The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-03-02

fore, follows that the Increased
amount Of damage done will be in
proportion to the Irregularities of the
road and to the speed Of tile car.
Much stress has been laid upon the
effect of the car body and its shape In
lifting dust from the road surface.
Some experiments seem to furnish
convincing proof that but little dust
is taken from the roads by this means,
though the dust lifted by the wheels
is greatly accelerated by the action
of the car body and the air currents
set up in its rear. This must be con-
sidered an important factor, as much
of the dust lifted by the wheels would
not be carried from the rail but tor
the air currents developed by It's
shape.
Some months ago a series Of ex-
periments were held on the Conduit
road by Logan Waller Page and Dr..
Allerton S. Cushman, respectively,
director and assistant director Of the
office of public roads Of the United
States Department of Agriculture,
for the purpose Of studying the phen-
omenon of dust removal by the shear
inc force Of automobile wheels. Mo-
tor cars ranging in size from the f.
O00-pound limousine to the stripped
racer and the small runabout We're
pressed into requisition. They were
! sent over a stretch Of road at various
rates of speed, and their effect studied
from a great collection of photo
graphs taken with instantaneous shut
,, ters as they passed given point. By
far the most interesting result was
obtained with heavy 6O-horse power
stripping racing car. This machine,
with driver and mechanician, weighed
$500 pounds. The wheels were 80
inches in diameter with 4-inch front
tires and 4 1-2-inch rear tires. At
rates Of speed varying from five to
sixtv miles an hour this car traverSed
the road.
The section used was government
froad in good condition, it having been
resurfaeed two years before. Up to
a speed limit of fifteen miles an hour,
the car produced little or no effect,
but from twenty miles an hour the
effect was noticeable, with each IN
crease in speed until, as the car whiz-
zed along at the terrific rate OF a
mile a minute it fairly picked up the
rock dust surface and sent it swirl
ing to adjacent fields, fog-gray cloud
of dust hanging on the horizon for
many minutes.
Dusty roads existed before the mo-
tor vehicle was ever thought of, but
they have aggravated this condition.
They are in no wise to be condemned,
however, for while the above facts
may by some be regarded as an ar
raignment of the automobile, in its
relation to public roads, it must not
be forgotten that the application OF
mechanical arts which work for the
comforts and convenience Of civlllza-
ton must inevitably produce new pro-
blems, and those must be solved by
patient experiment.
The motor vehicle also is a friend
of the roads, for while it tends to
destroy them, it possesses an uplifting
influence on road construction. 1t
has had much to do with the building
Of thousands of miles Of better roads
in the past ten years. 1t, has as we'll
made necessary the study Of road
preservation which Will ultimately re-
dound to the benefit of the civilized
world.
Good Roads Mean Better Health.
II have noticed that wherever l
see bad roads I invariably see neg
lected, unkempt, unwashed children.
If T travel along a good road I see
children well cared for. [ do not say
that one directly follows the other,
but they undoubtedly go together. A
community that is negligent of its
roads will be negligent of its children,
and a community that is negligent Of
its children will not produce good
citizens, nor, above all things, will it
have a high standard Of public
health.'
This observation on cause and
effect was recently made by DR.. Al
lerton S. Cushman, assistant director
of the office Of public roads Of the
United States Department Of Agrl-