Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-10-17

The farmer as a rule hauIs his own
produce. He has learned by long ex-
perience not TO charge himself with
when the prices are good. We will
his own labor. If he keeps hired help
it comes to'the same thing. The men
and teams required to raise crop can
haul it at intervals when field work is
slack. The men and teams must be
kept On the farm so as to be ready
when needed. The teams must be fed
whether at work or in the stable. Men
can be hired by the year to better ad
vantage than for shorter times. II
not hired for long terms they will be
absent when the rush is on. The extra
labor cost of the hauling is not there
fore so very large. Again some of
the product, most of the bulky pro-
ducts are consumed at home and
never hauled at all Statisticians make
no allowance for this. They reckon
the gross tonnage at so much a mile.
for the entire output. They charge for
hauling the whole corn crop to the
railroad, and then charge for hauling
the pork and beef made out of it,
whereas the corn never goes off the
farm at all, and the pork and beef
walk to market on their own legs.
Great is the science of statistics.
! Observe also that the maximum
load is not determined so much by
the mud as by the grades. The steep
est hill on the line fixes the weight.
In improving the road some of the
sharpest grades will be cut down, but
on many roads hills will remain simply
because of the expense of grading. Sci
entific road construction has los limits,
the character of the country and the
cost
The other part of the subject is
| little different. Sometimes prices are
! high sometimes they are low, more
correctly perhaps we should say, some
times they are higher. The farmer
wants to take advantage of the best
prices. Because of bad roads he can
not do this and sustains a loss.
But consider what determines price?
Supply and demand we are told. But
in the long run the quantity of food
products consumed regulates prices A
permanent advance in price can only
result from an increased consumption:
any mount of improved roads cannot
mand. 1t can only make the supply
more uniform. Thus times of compar-
alive scarcity when prices are abnor-
mally high will not occur. The farm
er will have no incentive to bring his
produce at times of unusually high
price for there will be no such times.
Thus the city consumer will reap the
benefit Or, if facility of transporta-
ton has a tendency to stimulate pro-
duction, as is sometimes claimed, the
net result will be an increased supply
and lower range CT prices. Is it pos
sible that the city gentlemen who are
so earnestly advocating good roads
have thought this all out?
Thus the farmers savings which are
to pay his share of the cost vanish in
to thin air. And the proposed divi-
sion OF the expense, the state paying
a part and the county a part and the
township the balance, is another
fraud. While it is true in our own
county the cities pay some three
fourths of the tax, it is also true that
they collect the money with which the
tax is paid out of the products of the
farm. The farmers will think this all
out before they consent to tax them
selves in any such manner.
OF course good roads are good to
have. and there are plenty or reasons
why they should be constructed by
economical methods and within reason
able limits of cost. But such fallacies
lnture the cause of good roads. The
farmer cannot be deceived except he
remembers it.
When we speak Of good roads we
think at once of hard roads, social |
ed gravel or macadam. And such APP |
pears to be the understanding of the
state highway commission. But we
ought to realize that such roads are
out of the question, both for lack of
material and on account of cos. And |
they are not wanted. Except in a few |
places where the road crosses a swamp |
or low ground the properly graded and !
well drained earth road is the thing. |
It will be In condition for travelling on |
an average II months in the year, will |
save many a valuable horse from go
ing lame and becoming useless, and |
will prolong the life of the vehicle.
The continued agitation for hard roads
is a positive hindrance to the cause
of road improvement.
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