The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-08

1 Deh county, New York a graduate o Union college, successively a major, col onel and general of brigade In the Civi i War, brgadier general in the engineer corps during the Spanish war and the l hrst director of the office of road In i qulfy He was educated as an engi- neer and was connected with a number or important engineering undertakings oi l his period, among which was the blow ing up of the Hell-Gate rocks in East river and the removing of the bars from the harbor of New York. He died at Mendham, N. J.. August G. 1905, after a brief illness.
 Martin Dodge, successor to General stone as director of the office of public road inquiries, was born in Geauga coun- ty, Ohio, in 1851 He was educated in the public schools and in Hiram and Buchtel colleges, Ohio. He afterward studied and praeticed law until 30 years of age, when he eaeered the real estate business. He served three terms in the house of repre- sentatives of the general assembly of Ohio, was elected to the Ohio senate in 1897 and reelected in 1899. In 1893 he was appointed by Governor Mckinley chair man of the Ono roads commission, and in 1908 was appointed director of the office of public road inquiries for a temporary period of six months, to represent the government at the Omaha exposition. He was reappointed director on May l, 1900, and served until June 30, 19O5
 The present incumbent of the office is Logan Waller Page citizen of the state of Massachusetts. Mir Page was born in Richmond, Va, in 1870. He was educated at the Virginia Polytechnic institute and Harvard university He also studied in the French School of Roads and Bridges at Paris, and for seven years was con- nected with the Massachusetts highways commission. In 1900 he was appointed chief of the road material laboratory in the department of agriculture at Wash ington, and remained in that position after it was enlarged into the division tests. In 1905 Mr Page was appointed assistant director of the office of public roads and was shortly after made the head of the bureau. Under his administra- ton the work has reached its present complete and thorough organization as to methods, facilities and personnel.
 The executive staff of the office con- sists of MT. Page. director; A. s. Cush- man, assistant director; Vernon M Pierce, chief engineer; M. o. Eldrdge, chief of records; J. b. Pennybanker, junior chief clerk, and Philip L. Wormeley, testing engineer.
 In addition to these officials in Wash ington, the bureau has about 50 agents in the field, including engineers, lecturers
  gagged in instructing and directing local authorities in the work of improvement Altogether 113 object lesson roads have been constructed in 13 states, as follows: Twelve in Ohio, eight in North Carolina, seven in Florida. South Carolina and Virginia respectively, four each in Geor- gia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Maryland, three each in Arkansas, Michigan, New. York and Washington, two each in the iGfrf af nf Mississippi, Nebraska. New Jersey, North Dakota and Texas, and one each In Iowa, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
 One of the most important branches of the work of the bureau is the education of the people, and in this the officials are receiving the cooperation of more than 260O country newspapers which print in almost every issue articles prepared for them by the engineers and other experts concerning the best materials for road building, and the best methods of using them; how to repair roads and keep them in order, and other information and sug- gestions of immediate and practical local value The newspapers are also publish ing regularly arguments facts and sta- tistics to show the advantages of the im- provement of the highways to the farm CTS, merchants and to all other classes of the population. In that way the bureau reaches between six and seven. million people every week with its propaganda MT. Page tells me that the bicycle has been the most important and influential missionary of all that have been engaged in promoting the good raods movement. The League of American Wheemen has been the most potent organization, he says, and has done an immense amount of good work, not only ins educating the people and in stirring up local officials to improve the roads, but in organizing agencies to that end. Everybody, almost. has ridden a bicycle at one time or an- other within the last F or 15 years, and every bicycle rider realized the advan- tages of having good roads and did his best to get them.
 The automobile is not such an impor- tant ally. On the other hand, the in- crease in automobile traffic has made the dust problem more serious than ever before. The loss to macadamized roads from the dust material that is ground up and blown away, as we'll as in loosening the surface by the heavy impact of the rubber tires, is serious menace to their preservation. The automobile is the worst enemy of the macadamized road A num- ber of methods for protecting their sur face so that they shall not be injured by the wheels of automobiles have been sug- gested, and many preparations and crude materials have been investigated with a view to preventing or diminishing the damage. Experiments are now going on in various sections of the country, which may result in counteracting the damage that Is being done.
 The rural free delivery system has been an important ally and the rural delivery carriers are doing a great deal of good by reporting bad places in the roads to the postoffice department, which invariably calls upon the good roads office for advice. Under the pres ent arrangement, when rural free de- livery route is reported as impassa ble or in bad repair, the postoffiee depart ment notifies the office of public roads and the services, of an engineer or ex- perienced roadbuilder are rendered to the local officials for the purpose of directing the work of placing the road in proper condition. The services of these men have been eagerly accepted as rule, and have resulted insmuch benefit to the public and to the rural delivery service because the postoffice department will suspend the delivery