Connecticut western news., 1909-09-23
THE PUBLIC ROADS
 AND AGRICULTURE
RELATION OF ONE TO THE OTHER
Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, In His Annual Report, Gives Many Interesting Statistics The Road Problem is a Farm Problem.

Problem is Farm Problem.
 For many years the Department has endeavored to impress upon producers and consumers the close and intimate relationship of the public road to agri- culture, and while endeavoring by practical demonstration and scientific experiment. to improve methods of con- struction and maintenance, has lost no opportunity of awakening the public to proper appreciation of the great economic importance of road improve ment and the necessity for reform in the management of the public roads. Some of the task by considering the fact that their are 2,l51 ,000 miles of road in the United States, a sufficient length to en- circle the globe at the equator with S6 upon roads for 1904 was nearly 0,000,- 0OO. At that time about 3S,600 miles had been surfaced with stone, 10S, 200 with gravel and 6,S00 with special materials. making the whole mileage of improved roads only TIA per cent of the total. An effort has beeu made by the engineers of this Depart ment to estimate the mileage of improved roads in 1908, and the total value of all roads, including bridges and rights of way. Taking the 1904 figures as basis, and assuming that the macsdam roads have increased l25 per cent, the gravel 15 per cent, and those surfaced with materials % per cent, we have 43, 3,45o miles of macadam, 124, ,468 of gravel, and s, 8,5l2 surfaced with special materials. The cost of the macadam has been es- timated at S4, 300 per mile, of the gravel It $1 800, and of other surfaoing mater ials at $1 900.
 There is about l, ,975 900 miles of earth | road, which it is estimated has cost for grading. culverts, bridges, and all other items of expense an average of $500 per mile. The right of way, which has been estimated at 40 feet in width for the entire mileage, is worth at the aver ,e acreage valuation as given in cen sus reports $341 100000, making a total estimated cost of $1, ,720, ,339, ,o00 for all the roads of this country. Over these roads at least 250, ,0O0, 900 tons of freight are hauled to wharves and docks for water shipment, which we are unable to estimate. The data collected by the Department indicate that this hauling is done at an average cost of less than 23 cents per ton per mile, and that the average haul is about nine miles, which goes to show that the transportation over the public roads to the railroad re- presents an annual cost of over half & billion dollars. Hauling in France is done in many cases at as low 8 cost as seven cents per ton per mile, and the average there is probably not more than half of the average for the United States The selling price of farm products is largely determined by factors beyond the control of the farmer. His prosper ity must be measured by the margin of profit above the cost of production and of transportation; and it is only when the great agricultural population awakens to a realization that the road problem is farm problem that we can look for substantial progress in this i'm portant branch of transportation.
 EFFECT ON EDUCATION
 Fhe relation of the public roads to education is one which has largely been overlooked. It is more or less we'll known fact that we have in all of our States number of llliterates. While there are number of contributory causes to illiteracy, it is significant to note that in four States where the aver age percentage of improved roads is 30.- 55 the percentage of white ilhterates is only 0.34 of per cent of the total popu- lation, and in four States in which only 1.51 of the road mileage is improved the per cent of white illiterates is 76. It is probable that bad roads are partly a cause and partly an effect of ignorance, but it certainly appears that the two are clos ely related.