The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1909-03-04
AMERICA FOR BETTER ROADS.
May One Day Rival France, Who Now
Leads World.

Since the time of Napoleon, France
has been expending vast amounts of
money in road construction. Nearly
$3.50, ,O0O,O 900 has so far been spent.
1t will be many years before Ameri-
ca can hope to compete with France in
road maintenance; the newness of the
country, the necessity of showing to
he people the practical needs of such
highways, the vastness of the national
area and many other elements being
barriers, but the road awakening has
been gratifying in the last few years,
and at the present time we can boast
of approximately 100000 miles Of i'm
proved roads out of a total mileage of
2,150,000. OF these about 81 900 are
road surfaced, the others being gravel,
shell, sand, clay and oiled earth roads
While this country has made consid-
erable progress in building rock sur.
faced roads, the percentage of such
highways to the countrys total mile
age Is far less than that of France, not
only because of the. vastly greater
area of this land, but because the road
building of France extends over a cen
tury of time, while here the desire for
modern highways was born but a COM
paratively short time ago. Among the
FIRST to realize the Importance of the
demand we're the master minds of
transportation of decade and a half
ago.
1t was not until 1892 that there was
any broad concerted plan placed on
foot for general betterment of Ameri
can highways; that year witnessing
the introduction of bill in congress
providing for the appointment of a ma
tional highway commission. 1t never
became a law but later in the same
wear a league of good roads was
formed at Chicago.
In Massachusetts, great progress has
been made in providing dustless roads
Dy generously spraying them with oils
Of late the medical profession has
oeen an important factor in providing
information regarding the disease
breeding caused by dusty roads.
II Is the consensus of opinion that
unkempt, filthy roads mean unkempt
and dirty children, and that dust
means disease.
1t is a fact that the 2,150,000 mile,
Of public roads of the United States
constitute the national dust factor,
and furnish 80 per cent of the dus
The community inhales. The delicat,
lungs were never meant to take II
such substances as every passinl
oreeze blows from the thoroughfares
and the percentage of deaths from dis
ease caused by dust is higher than II
generally believed.
The ideal road of the future must b,
broad, hard surfaced. and dust proof
When 1t will come is problematical
but America must some day riva
france in road maintenance, and to d,
.hat she must spend a great deal o
money.
When the broad areas OF this grea
-ountry are traversed by roads equa
20 the national routes of France, tn,
standards of living in rural section
will be uplifted to an astonishing dc
gree; the cost of marketing the prod
lcts of the farmers will be reduced b,
many millions of dollars; the city an,
ne country will be brought closer tc
ether the public highways will b.
made veritable rivals to railroads 70
the transportation of commodities; tn
rural sections will be beautified; realt
prices will increase and the health o
,ne people will be greatly improved.