The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1908-07-15
William P. Sawyer
Writes On Good Roads


the data at hand, showing the larger
loads and quicker time made over
hard roads, the calculations show
that with good roads general through
out the country this one item of haul
ing the three crops would be reduced
at least twenty-five million dollars
per year. Mr.. Page claims that the
erratic market conditions caused by
the inability of the farmers, at times,
to deliver larm products to the rail
roads, and the enormous expense Of
storage and insurance, will add al
expense of at least twice as much
more to the item of waste Men who
have given the greatest amount CT
thought and study to this matter,
say that they do not doubt that direct
ly and indirectly the bad condition
of the public roads in the United
States ninety-two per cent being
unimproved-is responsible for a net
loss of two hundred million dollars
per year. One-half of this amount
can be directly traced by figures
which the bureaus of statistics have
already gathered.
Two hundred million dollars is five
per cent on four billions and if this
amount was used in building roads
and Washington got her even share
We would get about one hundred mil
lion dollars worth of road and Yaki-
ma county would have about three
and one-half million dollars worth Of
them.
The ability to haul his products to
market at any season of the year
and in any kind of weather, which
can be done over macadamized roads,
is an item of great Importance and
saving to every farmer, because it
makes it possible for him to take
advantage of market conditions as
they appear, and he is able at the
same time to do with his own teams
a great deal that he now has to hire
done because with unimproved roads
the crop must be hauled when their
condition will permit it-market or
no market-and if mans own teams
can handle but one-fourth of the
crop in the time that he has at his
disposal, then three-fourths of the
hauling must be hired done, when
If he could haul at any time his own
teams might be able to handle the
entire crop.
In order to determine how much
OF the variation in travel and haul
ing is due to the condition of the
roads the Illinois highway commits
sion has gathered some extremely in
teresting data. Observations were
taken simultaneously near seventy
two towns and cities upon stated days
in each month. Th< roads are worst
in winter and spring and best in
summer and fall The results show
that the traffic is fairly uniform
through the year where there are
hard roads, while travel in all the
mud road districts show a falling of
of from one-half to three-fourths dur
ing the months of February, March
and April. For example: A dirt
road leading into Springfield, H., in
March showed a daily average ri
siXty-fiye and one-half vehicles pass
ing, while over the same road dur
ing the months of June and July
showed a daily average of three hum
dred and eighty-nine teams passing.
Upon the same days near Peoria on
a macadamized road the count was
March one and sixty-six and June
one hundred and forty-fve. An earth
eight teams per day for March and
one hundred and eighty-seven for
June. The same days over hard
roads near Decatur the average was,
March two hundred and forty, June
two hundred and seventy. These fig
ures show pretty conclusively that
practically the whole variation in
travel over country roads is caused
by the condition OF the roads and that
it would cease if all Of our earth
roads We're replaced with hard ones.
In Mr.. Strahorn's edifying article
on good roads published in the Re-
public of June 30th in which he de-
scribes an automobile trip OF two
thousand five hundred miles in the
state of California, mostly over first
class roads, he says:
at seemed to us that such a situa-
ton in the Yakima country would be
worth millions to Yakima county
alone. The universal opinion among
the people of both city and country
in California was that the wisest in