The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-04-24
AUTOMOBILES
DESTROY ROADS
Soft Rubber Tires Strip Sur
face of Rock Dust Binder
International Congress Called for
October TO Discuss This
Serious Condition.

The Office of Public Roads Of the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture has recently been conducting a
series of very interesting experiments
10 learn the amount of damage done
to the rock surface thoroughfares by
automobiles. The results prove that
the modern fast moving motor car is
the greatest menace TO macadam roads
that has ever made its appearance.
On some stretches of thoroughfare,
especially in New England where many
broad and smooth roads have been con-
structad the retrogression is not less
than 40 per cent and it has been
forced upon the Director of the Office
of Public Roads and upon many high
way engineers that if some plan is
not speedily devised for overcoming the
bad effects of men't latest and most
sensational mode Of land transporta-
ton the monetary loss will be stup-
endous and the good work of many
years will go for naught.
II is not only in America that this
condition prevails. The men of Eng
land, France, Germany, Holland, Bel
GUM and other counties of the old
world where hard surfaced highways
are appreciated have also learned that
the big soft rubber tires of the auto
mobile are doing an almost incredi-
BILE amount of harm. France has Of
ficially taken cognizance of the con-
dition and has called an International
Congress to meet at Paris on October
IL to discuss plans for saving the
roads, while in no wayinterfering with
the development of the automobile,
for no scientist will condemn one
worthy civilizing influence because it
temporarily conflicts with another.
He Will admit that new condition
has arisen and then set on foot an in
vestigation with the idea of mastering
It.
To many It may seem beyond belief
that a pneumatic rubber tire can work
any injury TO a road composed Of bits
of crushed flint rock, but it becomes
plain when the theory of such roads
is exDrained. The macadam road,
named after John Louden Macadam
OF Ayr, Scotland, who was for years
halfway Surveyor of Bristol, was first
lad down by the eminent French road
engineer Tresauget Of Limoges, who
r# ..r Figured that slowly moving iron
.f..J wagons would crush dust parti-
,le3 rom tha stones of the roads sur
face. that those particles would be
c.ustantly sifted between the in
tarelccs Of the large stones; that
Yr,ry pa-sin, wagon would crush them
f'rmer into all ruts and inequalities;
that rains would aid and the ultimate
r.1t wou1 .e a smooth surface, wat
nr. holding highway.
Tresauget planned wisely; Macadam
came two decades later and made a
slight change in the laying of the road
foundation and gave to such thorough
fares his name. For a century and a
quarter the wisdom of the road engin-
GERS Of Limoges and Ayr was justifi-
ed. Then arose a condition they had
never figured on; fast moving We
hicle running on broad soft tires. The
roads began 70 suffer at once for the
following reasons: The rubber tire,
being soft, creates no rock dust itself
as does the iron tire of a wagon and
the very life Of these roads demands
a constant supply OF that material.
Z is the surface binder that keeps
The road smOth: cracks filled in; that
maintains the eyenness and binds the
rubber stones into one impervious
mass. Every iron tired wheel does
its own small quota Of good by act
ing as a rock dustmaker and a minia-
ture road roller. The auto whirr'ing
along at dizzy speed simply flattened
Its tires against the ground as it sped
and the tractive force so eXerted hurl-
ed the precious rock dust into the air
and from where it was swept it to
the adjacent farm and lawns in blind
ing clouds. So pronounced was the
mere dust nuisance created in many
portions of the country that real es-
tate decreased in value TO an appre-
ciable extent and farmers complained
that the ever-increasing dust on their
fields, vines and trees MAIDS it impos-
sible for them to sell their harvests
at as good prices as formerly.
When these conditions had been es-
tablished by scientifically gathered
data the Director of the Office of
Public Roads set on foot numerous in
vestigations and ordered many expert
ments; the result Of which 1t is be-
lieved will ultimately prove the au-
tomobile to be great benefactor for
In the struggle to overcome things
find a road surfacing material which
makes no dust and needs no dust to
maintain its integrity, or discover a