Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-02-04
English Engineer Says Want of
Good Highways Increases
Cost of Living.
PRODUCTS TO CITY MARKETS
Interesting Details of Road Construc-
tion Abroad-How England and Ger
many Make Good Thoroughfarcs.

Much has been written and heard of
late, through the medium of the Good
Roads convention. regarding ways and
means for road construction. that a
few lines from the pen of one who has
had considerable practical experience
of road making. as applied to the high
ways and byways of the old country.
should not be out of place at this time
II is obvious that in the race for money
making. Americans have paid little at
tention to their roads. no doubt unin-
tentionally Ignoring the fact that the
high cost of food must necessarily be
higher so long as the farmer is de-
pendent upon railroads as the means
for bringing the products from his
farms Into the markets of a populous
city This reminds us of the recent
meetings held in our own city of Salt
Lake relative TO the high cost of Iiv-
ing, Given good roads. the farmer
will soon realize that as well as nat
Urdlly reducing the cost of getting his
produce to the markets. the value or
his land must also be considerably en-
HANGED. In this article the writer is
desirous OF suggesting how those who
are responsible for the highways here
may benefit by the practical experience
OF English and French engineers, ex-
perience gained at great expense-for 1t
must be remembered that the finest and
best roads in the world are those of
England and France.
Hitherto. main or county roads. In
England and France, have been built
up from either broken Stag or granite,
and with the Introduction of motor.
traction engine and automobile traffic,
this sort of road has been very accessl-
bic for such kind OF traffic. Today,
both those countries. owing to the ever
increasing motor and traction engine
traffic, find themselves faced with the
problem of reconstructing the whole of
the main arteries leading to largely
populated cities and towns America
has not yet been brought face to face
with this modern self-propeled traffic
TO any great extent, for the single rea-
son that her roads as now generally
constructed are not suited for such
traffic.
COST OF MAINTENANCE.
The cost of maintenance on macadam
roads in England, through the advent
of self propelled hnulage traffic, has
become so great an item of expenditure.
that appeals to the government for
state assistance have been made with
such persistcncy and force that Mr..
Lloyd George, the late chancellor of
the eXchequer, saw the necessity for
introducing a tax in his proposed
budget, the revenue of which was to go
toward reconstructing the main county
roads No better roads exist in the
world for ordinary horse edrawn vehi-
clcs and automobile traffic. but II
Americans intend bettering the present
roads OF this country. it behooves them
10 profit by the experiences OF older
countries and build roads to suit the
requirements OF all and any kind OF
traffic.
England Is most conservative coun-
try. America is n most eo-ahead and
progressive one. and what has taken
seven or eight years TO accomplish in
England would perhaps only take one
eixth of that time in this country. The