The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-09-28

FACTS AND FIGURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE FARMERS.
levo that the wealth of which uu Great a large portion is expended
to the bsta ADVANTAGE? tori instance there is tho mattero of roads There
ove which o transport your products. wouldn't it be a fine thing for
you if there wa a good permanent stone road Quilt pas you door?
Yes. 1 hear o ay. it would. but the country is % thinIy populated, and
this. Let IS see what could be ont if society a organized in a sane
me sensible manner, instead of in the insane anarchistic and idotic way
According to Maurice {. Elandge, Chief Of Records Office of Public
United States, in 1904. 2,151,57o miles of public road, outside of Alaska
and Island ossessions or this mileage only 15a,sc2 miles, or ia per
.n. were prov eorom TO te same authority 1t cost to build
permanent stone maeadamized roads, IS follows:
Western States ".-...~.-...... s51ss72 per mile.
Northern States ................... s5749so pr mile.
Making a n average cos of s5.415a7 per mile, $ the average cost of
a first class ston road. from 12s feet to 1871 feet wide. To make the
figuring easier, W c will assum that the average cost would be s5,5oooo
it oul undoubtedly be much less than that were road b2"1iaS conduct
would eost s11. sas,5s5,ooO to build this 2l5157O miles of road. This is
ns se m% nsn s nnp o h. "a n% we could "Et ~" eve rsnn build Id , ,ha s m"sa road: Vet Let
thsreport of the Secretary of h Navy. FOL 1910. These reports
sec what We could do if W e had a much money available r road build
ing as We have fol numbering machines.
1a mean that every time IA hroadside is fired nearly three and
half miles of good graded stone road is shot away. They have target
practice often in the Navy. And you farmers ofw West Virginia travel in
is the uea, little III Of a5,as7. o2soo. That sum would build over six
THOUSAND four hundred miles of goo o OF in West virstnta-m:
o." IN ns" m scro om5m"' ,a to , travel rend in ,ho n CREEKS sm.o,,, =, ,o >. ~,
the cost OF hull and machinery Of III vessels sin the u. s. Navy a
The costo repairs to these vesscls to Jun 80. 1soC samc report p 100
as sa5O75.ao1o7, making a total expended on these vessels. exclusive
of their fighting equipment (Which would cost nearly as much as the
vessels themselves of s151. SST .oO579. That mou of money would
build over twenty-seven Thousand miles of good stonc road in West v-
pinia
Now let's take "a glance at The report of the Secretary of War On
page 81. eport of 1910. that gentleman informs us that the cost of the
would bund som roa toe jsta little matter offs something over TWEEN
cahami road But still West Virginia farmers continue o drive III
tho creeks. IN votct to continue the system which, AXE hi vas ~ wealth
from the toilerS of the country, and worse than wastes it,
The cos of h. permanent equipment of the army Cannon. forts.
horses. stores. etc., is not included lin the above n in HI figures re-
lativc to hi money invested in permanent equipment or the ANY only
Il small part is included. The nav yards. machine shops, etc, are not
included.
Accordiny TO an editorial in .o Hor vo.. w,u, ,,oo, .-..,
ANNUAL cost ofm iitarism in he United States is $500 900 900 Re
or the State Militia. 1t includes simply h cost of maintaining the
army an navy. in fighting condition. Suppose we concluded tina VIC
could get along with mi hall of this expense-suppoe w e concluded
that the modest little SUI of 2OOOOOOO per ear a enough for us
to spend in keeping ourselves in shape or organized murder. Letss sec
what we coud d o in h "A of road building with the $3.50 100000
saved. Well. each ear W e could bund just a little more than 45.454
miles of Doc Macadam road. n other words. w could transform every
II of II unsraded trails in the great State of West Virginia into a
first class graded Macadanized road. That is what W G could d o in ONE
YEAR by cutting down TIL cost f miHtarisnl one-half
Read that over again. let those figures sink into our head. Would
it pay. or wouldn't ito WOuld it Jay rs better o spend this amount OF
building roads. or will it pay better to keep Of spending it fr n
arnor plate an rifles n high explosives, a other Devil invented m
chinery of destruction?
But suppose W e We're really civilized, md decided to abolish miliarism
altogether. IN use thu money thus saved to build roads What could w
do? Well using the $780, oo. zoo hat We expend ea yea for road
building. we could Maca1anuize the entire 215157O miles If road in h
United States in just a little over wentythree years. Every nile If ii.
Not just the MAIN roads. nut ALI. he roads in he UnitedS States.
Just mediate a while over those figures won't you Mr. Farmer you