The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-05-20
AUTOMOBILES RUNNING ROADS.
EXPERIMENTS PROVE THEM IN
BE VERY DESTRUCTIVE TO
HIGHWAYS.
proposition to Subject HOrseless Ma.
chines to Tax for Repair to Roads
Interesting Tests by the Govern.
ment.

Inc once OF Public Roads of the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture has recently been conducting q
series Of very interesting experiments
10 learn the amount Of damage done
to the rock surface thoroughfares by
automobiles. The results prove that
the modern fast moving motor car Is
the greatest menace to macadam
roads that has ever made it's appear
ance.
On some stretches Of thoroughfare,
especially in New England, where
many broad and smooth roads have
been constructed, the retrogression Is
not less than 40 per- cent. and it has
been forced upon the Director of the
Office of Public Roads and upon many
highway engineers that II some plan
Is not speedily devised for overcoming
the bad effects of mems latest and
most sensational mode Of land trans
portation, the monetary loss will be
stupendous and. the good work Of
many years will go for naught.
1t Is not only in America that this
condition prevails. The men of Eng
land, France, Germany, Holland,
Belgium and other countries Of the
old world where hard surface high
ways are appreciated have also learn
ed that the big soft rubber tires of
the automobile are doing an almost
incredible amount Of harm. France
has officially taken cognizance of the
condition and has called an Interna-
tional Congress to meet at Paris on
October II to discuss plans for saw
Ing the roads. while in no way inter.
fering with the development of the
automobile. for no scientist will con-
denim one worthy civilizing influence
because 1t temporarily conflicts with
another. He will merely admit that
a new condition has arisen and then
set on, foot an investigation with the
idea OF mastering it.
To many 1t may seem beyond a be.
lief that pneumatic rubber tire can
work any injury to road composed
OF bits of crushed flint rock, but IL
becomes plain when the theory Of
such roads Is explained. The Imaca-
dam road. named after John Louden
Macadam Of Ayr. Scotland. who was
for many years highway surveyor Of
Bristol, was first laid down by the
eminent French road engineer Tre-
sauget Of Limoges, who wisely figured
that slowly moving iron tired wagons
would crush dust particles from the
stones Of the roads surface; that
those particles would be constantly
sifted between the interstices of the
large stones; that every passing wa
gon would crush them firmer into all
ruts and inequalities; that rains would
aid and the ultimate result would be
a smooth surface, water-sheddins
highway.
Tresauget planned wisely: Mac
Adam came two decades later and
made slight change in the laying
OF the road foundation and gave to
such thoroughfares 'his name. For a
century and qnarter the wisdom
OF the road engineers Of Limoges and
Ayr was justified. Then arose a con.
dition they had never figured on; a
fast moving vehicle running on broad
soft tires. The roads began to suffer
at once for the following reasons:
The rubber tire, being soft, creates no
rock dust itself as does the iron tire
of wagon, and the very life of these
roads demands constant supply of
that material. It is the surface bind
er that keeps the road smooth; cracks
filled in; that maintains the evenness
and binds the rubble stones into one
impervious mass. Every iron tired
wheel does it's own small quota of
good by acting as a rock dust maker
and a miniature road roller. The
auto whirring along at dizzy speed
simply fiatten its tires against the
ground as 1t sped and the tractive
force so exerted hurled the precious
rock dust into the air and from where
1t was swept to the adjacent farms
and lawns in binding clouds. So pro-
nounced was the mere dust nuisance
created in many portions of the coun-
try that real estate decreased in
value to an appreciable extent and
farmers complained that the ever-in-
creasing dust on their fields. vines and
trees made it impossible for them to
sell their harvests at as good prices
as formerly.
When these conditions had haar &C.