Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-06-06

DAMAGING EF'FECT OF AUTOMOBILES
l over a z crushed Stone! highway would
grind dust particles from the stones,
that those particles would fill in Z all
interstices and that, ,wettings and roll
ipgs would not only give hard,
smooth surface, but that the highway
would improve as the years Pass.' ~ y
For alce6tury and iaS quarter the wis
dom OF the Scotch road builder was
Justified. ~ Every i country itthat lays
claim to civilization adopted ito and
thousands of miles of road were, laid
annually In France Germany, ); England,
Holland and the United, States. ~, -
Then came the automobile, and a
few years after its arrival the road
oterseers began to notice the deteriora-
ton lof these highways. Broad and
level stretches. became strewn with
surface stones, ruts became frequent,
and dust clouds were constantly set
! thing on the adjacent property. The
trouble was quickly traced to the au'
tomObile. ii19e tnJ i0 c3ha inc,
:; These machines through the tractive
and centrifugal forces exerted by their
rapidly turning wheels We're pulling
the rock dust from the roads and
,swirlings it away in binding clouds.
| While every iron bound wagon tire
was doing its own small percentage Of
rock crushing, dust makingI road
smoothing and rock tamping, every
/ rubber automobile tire was undOing
that work by taking the dust away. u
Tresauget and Macadam knew that
! the effect Of wagon traffic would be
I beneficial to rock surface roads, but
( they. never suspected that in future
hyears ichugging machines, guided by
begoggled,t speed rmadJ enthusiasts,
would rush frantically. across the face
of nature or. that the wheels of the
odd vehicles in which they joprneyed
! would be bound by air, stuffed rubber,
The antidote lies IN the discovery of
! q method which will benefit both the
I road and the car. Study to overcome
existing. conditions by creating better
conditions is now going forward, and 1t
| is practically certain that when the
international. : congress meets there
will;be a solution of the road problem
ana the, evil RueClS VI lue sS1uCOLtOOfAS
will be turned to a benefit. -
| Director Page of the Office of public
roads Of the United States department
| of agriculture, who recently received
| through the French ambassador, M.
Jusserand an invitation to attend the
| congress at Paris in the fall, was ask
ed recently if the life of the highways
was so seriously menaced as to justify
| a condemnation Of the motor car and
| to warrant an international congress
! to discuss it.
'Nobody who has made a study OF
| the hard surface roads of this or any
other country would attempt to deny
that. the motor car is constantly short
lening the life of such thoroughfares,
said the director, "but that is no rea-
son for the condemnation of the auto
mobile, The arrival Of this machine
/ has created a new and unlocked for
condition. That means that the new
condition must be studied and the
| problems which have arisen must be
solved. 1t does not mean that because
the roads suffer through the arrival
i of the motor car the, motor car shall
| rass in the interest Of road preserva-
| ton '"N 'il' - I'~H - E@}'S
81 regard the automobile as an im-
| portant factor in. the .upbuilding. OF
| civilization, and it has come to stay
| 1t has created conditions demanding
the best thought of the highway en-
gineers of the world. / see in the so
luton nothing short of ideal dustless
roads"