Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1911-04-07

The total road tax paid in Tazewell
county for the year 1910 was $29, =
958. IL. Of this amount the Norfolk
and Western Railway paid ST, 334. 81
more than one fourth of all the
road tax. Read the following arti-
Gle, letter to Mr.. st. Clair, of
what Mr.. L. E. Johnson, the Pres
ident of the railway, has to say:
Hon. Geo. W. st. Clair,
Tazewell, Virginia,
My Dear Sir In reply to your
two letters of the 9th inst, in
which you call my attention to the
fact that the Judge of Circuit court
of Tazewell county has ordered the
polls to be opened in your county on
the 18th day of April to submit to
the voters the question of issuing
$625, 600 of bonds for the purpose of
constructing roads in your county,
and your inquiry that as the N. and
w, is one of the largest taxpayers,
whether we are in favor Of the con-
|
most emphatically answer YES,
and the reasons therefor are based
upon an economic business PROPOSE
tion, coupled with the unquestionable
benefits raising to the people of Taze-
well county from an educational, re-
ligious and social standpoint.
1t has been reliably and authentic
ally stated that more than $40, 600,
600 are wasted on the public roads of
the United States yearly through ig-
norance, Incompetence and indiffer-
ence, and l have no doubt that it could
be demonstrated that Virginia has
borne its proportion of this tremen-
dous waste of energy by lack of pro-
per work on roads. / quote as author
ity for this statement Mr.. Logan
Waller Page, director of the United
States office of Public Roads. The
way Mr.. Page figures it out, the an
nual loss due to incorrect and made
quate methods in tn, construction,
maintenance and administration of
public roads may be set down at
$40. 900, 600, while the burden i'm
posed through excess cost Of trans
portaion from the farm to the rail-
road station reaches the impressive
sum of $3.50, 100000, making a to.
tai of $3.50, 600, 900. Let the citizens
of Virginia impress upon their minds
what proportion of this vast sum of
mr. 30
as losing by lack of good roads
through any and all sections of the
state. Would it not be possible to de-
termine the aggregate weight of
crops of all characters, including pro-
ducts of the forests and mines hauled
to market annually in your county,
determining the average haul and the
average cost? You will then be able
to make calculp tion a. to what the
cost per haul would be with improved
roads.
The authority above quoted also
states that the average haul in the
United States is ga miles and the
average cost is Csc per ton per mile.
Comparing this with Europe, where
good roads are the rule rather than
the exception, the cost of hauling is
much less than half what it is here.
Hauling on the famous highways of
France, for example, costs but 10
cents per mile per ton, in England
the same; while Belgium reduces
this low rate half cent, and Ger
many caps the climax with an aver
age of 8.5 cents per ton per mile for
transportation on her highways. 1t
would, therefore, seem reasonable to
assume that with high grade class
of highways in your county, the cost
of hauling to the point of railroad
transportation might we'll be reduced
one half at least, and if this were
done it is susceptible of demonstra-
tion as to whether or not it would be
to your interest to issue $625, 900
worth of bonds to improve your roads.
l feel perfectly confident in saying
that you would find it exceedingly
profitable and thet you could we'll
afford to pay the interest on these
bonds and it would be most profit
able undertaking to borrow the mon
ey on bonds for building highways on
t he abvoe basis, but the whole in
dictment against bad roads has not
yet been recited.
1 am persuaded that great waste
, of money is constantly being made by
, too much land being occupied fol
highway purposes and the amount OF
) ground wasted in this manner is en-.
> tirely unnecessary and results ii
, great loss to the communities. The
e average highway is Sc feet wide anc
t only small part of this space is &C
r tually needed for roadway, the res
q being devoted to weed culture. Thes,