The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-10-24

InP UOOu 1SOdALo VI ALAAORO tCASuS TIC
United States-Oyer Two Million
Miles Uninlproved and Eight Hun
dred Million Dollars a Year Lost
by Bad Roads-What 1t Means to
Our Corn and Cotton Crops-The
New Government Roads Built as
Object LessOns-What the States
Notwithstanding the Convicts-
1t Should Be Managed-Roads of
OH and Cement.
~tCopyright, 1911, by Frank G. Car
Penter.)
Washington, D. c.,
On the corner Of 14th and B streets
southwest, just the Bureau Of Engrav-
ing n Printing, where Uncle Sans
money is made, and across the way
from the new Agricultural Department
where the scientists are making new
plans for the arTner stand a build
ing which has much to do with the
United States of the future. It is not
only connected with the Department
Of Commerce and Labor, but 1t affects
every merchant and every one who
works with his hands. 1t affects the
factories, the farms, and, in short,
every man, woman and child in the
country. It is the office Of public roads,
where Uncle Sam is planning how to
better our highways. It is not an au-
tomobile institution. It is working for
the plain people, and it's motto is good
roads from the farm to the market.
Such roads will cut down h prices
of all farm products. They should re-
duce the cost of living, n put money
into our pockets.
Uncle Sans Road Master.
Have you any idea how much we
49, r,o- l~l ~oo3oO FRA Coior}ic4c
estimate that the cost is over two mil
lion dollars a day, or, in round num-
bers about eight hundred millions a
year. / have had a long talk with Mr..
Logan Walker Page, who has charge
Of this road work, and who perhaps
knows more about our roads than any
other man in the country. He is a
civil engineer who graduated at Har-
ward a decade or SO ago, and who for
a time acted as geologist and director
of the testing laboratory Of the Law
renee Gcientific School there. He was
on the Massachusetts Highway Com
mission, and then became chief of the
division of tests in the Department OF
Agriculture, after which he was made
director Of the United States office OF
public roads. The Improvement Of the
roads practically began With him, and
the great work that is now going on Is
under its management.
Our highways VS.. EufOpcS.
According to Mr.. Page, We ave
country on earth. Europe is grid
ironed with magnificent highways. anc
IN France, Germany and England one
can ride for miles without striking q
stone or a puddle. Said Mr.. Page:
The cost Of hauling over our coun'
try roads is now about % cents pei
ton to the mile. In the European
countries as long as eighteen years
ago the cost had been to II
cents and it is much lOWer TO-DAY
On some Of the roads going into Lon
don, by the motor cars now in use, l
is less than four cents, and by wager
freight can be hauled almost any
where on the continent for from one
half to one-third its cost in the United
States"
A Saving of Millions.
Can you give me some idea Of tn
saving that good roads would bring!
Not accurately" replied Mr.. Page
but l can show you some figure
which will convince you that 1t VII
run into the hundreds Of millions 0
dollars. According to the report Q
the Interstate Commerce
in 1903 our railroads hauled more tina
eight hundred million tons of freigh
which originated on their respectIv'
lines. All this had to be taken to ant
from the cars A great deal OF l
was made up from the products OF IN
farm and the forests, n it is est,
mated that at least two hundre mil
lion tons of it had a haul Of nine mile
at a cost Of % cents a ton. Ihat Oh
alone would represent more than 43
million dollars and other freights an
hauling would run the sum TO %
million dollars, or over. Q sup
pose we cut the wagon freight Dill II
half or to II IL cents a ton, Wh1cl
Sc cfi1l for n hoy-a tho onCt of hauling IL
Europe, and the saving would be IS
million dollars a ear"
Indeed, it is impossible to over
estimate our loss by bad roads. con
tinued Mr.. Page. The Fruit Grow
ers' Association Of Oregon lost IN on
year by damaged fruit from the WI
lanette valley, owing to bad roads
100000. The cost of the fruit Gro.