Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-01-15

count CT the First international Rodh
Congress which recently met at the
French capital:
In tn. long lst of international
conferences which have taken plar'
during the past year at Paris none
has attracted so large and distinguish,
ed corps If de- gates or command
ed such general and absorbing public
int. r., { as the First International
Road Consr, IS. which met on October
II and continued its sessions through
out the subsequent week.
The .fficial representatives ana
other dele ga:ts repress ntrd twenty
three nat.ons, and included militar'
and civil engineers. highway super
int. nd.nts from state and l'"al gov
crnmentS. pri -idsnts and other Of
ficfrs of good read associations.
promin. NJ Automobiles, ard lull
repre- Sentation TT progressive, en- or
prising men who are Interested in
road improvement as an essential
measlre OF public policy. They rep
re :ent"d countries with varying local
conditions. spoke in many languages.
and related widely different expert
cnces and opinions. but they were
unanimous in declaring the Ques ion
Of highway constructiIn End main
trnancp to D.. one CT the most urgent
and important subject now pressing
upon their respective gov, rEm"ntS.
Subjects for Consideration.
The work Of the congress, was dl-
vided into tvs general sections. viz.
construction and maintenance end
traffic aHd working OF highways.
The first section dealt with tn, fol-
lowing subject: McthCls of con
struction and cost OF variOu, forms OF
existing +. ads. maca1am. metaling.
rs, halt. wood stone. and other sur
t"cps. the best methods of repairing
roads and streets which are in con-
tinuous usc various proc. S.'eS Tor pre-
venting dust, and proposals for failure
rOa cCnS;ructi II.
To the second section was assigned
the task OF considering the effects CT
motor vehicles traffic on public high
ways. damlaes caused and the re!a-
ton tin, rcto Of weight and speed.
!cad signals. and the bes' means CT
regulating m tor traffic by an inter-
national code Of laws.
These twO main sections were di-
vided into subSe ctionS. TO each OF
Will were assigned Sep1rat" 'Opics.
and the discussions prCCerIed with
grrat xcaI a"d interest from day to
dav. the programme icing varied by
GutomabiIe excursions throughout
Paris and t. various points within a
radius Of Il or 20 miles to inspect
differen, forms Of ravements and
rCa l., upon which modern methods or
surfac.ng have been used TO repair
the wear of motor traffic and for the
suppression CT mud end dust. Dele
cations also visited the works CT the
Paris municipality. where wood-pav.
ing blocks are cut and prepared. and
made excursions to Versailles and 10
Fontainebleau. whGre sE;ut(e s were
made of the construction and ma H.
tenance CT parks and forest roads.
Finally the whole congress went by
special train to Nice for the. purpoS"
of examining the mountain reals in
the hills to the Riviera, where oil
and tar have been brought and most
successfully used for the suppression
OF dust
Some General Conclusions.
1t is ONLY possible TO summarize in
triefest form some Of the more i'm
pOrtart conclusions which were reach
ed by this notat!e sIthering CT eN-
pert, in road construction and main
tenanre. Among the resolutions
adopted was one affirming that motor
vans, drays. delivery Wagons. and
other vehicles used for ccmmercla.
purposes cause no serious thmage
to highways so long as % the aver
age speed is not more than 3 miles an
hour and the maximum speed does
rot exceed Is miles. and the we1sht
on tn heavier axle does moi exceed
= tons. with tires of india rubber.
or t2I when the average speed is "
miles an hour and the maximum
miles the weight on TIE. heaviest axle
when working no. exceiiing 4 tons
the driving axle to have metallic tires
with smooth faces.
The same resolution de- lares that
| the weight en- the driving axle should
! b" restricted TO 3 tons snd the pres
sure IN each centime'er OF width oil
he t.ere should never exceed loo
kilos (33O pounds. Il was the opiD-
/ ion Of the congress that propt riE
brilt roads are not injured by motor
vehicles travelling At any pace not
exceeding Is miles an hour. and there
WIS , general sentiment among the
: delegates that before he whole prob
lem can BE- satisfactorily solved. leg,
islation will no necessary to comps
motor vehicles TO be built with gov
erning devices which will prevent
them from heinc driven above certain
wsIi-dCf fined rates Of speed.
The Question Of Tarred Roscs.
The question uron which was con-
ccntra.ed the most acute discussion
an! which brought cut the sharpest
d:versiiiss of opinion was the use o'
coz! tar as a surfacing mSterial Tor
rosds 10 prevent erosion from rapid
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