New-York tribune., 1908-10-06
ROAD BREAKERS
NEW IDE1S IN BUILDING.
Americas Delegate Will Propose
Plan at International Congress.

The reed OF changing the present method OF
building 1nacadsnl roads so they will stand up"
s,nder the wear and tear due to the increasing use
al automobiles was dsSelt upon Saturday by H. II.
Gross. q delegate appointed by President Roose-
xer 70 represent the United States the Interna-
,ional Roads Congress. TO be held in Paris on oc-
,aher i TO =. MIR. Gross who is secretary and
treasurer OF the Farmers Good Roads League OF
Illinois sailed the steamship St Paul to attend
fhe convention
z-eich he VIII recommend. Mr.. Gross outlined to
q Tribune reporter his ideas on government
struction Of roads. His plan provides however.
tha1 the government shall pay only one-third of
The cost building road in any section, the
EnsInder to be divided equally between the state
ard the township Also, he said. the country needs
not great transcontinentaI bouIevards on which
or automobling friends may enjoy long spins. but
good roads connecting railroad stations and ship
ping centres with the farms"
The automobile continued Mr.. Gross. has
proved to De road breaker instead of a road
maker. Most Of thought at first that the wide
pneumatic tires would roll down the roadbed and
improve Instead. the suction of tires, with
te pulling effect increased by high speed drags
auE dislodges the smaller stones that form the
TOD dressing Of macadarn roads
The cid way of laying ulacadam roads was TO
place the larger rocks the bottom and the small
ones al the TOP But the automobile tires drag
M the small stones, scatter them about and de-
stroy the smooth surface. The plan tried in the
Chicago experiments 10 put the smaller stones
CT The bottom and the larger ones. ranging from
: 10 - inches across the top The problem has
beer 10 find some material with which TO ill the
tnterstices CT made by the rregularity OF
the stones. Dirt, OF course, would wash out. As
praltIul z by-prOducC OF asphalt, has been tried,
bt Il is cooled by contact with the and
not enter IL among them thoroughly enough to
form proper binding. By-products Of coal and
the waste Of sugar rehneries have been used but
Il ny opinion we have discovered that the best
binding IL asphaIJic rock, which is found in Ken
fueEzv Tennessee, Oklahoma, Indian Territory and
California
.AsphaIuc rock IS a siIicate rock carrying from
: 70 ID per cent Of asphalt. When this rock is
s----.rsre5 70 the consistency Of common brown
sugar II can be rolled down between the large
rocks or the TOP dressing Of the new sort of
rr-aaa-a road The result is road that possesses
me three essential qualities road makers seek
sroo1hness. lack OF dust and low cost Of main
rr-s7-e such g road VIII bear admirably the pull
~ pneumatic tires motor cars and, although its
initial cost may be q cent more than that Of
The old sort Of road The expense OF maintenance IS
probably not more than one-quarter the amount
needed 10 maintain the old STYLE madadam road
under the modern conditions Of automobile travel"
E-- Gross is taking sample OF the gTanulatei
sr-ral-fc rock TO Paris He explained that in
localities far removed from the states where the
rock Is found the expense Of transportation might
be zoo great. but that substitute could be made
b. mixing from : 10 10 per cent Of asphalt with
sand OF crushed rock. He thinks however, that the
combination made By nature is the best.
Regarding government construction Of roads Mr..
Cross said that according 10 Senator Bankhead, OF
Alabama the government is spending 0o0o0o for
rural free delivery. and that Il the delivery were
made over good roads the expense would be cut
down . PEI cert This amount. he said, should
used IN paying interest SIS 0ooo90 issued fer
money 70 SuId roads instead Of being wasted
Why" said NJ. Gross, If Soo.0oo10 in per
cent bonds should be issued for good roads, IT
would increase our national debt 10 only SIS 50 per
capita only one-third Of the per capita national
dent OF Germany, which has the smallest national
DEBT Of any OF the first class powers Of Europe
Each ot the great parties has q good roads plank
Il is platform and when I talked with Mr.. Taft
before the convention. found he was an enthus-
iasriC good roads man ! at present working
OF bill 70 be introduced in Congress which
viI provide that tEe government pay one-thiro o.
the cost Of construction of roads which town
ship and state have built under the supervision OF
the State Engineer, according TO specifications laid
down by the government"
1Ir. Gross spoke Of the economic advantages Of
good roads which provide for equalized traffic and
relieve The railroads Of the strain OF being rushed
a certain periods when the farmers move their
Products all a once. He referred TO the statement
Of Charles Sumner that the two greatest factors
Of civilization are the schooluasJeT and good
reads and said that expressed his own belief
AFTER tire Paris convention Mr.. Gross with the
other delegates, viii take 2 automobile trip
through France 70 study road construction