The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-07-28
SAND AND OIL
FAILED To MIX
Paving Experiment Not Sue
cessful, According to Jack
sonVille Road Builder.

The following letter, in part, receiv-
ed by F. F. Bingham of this city, from
Allen Rodgers, an expert road builder
of Jacksonville, will doubtless prove
interesting to many people who are in
terested in the proposition of building
a system of such roads here.
Sand and Oil.
Jacksonville, July IS, 1908
MIR. F. f Bingham, Pensacola. Fla
My Dear Sir-I have noticed sew
eral newspaper references to pTopo-
siti0n advanced by some of the peO-
pie of Pensacola and Escambia coun-
ty to bond the county for building
good roads, and TO try the experiment
of making streets in Pensacola by
treating the sand with crude oil I
also note that it was intended to buy
machinery for the purpose of max
ing petrolithic streets
Il like Pensacola people very much
and having had as much or more ex-
perience in road building than any
other man in the state I belive 1t my
duty to give you a few facts with ref
erence to this kind of paving
i did all ] could in my feeble way
to keep the people here from making
the mistake of trying to build roads
by such methods. The road built and
rebuilt might be worth an examina-
ton by your people before they make
a similar mistake Your board of
county commissioners can write Mr..
c. A. BUTnham, A member of our board
of county commissioners, also Judge
I. L. Farris, member of the Iegisla-
ture from this cOUtny, who is we'll
known to the representatives from
your county, for their opinion of this
piece of road.
You may use this letter and the
information I send you in any way
you like, and you may say further that
stake my reputation as a road builder
on the proposition that any road built
of a mixture of any kind of crude oil
with Florida sand is absolutely worth
less, and the the only value possessed
by crude oil on a Florida road would
be to overcome dust.
Yours very truly,
ALLAN RODGERS"
Mr.. Binghsm's Reply.
Pensacola, Fla, July %, 1908.
ALLAN Rodgers, Esq, Jacksonville,
Fla.
Dear Sir have your letter of the
18th inst. and thank you for volunteer
ing the information in regard TO crude
oil road building. and shall ask The
Journal TO publish same We had al
ready heard here that the experiment
was not a success in Jacksonville, hut
accompanied with the explanation that
the crude oil and sand.
Il had already reached the concIus-
ion that petrOlithic would be a fail
uTe on Pensacola streets unless the
admiXtuTe of asphalt was so heavy,
and the crust so thick, as to make
practically an asphalt street, for the
reasons that in the city the top strata
of sand is so thick, and the character
of the sand so lively that il cannot
be deended upon as a foundation for
anything except absolutely solid ma
terialS.
Il had thought that out on the coun-
ty roads the petTolithic system might
prove a success. for the reasons that
the clay sub-sOiI is closer to the sur
face, the travel lighter. and the road
way narrower and therefore demand
ing less tensile strength in the oil
asphalt CrUst-but from the clippings
YOU send there seems tObe consider
able doubt as TO the practicability of
the sChmee for that purpose.
With kind regards to yourself and
family, 7 am
Yours very truly.
(Signed) r. F. BINGHAM"