Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-05-20
The Strawpile.

/ The wonderful growth of transport
tation by rail has unduly absorbed
public attention to the neglect OF
transportation by wagons over roads
From the best figures obtainable 1t
appears that but about eight per cent
of the public highways of this country
are what can be called improved.
The relation of the entire people of
a state to road conditions has been
recognized by some Of the states, with
the result that some states will now
pay portion of the cost of road i'm
provement in any local community
within the state, leaving the balance
to be paid for by the local community
and the property abutting on the road.
1t has been estimated that over three
million farm wagons are in use in this
country 1t is safe to say that at least
half a million Of these wagons are
used Off three hundred days in the
year. If the value of the services of
the driver and the use Of the team of
horses, wagon, and harness is esti-
mated at So per day, we have an
annual cost for transportation by farm
wagons alone Of s450,000000 The sta
tistics collected by the department Of
agriculture indicate cost in the old
countries of Europe, where the roads
are good, of 10 cents per ton per mile,
and in this country where the roads
are bad, cost of 25 cents per ton
per mile. Even allowing for the lower
wages paid in Europe, the cost Of
transportation by wagon over the roads
is nearly twice as much here as there.
In other words, SO far as regards
transportation by farm wagons, good
roads would effect an annual saving
of over s200,0o0,000. If to this saving
we add the annual saving which good
roads would effect in transportation
by wagons, other than farm wagons
we have sum which is enormous.
To save the vast amount annually
lost by reason of bad roads will re-
quire the expenditure of great amounts
of money for the construction of roads.
This can not be done in a day. 1t will
require years. But the money thus
expended and the money expended in
keeping such roads in repair will be
one of the most profitable investments
ever made by a civilized people.
Given a good road, then keeping it
in good condition becomes the PROB
lem. Some vehicles are so designed
that they are most destructive to the
road. To prevent the injury of good
roads, it is wise to require that the
wagons should be suitable for the
roads. Wide tires help to make good
roads where the top surface is yield
ing. while the narrow tires quickly de-
stroy them When the surface of the
road is hard, the wider the tire the
less the injury, provided the entire
surface of the tire rests on the road.
Unfortunately the wood wheel, in gen
eral use today, is necessarily made
with a dish, the effect of which is
to cause only the outer edge Of the
tire to bear on the road, il it is I'M
yielding. If the road is soft, the outer
edge of the tire cuts into the ground
until the entire surface of the tire has
a bearing. The distance it must cut
in before the entire surface has a bear
ing is slight and broad tires on dishad
wheels improve soft roads, tho not
SO much as tho the wheels We're
not dished. A wheel without any dish,
such as a steel wheel, ard with the
entire surface of the tire resting evenly
on the ground is very generally used