Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1908-04-24
Fast Moving Automobiles Are Destroy
fnu The woric's Good Roads.

fu0 The HOTlU > E800 108U8-
The Office of Public Roads Of the
United States Department OF Agricul-
ture has recently been conduetinga Sc
ries of very interesting experiments to
learn the amount Of damage dere to
the rock surface thoroughfares by au-
tomobiIes. The results prove that the
modern fast moving car is the greatest
menace to macadam roads that has
ever made its appearances.
On some stretches of thoroughfare,
especially in New England, where
many broad and smooth roads have
been constructed, the retrogre-sion is
rot less than 40 per cent and it has
been forced upon the Director Of the Of
fee of Public Roads and upon many
highway engineers that If some plan
is not speedily devised fer overcoming
the bad effects of mems latest and
most sensational mode OF land trans
portation, the monetary loes will be
stupendous and the good wsrk Of
many years will 60 for naught.
1t 10 rot only in America that this
condition prevails. The men Of En-
gland, France, Germany, Holland,
Belgium and other countries of the old
world where hard surfaced highways
are appreciated have also learned that
the big soft rubber tires OF the autono-
bile are doing an almsst Incredible
amount of harm. France has officially
taken cegnizanee of the condition and
has called an International Congress
| to meet at Paris on October to dis
cuss plans fer saving the reads, while
| in no way interfering with the dsvel-
opment of the automobile, for no
scientists will condemn enc worthy
lciviIizing influence because it Temp
rarily conflicts with another. he will
merely admit that new condition has
arisen and then set on foot an investi-
cation with the idea OF mastering 1t.
| To many it may seem beyond belief
that pneumatic rubser tire can work
| any injury to read composed OF bits
of crushed flint rock, but 1t becomes
plain when the theory OF such roads 10
explained. The macadam road. named
after John Louden Maeadan of Ayr,
Scotland, who was for years highway
| surve yor OF Bristol, was tirst laid down
by the eminent French road engineer
iTresauget of Limoges, who wisely fig
ured that slowly moving iron tired
wagons would crush dust particles
| from the stones Of the reads surface
that those particles would be constant.
| ly sifted between the interstices OF the
large stones; that every passing wagon
would crush them firmer into all ruts
and inequalities; that rain would aie
and tie ultimate result would be
smooth surface, water shedding high
way.
Tresauget planned wisely; AacAdan
came two decades later and made
islight change in the laying Of the roao
foundation and gave to such thorough
lfsres his name. For century and
leuarter the wisdom of the road engi
lneers of Limoges aad Ayr was justified
Then arose condition they had neve
Figured on; a fast NOV ng vehicle run
ming on broad sett tires. The reads be
gan to suffer at once for the following
reasons: The rubber tire, being soft
creates no rock dust itself as dose tn
Iron tire Of wagon and the very life
of these roadh demands constant sup
tply Of that material. 1t is the surfac
binder that keeps the road smooth
cracks filled in; that maintains tn
!, evenness and binds the rubble stones
: into one impervieus mass. Every iroi
tired wheel does its own small quota 0
good by acting as a rock dust MAKE
and a miniature road roller. The sut
whirring along at dizzy speed simpl.
flattened it's tires against the groun'
: as it sped and the tractive force so ex
Ierted hurled the precious rock dus
into the air and from where 1t wa
lswept to the adjacent farms an
lawns in binding clouds. So pronounc
ed was the mere dust nuisance create'
in many portions of the country tina
real estate decreased in value to sn ar
tpreeiable extent and farmers com
planned that the sver-ipcreasing dus
on their fields, vines aad trees mad
it impossible for them to sell their bar
vests at as good prices as formerly
When these conditions had been ss
Itablishsd by scientifically gathefe'
data the director of the office of Public
| Roads set on foot numerous lnvestti
| cations and ordered many expert