of speed un- til it's maximum of forty five miles all hour was attained. Then the work was taken up by the huge racer, which tore down the road first at a speed of fifty miles an hour, then at flfty-five, sixty, and finally at sixty live. It fairly lifted the road-surfac- ing material as it sped along. regular ridges of rock dust rising in front of  the rear wheels and floating away in binding clouds. It was plainly notice able and was commented on that the automobiles, when moving at the slow rates of speed. equal to the speed made by horse-drawn vehicles. made very little dust, the theory that fast-speeding automobiles are respon- slble for road surface destruction be- ing pretty thoroughly substantiated by these means"
 It is expected that. within a few years the statements of Director Page will be so well recognized that coun- ties and municipalities throughout the country will levy a tax on fast-speed- ing automobiles and perhaps on all horseless machines.