The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-10-15

cost, It IS understood that the outlay necessary to build them and get them ready for operation will be something like s400O00.
 The construction work on the Ten
 
 feverish state of the public mind all sorts of experiments and all kinds of experimental road materials are be- ing offered and. I may say, foisted upon the public. Often we are per suaded to accent a very bad thing un- der the guise of great plausibility. "The history of road building in Eu- rope is about to repeat itself with us and we ought to be warned. The alarm has certainly been sounded in our ears and we ought to take notice. am out of patience with some of our over the roads Of Europe and with but semblance of knowledge regarding the roads, on their return. spread mis- information regarding them. How may times are we reminded of the wonderfully splendid roads by such persons, but the truth is appalling.
 "The roads of Europe are poorly constructed; the cost of maintenance is enormous, so much so that it is one of the most alarming internal ques- tions with which the governments have to deal. In an address recently made by MT. L. W. Page, who heads the good roads office of our own govern roant he makes the statement that En nr,and in one year expends for main tenance on her 15c,00o miles or roaos ssO O,oOo.O .Ooo
 "Tba question in France Is such an acute one that last year the presiuehs of that republic asked the comnlis- 1 .,orar-eeneral of roads to asseslnpP l., ,r+ernational conference congress 1. of road building students anu pineers from the civilized Woriu. a Tbters stated, in his opening aooress' that the improved roads of Europe Ill .,a ,os+ few years, have been bullt u, oos+ of eight billion francs and are he,ns maintained at yearly eVpense ., oisb+ million francs, but the sur r,sing abatement that he maue 'o that great convention ana "ii''n we" oo.sntea AS a truthful one' was 'i"' +bese roads, built at so great aA nsnse would have to be reouii'' 'na thav could no longer be econoinis ,4a,ned to meet the demands or 'ne .,,o travel of the present oas.
 ,+,on was a unit in saying | .+ tho entire list of mixtures oi lai osments and application
 so.aaa not one single salisi"o
 ano os the roadway problem' Una. temporary in character anu
 .,va beyond the ability oi .Ae
 expens., nublic to build and main tain. .. been con- s+,,cted by the state or NC" .ba mast two years have ,us' poeu s,o,re an inspection and examina'ion "A .sa,r conditions as to permanehes ane ora very unsatisfactory lnoeeu. Iep Al. nractical observing man II wouio .na height of folly to reiy Ioi ees ,nencv on any road mixture In which .ha vital ingredient is subject to evapo'a .,o,, The road becomes wor'hhess usa for it and cannot DC
  sou ant fixture even If you do not use 1t at all. ,,nt-v want ,s :. road that is fit for use wih'er anu
 a,,,,,n,er wet or dry. and not one upon
 sn,.h travel is restricted either as ,o t.a anount weight or time when IL shai be used. ,-;,as of
 .erhara are two, and only two, kinds or LA srrfac,ng material that can pc useo ,,;tb economy in this country. ino one '. .ha harder stones, and the other is
 ,.-,e.s brick. The one Is suitable Tor
 s,,,r, traffic and travel; the other, With
 nroper construction, Is both ecohoni'eai and suitable for the excessive ana seVero travel and traffic. In the construc'ioi os the stone road, intelligent design anu r,ethod are quite as important as IS 'he
 oosa in the construction of a oricK road. ss,. of the hest flint rock obtainable has ,,~,saa for surfacing roads. In man. .ra method displaying a great waste of money.
 l. .exvhi,e recently inspecting some or the a.. rool drives of one of our hnest ,o rrs in the country, counted 50 men oo,,sc+,ne together the flint rock that had been Tipped out from under the ~heei track bv the action of the tarinc. An no,nation of one of the best turnpiKes l., tho state of Indiana in the past year a,sc,osed ruts more than six. inches In danth Yet the charges for maintenance ,,non this road since its original construc- +iop have amounted to more than $So,OOO a mile.
 "rbe state of Indiana, flor the most part has had splendid material out of which
 to build her improved roads and her axpenditure for them has been in the ex- treme. Her repair bill, however, for tbess improved roads, was the stupen- do,s sum of s4S51, ,O00 in the year 1SOs .rrhe secret of good macadam road, a a to its economy. lies in holding in place
 the several units as they are wanted to ,sa and to travel upon. The material by
 the roadside cannot be utilized. Whatever kind of road is to be built the curb to hold in place the wearing surface is the
 most economical part of the construction 6nf what interests most thickly settled communities where travel converges is
 the kind of wearing surface and the kind
 of road that can be maintained at no
 cost whatever for great many years and without too large an expenditure in the first instance.
 ."That vitrifed brick meets this demand and this requirement. there can be no req