Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-13
ROADS TRUEST
KEY TO POWER
BEST HIGHWAYS NECESSARY
TO WORLD RULERS
HISTORY PROVES EFFICIENCY OF
GOOD THoRouoHFAREs
America Falls to Appreciate Great
Need Of Fine Roadways, Which
Would Gain to Farmer
$3o5, 100000

Because the assertion came by cable
rom France that the percentage or
improved roads In the United States
was but TIA of the total mileage or
approximately only 100000 miles of the
total mileage of 2,15o,0O0 has been In
any degree improved, a wave OF COM
ment was created, and learned eoltorS
and students of economics wondered
Vhy this nation was so far behind the
nations of the old world In this most
important of all classes Of puonc WORK.
When, at the sessions of the lnterna-
tional Good Roads congress at Paris
Director Logan Waller Page OF the o.
fee of public roads of the United states
department of agriculture quoted those
far from encouraging figures the corre-
epondents Immediately seized upon
them and sent them rushing under the
Atlantic to this side.
1t is especially worthy Of note at this
time that from the very dawn OF civil
ization che nations which have ruled
the world have led all others In road
building and road maintenance. II the
links In this historic chain are to bind
the United States to Egypt Babylon,
Carthage, Rome and France, few
hundred thousand miles OF perIect
highways must be laid without delay.
or the five first nations just mem
toned, each has i'm turn held suprem-
acy both as a world power ana as
road builder In ancient Egypt Is FOUND
the first authentic record or a perIna-
nent road Slightly to the east OF the
great pyramid of Cheops at Gizeh has
been discovered the remains Of a stone
causeway.
Employed 100000 Men
It has long been believed. principally
because of the writings of Herodotus'
T11OUad 100 0lO men
for a period Of ten years on the great
est of the Egyptian roads, the one
which led from Memphis to the pyra-
mid. 49,.
rise of Babylon, that city or beauty
reigned over by Semiramis. who caused
to be built the wonderful hanging gar
dens, came another era of road build
ing. for the Babylonians realized that
the construction of roads and bridges
was absolutely essential to military
and commercial supremacy.
After Babylon came Carthage, and
abe glory of Carthage was between l234
b. G. and 1856 B. c. Perfect roads made
communication possible between every
portion Of this great domain, and TO a
large extent gave her the power 10
withstand for ten years the onslaughts
made by relentless Rome.
When Carthage had been wiped out
ardent imitators In road building, and
within a few decades had laid the most
remarkable system of roads the world
has ever known.
The despotic sway of Rome over the
then known civilized world was due as
much to this comprehensive'ne network or
stone surfaced highways as TO the
might of her legions. Hills were cut
Through. ravines filled in and rock
mountains leveled, both to secure ma
terial and to avoid grades and circuit
Gus routes.
Louis XIV awakened to road neces-
stiles and demanded that the roads OF
France be bettered, and, under the ad-
ministration of Colbert, the famous
comptroller Of France, 1900 miles or
hard roads were constructed, this move
ment beginning in 1861.
Napoleon 5ulIded Great
To one of the greatest men of his
tory, the first Napoleon, credit must
really go for the present wonderful
system of French roads-in fact for the
roads of civiliza ton, for to great ex-
tent those of Germany, England and
other countries are copied after the
French system.
Future generations will give credit to
Tresauget as the real originator OF the
modern rock-surfaced highway. His
first treatise on broken stone roads
brought superb results. In that he set
forth the marvellous system which
maintains in France today That sys-
tenn involves daily reports by inspec-
tors of every yard of national road
throughout the country.
If America is to maintain rank as
the leading nation of the world, there
Is work for highway engineers, and
the time is short.
No more convincing study can be had
than that of the economic waste placed
upon the shoulders of the $4,000, 900
people of this land from the almost
crirninally shameful condition of 1000,
900 miles Of road.
Everybody who thinks must concede
the evident fact that If farmer with
two horses can draw but 600 pounds
to market in five hours, he would save
money if with one horse he could haul
1900 pounds in two hours. Were the
roads in good condition he could dc
that and more. Any saving in hauling