The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1909-11-27
The Cash Value
OF GOOD ROADS

In an interesting paper entitled
"The Wagon and the Road" read by
J.L. Hetch before the Contemporary
Club, Davenport, Iowa, the evolu-
| ton of the modern vehicle is traced
from it's beginning and tho neces-
sity for better roads is strongly
urged. The following excerpts from
the paper contain some figures rela-
tive to the losses occasioned by poor
! ly constructed and maintained roads:
When we stop to think that all
our agricultural products as we'll as
large part OF the products of our
foresIs, mine and factories are NOV
I'd over wagon roads, we realize in
q general way the magnitude of tn.
matter. The prevailing opinion
among residents of the cities is that
the road conditions concern only the
farmer or the automobilist. People
do not stop to consider that the ire
mendous necessary cost of trans
porting materials through the coun-
try is shared and paid for by every
body, no matter whether he be a
farmer or a resident of one of our
cities Whether a farmer is hauling
load of produce to town, or city
resident is having a load of coal
hauled to his home, the conditions
of the highway in each instance is
factor in the cost, and the consum-
er in both cases must pay his share
of the cost.
THE relation of the entire people
of a state to road conditions has been
recognized by some of he states, with
recognized by some of the states with
pay a portion of the cost of the road
improvement in any local commun-
ity within the state, leaving the bal
ance to be paid for by the local COM
munity and the property abutting on
the road.
Even the railroads are interested
in good wagon roads; they are called
upon to move the crops Of the coun
try through a period so limited that
during certain seasons of the year
they are taxed to their utmost to
furnish he necessary equipment,
while at other stations a portion of
this equipment is idle. The unde-
sirable state of affairs is aggravated
by the condition of the roads.
Farmers try to haul their crops to
the railroad station while the roads
are good. When the roads are poor
less can be hauled, and when bad
often nothing at all. This means
the freight cars stand idle on the
side tracks waiting for the crops
which cannot be hauled until the
tickle weather chooses to make the
roads better. When the roads be-
come good again freight blockades
may result from the abnormally
large receipts, or, what is more than
often the case, there are not enough
cars, owing to the period of idleness
caused by the bad roads.
Because of the limited period
when the roads will permit hauling,
and the shortage of cars thus caused
a greater number of costly grain ele-
vators are needed for storage. If
our crop movement could extend
over a longer period more of the
products would be stored on the
farm until they could be hauled con-
veniently, and the entire crop move
ment would be more consistent and
regular, requiring less railroad IA
cilities and fewer elevators. Anoth-
er evil effect of the stoppage of the
crop movement, due to bad roads,
is the opportunity It affords to spec
ulators to manipulate prices, causing
great and harmful variations.
bad roads injure us in many
other ways. Take such a thing as
the milk supply for a large city. II
has been observed that milk ship
ments have been made from points
where the roads are sufficiently good
to enable the dairyman to regularly
meet trains, while other localities
in the same district cannot engage
, in. his traffic because road conditions
, at times, are such that they cannon
, possibly handle the products of The
dairy with any degree of certainty
. and regularity. The farmer often
loses a good market, owing to the
, conditions of the roads, and his
, products may deteriorate in quality
while he is obliged to hold them.
have been in the state of Texas at q
time when the farmers were utterly
unable to avail themselves of a fair
cotton market because of their ina
bility to move their cotton to the
, railroads. Such things as this i'm