Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-28
UNIFORM SYSTEM
OF ROADS NEEDED
Joseph Jones, Prominent Automo-
biIist. Tells of the Excellent
Highways in Europe
GOVERNMENTS TAKE ACTION
Problems of Construction and
Maintenance May Be Consid-
cred by National Body
GOVERNMENTS TAKE ACTION

"The most potent factor for the fu-
automobile industry and it's allied in
terests in this country is the necessity
of uniformity and need of standardized
tion in the construction of new roads
as we'll as the proper maintenance of
them" was the statement made by
Joseph w. Jones, a we'll known auto
mobilist. who has returned from a
three months visit in Europe, hav-
ing covered about 5000 miles in touring
through all of the principal countries
on the continent.
As a special agent of the department
of agriculture of the United States
government, Mr. Jones, who is also a
director of the Touring club of Ameri-
ca, was delegated to represent the
government at the second international
road congress held at Brussels, and
was most enthusiastic in his praise of
the success of the convention, which
was attended by the representatives of
all the countries interested in road
Improvement.
NEED UNIFORMITY IN SYSTEM
zone of the great lessons of the in
ternational road congress- said Mr..
Jones, 'is the absolute necessity for
the introduction of a uniform system
of road building throughout the United
States similar to the systems which
have been adopted in France and
Great Britain where the highways de-
crease in the width according to the
Importance of the traffic. From my
observation, continued Mr. Jones, 1.-The
roads in this country. especially
throughout the south, are too wide
and lack the requisite depth of foun-
dation necessary to insure per1nanency.
The idea that some highway engineers
have of simply laying a foundation of
a few inches in depth is altogether
wrong, and roads so constructed are
expensive to maintain and must be
rebuilt in a short time. consider that
the English roads, although the mar
rowest, are the best roads over which
I toured in Europe, especially as the
surface was thoroughly tarred and
covered with a light coating of sand. -
The Royal Automobile club of Great
Britain, the Automobile Association of
London and the Touring Club of
France are all actively identified In
this good roads movement and are
conducting exhaustive experiments in
the construction of an improved type
of roadbed and have the cooperation
of their respective governments in
this splendid work.
Through the efforts of the officials
of the Touring Club of France a splen-
did new road, 300 miles in length. along
the Reviera, in outhern France, is
now being completed and will be the
finest stretch of roadway in the world.
The plan adopted abroad provides for
the erection of permanent sign posts
by the government giving the distances
and the names of the cities and viii
lagos as well as indicating dangerous
turns and crossings.
The new roads in Great Britain are
as smooth as a billiard table and,
although the surface had been treated
with a thin coating of tar, the con-
struction had been so thorough that
huge traction engines drawing cars
loaded with stone and gravel had no
noticeable effect upon them.
What is required in America, l be
lieve, is the organization of road
congress, similar to that which has
been held annually abroad. This con-
gress to comprise all of the highway
commissioners and road engineers of
the various states and municipalities,
and I think that Logan Waller Page,
the director of the United States Of
flee of. nublic roads at Washington,
would be agreeable to assisting in the
organizat tion and conduct of such a
congress, Nnereat an interchange VI
ideas upon all subjects pertaining to
the highways, their construction and
maintenance could be discussed to the
advantage of every state, county and
city, of which there are many spending
millions upon millions of dollars each
wear for the improvement of their
highways"
Mr.. Jones stated that he found the
general automobiling conditions excel
lent throughout Europe; the automo-
bile agents and dealers were selling
cars Just as fast as they could be
turned out by the manufacturers, and
that indications for 1911 were most
promising, not only i'll the sale OF au-
tomobiles. but the accessories and
everything pertaining to them as well.