The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-07-01
BAD ROADS EXPENSIN
TELLS now HEAVILY THE BURDEN
BEARS ON ALL CLASSES AND
RESTRICT THE CouSTRS's
DEVELOPMENT.
BY LOGAN WALLER PAGE.
J. Director, Officc of Public Roads
United States Department of
ApriErsktura


ually costs the average farmer as
much &c haul bnshel Of wheat from
his farm to the railroad. "a il does
c vtr.p It from New York 10 liverpool.
d'stsEce Of 210o miles
Aside from the restrictive effect of
.aa roads on our schools, our church
-, enc our social Developments; aside
rom their influence upon the alarm
hs movement Of our rural popula-
ton to the cities, in fact eliminating
ma cents, II is easily capable Of proof
III questions save that of dollars
hat the loss 10 the people of the
lifted States annually on account Of
iai roads would more than pay for
heir general and widespread improve
neul.
Burden Falls ON All
The burden Of bad roads bears
leat,lv upon the shoulders Of the en-
ira american people. They dtmin-
all the profits OF the farmer because
ne must haul smaller loads. make
more trips and market his products
when the roads are passable and not
when prices are best They are a
1urden which conrpels the consumer
n the city 70 pay heavily. not to
well the farmers earnings. but t.
lelp the farmer To pay the money
'alue of the hsointe waste Of energy
md property due to bad roads.
There would be an immediate and
I ngihle saving by road Improvement
In reducing the COST Of hauling How
much this saving would amount TO IN
7nslars and cents would depend upon
he character and extent Of the i'm
ana the amount Of traf'l-
aFeipg over the road
IT 1908 the railroads of the United
@tatee handled ahnut 500 coo 1fh tons
# freight originating on the respec-
We railroads. Of this amount. about
st5 GOO 900 tons represented agricul-
eral forest and miscellaneous pro-
ducts, all Of which moved over the
pur'ry roads at Initial or terminal
at II Is, or both
The ACREAGE haul from firms &c
shipping points In the United States
Is about "a miles. The average cost
Of hauling on the country roads il
> bout twenty-three cents per ton per
mile The total cost of hauling 265.-
100000 tons would. therefore. be
about $216 per tom or a total oil
s572,03G. 600
Examples Abroad
The possibilities Of saving by tbs
Improvement of the roads may be
when VIE compare this
nost OF hauling In Germany. France
and England with the cost Of haul
ing in this country. The average lii
teee three countries Is about ten
cents per ton per mile. and In ma ny
II is as low as seven cents. II
~e cut the rate in the United States
EXACTLY in half by the Improvement
If Our main roads We would still be
J - cents over tho average for the
three European countries named. II
We could do this. 1t follows that our
ar nual saving would ba in the neigh
bnrhood of $3.50, 000. 900 on hauling
alone.
The wear and tear on horses and
vehicles due to bad roads may seem
a tribal matter until we take into
consideration the fact that there are
about 25, 600, 600 horses and mules n
the United states valued at sa.770
900, 900 and about / 300, 600 carriages
puggies and wagons valued at about
sS3, 600 600 How much longer the
wagons carriages and buggies would
fdSi tdEEO llpW Hutch Siifdfi6T lIe biiis
for repair of harness and equipment
would be with hard, s'nooth roads,
Is only matter OF conjecture. If by
the Improvement of the roads. the
vehicles would last one year longer
and II one-tenth of the amount paid
out for repairs were saved the re-
suItant sum would run far into the
Increase Property Naines.
Property Ia much more valuable on
IN improved road than on an unim-
proved road, This increase In the
value OF the land adjacent to the i'm
proved road has been sufficient In
many cases to pay for the improve
nent An effort has been made to es-
innate the general increase in land
talues due to improved roads. and
he average has been placed at some
where between 81 and 50 per acre.
There are positively thousands Of
Examples where farms have been sold
1t an increase Of from $50 to 5000
Der acre, over their value before reoad
provement.
An investigation recently made in
he State of Ohio shows that there
ire sixteen agricultural counties in
he State that have less than 10 per
cent of the roads improved. while
here are forty-five agricultural
that have more than 10 per
,ent improved. The average price OF
arm lands In the sixteen counties.
according to the report of the United
states census, was s4s.50 per acre,
while the average price OF land In the
counties was s65.7a per
lcre. In other words, the average
,rice OF farm lands in the good ROAD
was sf7.29 or 80 per cent
more than in the poor road counties.
When we consider the fact that there
re s73.o00,0 600 acres of farm lands
n the United States, the possibilities
long this line are rather startling.
even assuming that the land would
,e increased only SIS an acre. the
otal enhancement on farm iands
lone would he s4rs65. 100000,
VIII Help Farmer.
Improved roads Will yield an ad-
Iittonal income by enabling the farm
r to cultivate with profit land which
otherwise would be less probably
mployed. The margin Of profit TO
he farmer is the difference between
he cost OF production plus the cost
+ TRANSPORTATION. and tho selling
rice When his lands are so situat-
q that the cost OF hauling uses up
he difference between tina cost of
reduction and the selling price. pro-
uction must cease or be carried on at
loss.
There are about 10000, 900 acres
T nnimproved farm land IN the
'nited States. An average annual
rtft ~ fity cents an acre on this
md would mean net gain to th~