Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1910-06-08

RURAL ROAD BEFORE IMPROVEMENT.
write. In four good road states out
of 100000 population there are 90
600 illiterates. Do good roads concern
you? If you are one of the 30,O00.000
people who live on farms in the United
States it is fairly safe guess that you
know something about bad roads, even
If you do not know and have never
CHANGED to cross the per cent of i'm
proved roads Of the total 100000
miles of highway in the United States
Americas country roads are so no
toriously bad that it costs more to
haul ton of wheat from farm to mar
ket than to ship that ton from New
York to Liverpool. Americas country
roads are so bad that K costs the
American farmer % cents to haul
ton when 1t costs the English or the
Belgian or the French or the German
farmer only from to cents for the
same haul. You. Mr. Town Man, and
you, Mr.. Farmer, pay for the unDeces
sary waste Of those bad roads, the
town man by extra cost OF what he
eats. the farmer by lessened profits on
what he sells. The same reason ex-
plains why the town man pays 81 %
in spring for potatoes which cost from
so to 10 cents in the autumn.
The interstate commerce report
shows that the railroads yearly haul
| 265,O00,O00 tons of farm produce and
| that the average haul from farm to-
market for the whole country is nine
| and fraction miles. Put the cost of
hauling at round 50 a ton for the
nine. miles and YOU have the cost of
hauling farm produce at round half
billion dollars year. Half that cost
!s waste. solely owing to bad roads.
| The charge to haul wheat from New
York to Liverpool. 3,100 miles, is 3.5
| cents per bushel The charge to haul
bushel of wheat from farm to mar
ket, "a miles, is Oil cents. The stor-
age on wheat at water fronts is
cents bushel year
The results of bad roads are yearly
| tolls of $3.50 against every person
who eats farm produce. That yearly
waste would build 100000 miles of Al
maeadam roads every year, bssing the
| cost at the very highest average of
5000 mile.
The beauty OF the relentless scheme
of things is when we mend our ways
| lin this case, mend our roads-nature
not only wipes out the deficit. but she
| puts plus to the account where there
| used to be minus. Surprising of the
100000 miles of roads in the United
! States all were improved instead of
only per cent. what would be the
result to~farmer and consumer? First
of all, the big deficit of waste on haul,
on storage. ON cornered prices. wiped
out! The minus goes off the national
slate and the plus comes on.
The good road moves the remotest
| farm right next to the market A farm
| twenty miles from the market on an
| all the year round good road is nearer
market than a farm seven miles away
on a bad road. Truck farmers In New
| Jersey and Long Island can haul their
produce TO market. thirty miles. cheap
er than they can ship by railroad. and
that produce nets, according to well
known averages, as follows:
Fruit. $50 per acre; flowers, $4,000
per acre; corn, IS per acres wheat. 81
per acre; oats. 81 per acre; vegetables,
I $40 per acre.
Out In the Dakotas. and Minnesota
and Manitoba farmers haul their prod
act thirty and forty miles. but they can
haul 1t only when the roads are dry In
/ the early fall, and at that season the
| price is lowest. The farmer along the
| good road can command the best price
| by hauling only when the price Il best.
and he can also raise the produce that
gives biggest net returns. If you would
learn why whole family can live. and
live well. OF an acre in Holland and
! Belgium and France when a family
often fails TO live well on 160 acres in /
| America.
With good roads Dakota farmers
| who under present conditions drive
hub deep in gumbo mnd during spring
| could market their crops when prices
ruled the highest Instead Of selling
their wheat al 20 aud 50 cents in
the fan they could sch 4 az 81 dur.
! ing the winter and in thes spring.
| An additional price Of even . cents Z
bushel would mean S15.O00.o00 more in
/ the pockets of the Minnesota farmers,
/ similar amount TO the farmers of the
Dakotas and to the wheat farmers of
/ the Pacific coast.
New York farmers do not raise vege
tables IN quantities because until re
Gently roads did not permit them &c
market such a perishable product in
/ quantities. This holds good in New
England The same condition exists
/ In the COW country and the grain coln'