Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-05-11
s30O,OOO,OO0 PAID
AS 'MUO" TAX BY
FARMERSOFSOUTH
Roy CrandalI, Noted Read Ex-
pert, Points Out Enormous
Burden Farmers Are Forced
to Pay for Poor Highways.


WASHINGTON. D. c., May lin.
pressed with the details of the New
York-Atlanta automobile road building
contest, which has been arranged py Ihe
Atlanta Journal and New York Herain.
Roy CrandaIl one of the road experts
ir the public roads bureau of the depart
uent of agriculture, has prepared an IN
teresting interview showing the enormous
mud tax the farmers of the country
are forced to pay. for poor highways, Mr,
CrandalTs interview is timely IL VIII
have a tendency TO drive home 10 tne
people who read it the Importance o.
good roads or rather, the eostliness OF Dao
roads. and thus, indirectly, stimulate IN
terest in the success of the projected
highway from Atlanta to New 1ork.
Mr. Crandall estimates that the iarm-
ers of the country pay an annual niue
tax of S5OeOOO.00O, which is due sxctn-
sivelv to the condition Of the publtd
roads of the rural districts He demon
strates this startling assertion by rell-
able statistics.
An Expert Talks
Mr.. Crandan said, in discussing the
matter:
IF even a fair percentage Of the MIL
lions of men who live on farms ana car
~ forward the great task of feeding and
clothing humanity had any reailzatlon
of the stupendous sums of money IN Wnlcn
they are annually mulcted because Of tins
unjust national mud tax, the counsys SUI
pervisor who dared to vote against ~
appropriation for the betterment OF roaos
would excite the wrath OF all
Incredible as It may seem TO many
the mud tax the farmers are forced 70
nav simply o nthe hauling of their oror
ducts is over SsOO.Oo00O0 year; due ex-
clusively to the shameful conditaon III
roads which, to the ma nwhc Teams.
should be Synonymous with the steel
transportation lines which carry ths
products of the manufacturer.
statistics prove that 1t costs u cents
tom more to haul over the roads OK
the United States than ii costs 70 naui
over the roads of the leatling countries
of Europe, where good roads are appre-
ciated and are jealously maintained
Investigations conducted by the ONES
of public roads Of the United sfates oe-
partment of agriculture. by the indus
| trial bureaus of railroads. and By good
road associations. have established tns
| fact that the average cost Of hauling
per ton per mile in America is p cents
The average cost of hauling III the three
] leading countries of Eurbpe-Englands
France and Germany-is approximately II
cents. being as low as seven cents over
the splendid national roads Of France.
| A Heavy Annuai LOSS
eff the point be conceded that the
American. farmer pays 10 cents per mile
per ton more than do the farmers OF pet
| Ter road countries, IL follows that the loss
| is a heavy one each year. because 81 tho
vastness of the crops from american
| farms Reports from the bureau OF sta
tistics of the department of agriculture
show that in one year S5.4S7, 100000 pounds
Of farm products consisting Of barley,
/ corn cotton. uaxseed, hemp, hops, oats.
| peanuts, rice, tobacco, wheat ana Woos
| were hauled in farmers wagons from
| their points of origin to market places or
shipping points. That weight. vast as =
| is was but a portion of the road tonnage.
and not the largest by many thousands OF
tons. Ii does not include any of tie pro-
ducts hauled from farms TO mills and
from mills back to farms. nor the pro-
/ ducts of truck farms and trust Orchards.
! Neither does IL comprise any Of the pro-
| ducts of mines or forests. or any Of the
| commodities which are teamed from city
/ TO country. ~
1.-THE average length of haul OF all farrn
products in this country is 81 miles,
! therefore. on the tonnage above brought
| forth the American farmer suffered a loss
/ of $1.17 for every ton hauled;fa total iof
| SIS. sOO. 900 on the above tonnage.
That, however. is only pereentage OF
| the tonnage annually transporter OYER the
country roads The Interstate con1merce
commission in a report embracing TIE M
/ cal year which ended June 80, 1895. showed
/ that the railroads handled $50, fs4.sZ7 tons
| of freight originating on the respecflye
| railroads or that wealth of commerce.
| the product of the mines constituted $500
! per cent, and those of manufacturers a. 81
4 per cent.
ION the theory that mine products and
, manufactured articles are transpofted by
rail and not by wagon. those may be ex-.
Guided from consideration. There's then
| left 80 per cent, which is mads up Of aer
| ricultural. forest and miscellaneous pro-
| ducts; a maximum of 265, oo0. coo tons which
annually pass over the country rcads IN
the wagons of ten millions Of farmers.
! With the average haul of "a miles that
! product passes oveY 2.4sl. 00O.00 miles 81
country roads. At the accepted rate OF 3
cents a ton mile, the cost to the farrner'
of hauling his wares to the Transporter
ton points or market eenters is s622 10000.
] If II could be hauled at the average Etl-
ropean rate of Y cents mile, the cost
would be s29s. $50 600; the difference OF s325r
! $40. coo being the unjust tax placed upon
! him because of the impossible condition
of his transportation routes"