Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1908-06-10
commission 10 French Road Congress

,.,;onal Good Roads Congress to
~ held at Paris the week begin
ming October II. and credentials
have been issued naming Logan
Waller Page. Director cf tic Office
of Public Roads of the II. 5. De-
,,,r,ment of Agriculture. Chair
man of the Commission The
other members named are Colonel
Charles :. BromwelI OF the United
States Corps OF Engineers. now
serving a Superintendent of
Rpildings and Grounds of the Dis
tric, of Columbia, and Clifford
Richardson of New York. an emf
nent chemist and one Of the worlds
acknowledged authorities ON btu
minous road building materials.
This coming Congress. which
will be attended by distinguished
delegates from every country in
the world, is regarded 10y highway
engineers and experts as probably
tine most important ever summon
cd for the discussion of an econo-
mic question. Its need is the
direct outgrowth of the advent of
the automobile, for while ihous-
ands are ignorant of the fact, the
soft tires of the modern motor
car are the greatest menace the
hard surface thoronghfares OF the
world have ever been called upon
ta face. To understand how n
pneumatic tire made OF rubber
could possibly injure road sur
faced with particles of crushed
rock, one must have at least a
faint understanding of the theories
on which first Tresauget of Limo
yes and then MacAdam of Ayr
built that class OF highway. They
figured that road composed of
crushed stone would not only en-
dure the constant traffic of iron
tired vehicles. but would improve
because the metal-bound wheels
would be constantly crushing the
stones and forming rock dust.
That dust would. they argued. not
merely sift itself into all cracks
aud interstices. but would fill all
surface in equalities and when wet
would be rolled into smooth,
impervious, Understanding, she'll
like surface.
They reasoned well, built wisely
and for over a century and a
quarter the so-called macadam
road did everything that the
famous French and Scotch high
way engineers claimed it capable
Of. 1t came TO be the ideal road
for suburban sections, and thouS-
andS of miles were built. France
to date has spent 5000, 100000 on
her Incompatible system of rock
surfaced National routes and the
United States has followed to a
degree, possessing at the present
time approximately -, 900 miles
of this class of highway.
Prior To the advent of the auto
mobile the roads improved, but
the modern speed vehicle had not
been traversing the suburban high
ways long before pronounced
retrogreSSion of the most generally
travelled stretches was very notice
able. Complaints came from
farmers and from dwellers along
suburban roads that great dust
nuisance had also sprung up and
that emerald lawns were taking
on the hue OF London fog and that
box hedge was dove grey rather
than green. Fruit farmers noted
their products becoming gritty
and prices fell off.
Investigation proved at, once
'hat the new conditions had been
created by the automobile and
highway engineers in every civil
hzed land began studying the new
condition and seeking for a remedy.
III TINS country. Director Page
conducted a series of interesting
experiments in which various
classes of automobiles were sent al
'arying rates of speed over select
eu stretches of road, while expert
photographers pictured their prog
ress and produced proof that the
uactlve force of the rear tires die
tne damage. While he was watch,
ing that work and was expert
mentlng with various dust laying
"Pulds, France was doing the same
Oh an even larger scale. Thai