The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1911-06-27
ADD BILLIONS no ! NATIONAL
WEALTH SAYS UNITED STATES
EXPERT. m

WASHINGTON, b. d, June 26. Be,
tween haK'a billion and billion dol.
lars would be. saved annually in the
United States II every State would inn
prove its main highways to the high.
est point Of efficiency.
Calculations just made by the Uni.
ted States Office OF Public Roads show
that to affect this enormous saving
Throughout the country 1t will be nee
essary to improve only about twenty
per cent Of the roads.
There are now about 2,150,000
miles Of road in the United States.
Two hundred thousand miles, or about
9 per cent. are improved injsome man.
ner. TO bring the number OF miles
up to 20 per cent. 1t will benecessary
to improve 10000 more miles. While
this task may seem stupendousiit is
estimated that II can be accomplished
by a probable average expenditure OF
$1,000 a mile, or $1,75O, 100000 for q
fairly complete system. We're each
State to put $4,O00,O0OO into the i'm
I:provement Of its roads, the work could
be accomplished in a very short time.
"a complete system of roads," said
Logan Waller Page, director Of the
UNITED States Office of Public Roads
in discussing the road movement that
is sweeping oeyr the country us an
economic necessity. A few figures
will illustrate the stupendous saving
that could be made.
"There are, for instance, nearly half
million automobiles in the United
States atthe presenftime; their value
roughly estimated, is close TO three
quarters of a billion dollars. There
are, in addition, 21i040,00O horses and
4.123.OOO mules, the number growing
steadily despite the advent Of motor
vehicles. The value of the horses is
about 2,276,SGS, 900; the value Of the
mules, $5OO,O0,OO0.
"Then take the pleasure vehicles
They number 100000, with a value Of
$51 100000. Then take the wagons
used for commercial purposes, They
number $4,000, the total value being
$31, 100000. The Wear anl'tear on
lthese vehicles, as q restilt Of bad roads
Is nearly 25per cent. A complete sys.
item OF improved highways would cut
this lossin half.
"The great saving in TRANSFORMATION
Iof all kinds ,oof products, including
! those Of the mills as we'll as those of
the soil, would amount to many mil
lions Of dollars annually. In The case
of the corn crop of the South alone, no
less than 100000 would be saved in
transportation despite the fact that
most o fthe corn there Is for home
consumption.
wherever q new road is built or an
old one improved the value Of the
NEARBY land rises automatically.
This increase in itself is sufficient in
most cases to pay for the improve
ment. The profit from the country
from this source would he almost ines
timable. In fact, it is n very conserva'
tive estimate that the saving through
out the country, from all sources, as q
result Of the improvement Of twenty
per cent. Of the roads, would be some.
where between half billion and a bill
lion dollars every year. And this saw
ing could be accomplished by an eX
nenditure OF 100000 in each State
the first year and a much smaller sum
each year thereafter for Maintenance
The whole thing depends, Of course
upon systematizlng and all the states
working together, but it would seem
that the ora Of road building that has
begun is tending towards these re
/ suits"