The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-10-22

should be made. They will be han
niea somewhat after the method OF
belt. vac @oiN
In addition to these things ,ho
! ofice of public roads is n traipinr
school for highway engineers Our
men are all civil engineers, the gradu
| ates or the best or the colleges who
nave passed our examinations. After
working with us short time they
are in great demand over the country
where road Improvement is now go.
ing on. Many of them are employed
oy the States or by cities and ooun-
ties. where the salaries are larger
than those paid by the government"
What the States Are Doing.
Tho convention hcre turned to tho
work OF road Improvement now go
Ing on throughout the States. when
Mr.. Page said:
Within the past fifteen years
nearly half of the States of the Union
have adopted the principle of giving
state aid to road building New York
has authorized tho issuance of fifty
million dollars, to be spent at the ratio
of Ave million dollars n year, the vari-
GUS counties to supply an equal
| amount. a great deal of such i'm
| provement is going on In the South.
appropriated
of a million dollars n year to be spent
| under the State highway department
and Louisiana will levy tax of one
| fourth of n mill on all of her taxable
| property as n highway fund. Ala.
| bama has made extensive appropria-
lions, and Maryland will spend this
year n million and n quarter dollars
in the same way. At the present time
the sixteen Southern States have
available for road expenses about
forty million dollars, which is just
double the amount devoted to such
purposes In 1904. Indeed. the South
has become highly interested III I'M.
proving Its roads
working the Convicts.
az understand that many of the
!, Southern states arc working their
roads with convict labor
Eyes, and think with great profit
In Virginia the State convicts arc en-
ployed in road building, and the super
vislng engineers say that tho CONVEY
labor is even more effective than paid
! labor Georgia has nearly 5000 pris-
oners at work on It's roads, louisiana
Will use It's State convicts in the same
way. and part of the Alabama ap-
preparation for the roads comes from
the convict labor fund ! see no rea-
son why convlcts should not be worked
on the roads. In such cases they do
not compete with free labor as in the
prison factories. and the open air work
should be healthy"
What Good Roads Cost.
What does good road cost?"
asked
THAT depends much on the location
and the materials at hand. 1t liz
cheaper to huild good roads in the
South than in the North. for the South
ern wages are lower and the working
81
The most OF the Southern soil is good
for the purpose. There is plenty of
gravel and sand-clay, and we can make
macadam roads there cheaper than in
the North.
In Louisiana n macadam road can
be made for $500 Il mile and the
average cost in nine different States
of the South is less than $4,000 per
mile In Butler county. Ohio. where
they are now making bitumlnous maca-
dam roads. the cost is $1,000 u mile,
while in Massachusetts the average
macadam costs $4,000 per mile. The
average cost of making State roads in
New York is more than $4,000. and
Ohio. which has made many brick
roads, has recently let out contract
for the construction of five miles OF
such road near Revenna. which will
cost altogether more than 10000. or
over $4,000 per milo. Good roads
cost all the way from few hundred
to ten or fifteen thousand dollars per
mile, according to their character and
the materials of which they are con-
structed"
Roads of oil and Cement.
Before leaving the Office of public
roads | took walk with Mr. Page
through his laboratories. Tho bureau
has a large force OF chemists. engi.
neers and other scientists, who are
planning out and testing materials
for the roads of the country. They
are always experimenting as to new
roads, and among many other things
have made valuable discoveries as To
the use OF oil and cement on the roads
Tho ideal road of the future will be
without dust and some model road,
now constructed are bound together
With bitumen and other materials
which make them practically inde
structible. One of the most valuable &
discoveries OF recent years as to roads
and all sorts OF masonry is an inyen.
ton of Mr. Page, which has beer
patented by him, but which is glycE
to the public without charge This u
a process of mixing a little oil wifi
concrete or cement which makeg Il.
absolutely waterproof. Upon sues s
concrete the water stands In glo-5a
bules as 1t does unon glass. and ifs
the cement mixture is whitewasfetS
en- bricks they become waterproof.