The Washington herald., 1908-07-03
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

Next Tuesday the American Automobile |
Association Will convene in Buffalo for n
two days session. There are twenty-four
State associations TO be represented. and
as these include nearly 200 clubs. with an
aggregation OF 2O.Oe0 automobilist mem
bers. the convention is one Of considerable
proportions. The one great aim and
object of this meeting is TO inaugurato
some general movement toward road i'm
provement throughout the United States.
With this in view. the association has
invited 10 meet IN conference with them
representatives from the American Road
makers Association and the National
Grange, as well as eminent engineers and
State. county. and municipal road COM
nIssiCners. The calling in of the grangers
has been lkened by a facetious commen-
tator to the lying down together OF the
Hon and the lamb, as the average farmer
considers the autoisJ his worst enemy
But this clearly proves the eagerness
OF the man with the motor to the work
hand in hand with the man with the
wagon. and so build up the nations high
ways that both will be benefited.
There are in the United States to-day
2.l50.0OO miles of highway in daily use
by large percentage Of the nations
100000 people. Two million miles of
these are earth roads From these rise
fully 90 per cent of the dust that brings
discomfort and disease TO the people, and
that incidentally depreciates the roads
value and usefulness. This Buffalo con-
vention is being held for the specific pur-
pose OF seeing what can be done TO obtain
better roads and to preserve those now
built Two or more sessions will be de-
voted entirely to good roads conventions.
One morning will be devoted TO discus
sion of uniform automobile legislation.
for the laws now on the statute books OF
the various Commonwealth present so
great diversity OF opinion that a man
out for a CrOss-country trip is almost
compelled to have a lawyer as we'll as a
chauffeur in his encourage.
The biggest feature of the convention
will be tours of inspection. when the 800
or more delegates and guests will go out
In autos to see the stretches of specially
treated roads that IN seven different half
mile sections will demonstrate the eff
cheney of various discriminating treat
ments when run over by different dust
raising machines. Demonstrate ations by
the manufacturers Of improved ma
chinery for making good roads will also
be in the days work.
The coming of the autompbile has
marked new era in road wear and de-
mands a revolution in road construction.
To make a nonwearing. dustess road is
one of the biggest problems that the
people OF the nation have 20 solve. When
John Louden Macadam, Of Ayr, Scot
land. some decades ago rounded up an
earth roadbcd and spread over it a thick
layer Of gravel, the world thought it saw
a solution Of the good roads problem.
That road was made for siow-moving,
steel-tired vehicles carrying heavy loads.
Such vehicles helped make the roads.
For the wheels. revolving slowly, crushed
dust from the gravel and sifted it deep
into the crevices below. where the next
rain formed 1t into an almost insoluble
cement that held the road bed firmer.
Macadam had Ieckoned without the
auto. When that swiftly moving, heavy
weighted machine came laundering over
the macadamized roads on its inflated
rubber tires a quarter Of q century later
ii began 20 undo the work OF the wide
ated no dust Of their own, but robbed
the road Of tire rock dust the wagons
had made. and which was such a .neces-
sary binder to the gravel or crushed
stone the road bed. The result has been
that certain roads have been greatly
damaged by autos and the dust so scat
tered that property along such highways
has deprecated in value.
only last April the office Of public roads
Of the United States Department of Agri-
culture made some interesting expert
ments in regard to the automobile and its
dust-raising propensities. The speed ordi-
nances that hang like blue laws over the
famous Conduit road near Washington
were suspended for a while by order Of
the Department of War, and while a two
ton racing automobile eliminated distance
at the rate Of more than q mile a min
ute. the Department of Agriculture. with
notebook and camera. made observations
Slow-moving cars had been tried at first
without much damage to the road. Then
the great racer was sent out at sixty-fve
miles an hour. and the hearts OF the
watchers suffered genuine pangs as they