El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-03-22
W. AsHINGTON. D. G, March q


mobile. The farmers Of the country
have long been willing to put up with
this eXtOrtiOnate Of mud tax, but as
| soon as the automobile became a praC-
ticable means Of travelling the auto
| mobilists began to direct their efforts
/ toward awakening an interest on the
part Of the public in favor Of better
! roads.
The good roads movement now COW
ers every state and almost every COM
/ munity in the country. Wherever there
! is an automobile there is an enthusl-
/ ast1c advocate Of good roads, and ne
/ usually is the type Of man who is able
| to Impress mis- views upon those con-
Z cerned in making the necessary ap-
preparations for road building.
Develops Speed lIaniacs.
If the autOmObilists has awakened
the country to the need of good roads,
he has likewise been destructive of
1 the good roads that were built before
his advent How serious has been this
! destruction may be inferred from the
/ situation Of the French government.
| It had built the finest system Of mac
/ adam roads in the world, at a total cost
/ OF upward Of S625, 600 600. The influx
I OF the automobuists Of the world into
{ france for the enjoyment OF these
I roads brought untold thousands OF
/ speed maniacs into the country, and
| as they Joined the French autOmODll-
+ lists, the havoc wrought upon the roads
/ OF the republic became so great and
: so threatening that a national con-
/ gress OF road experts was called 10
consider new methods OF road cOnsIu
tiOn which would prevent their being
! destroyed by autOmObilists-
/ Careful experimentation has shown
] that where an automobile runs no more
than 20 miles an hour, II inrltcts but
/ little damage upon a macadam road
/ Where this speed Is doubled the dam
/ age IS much heavier than that done BY
/ the heaviest farm wagons, where IL IS
trtpled the road is literally burned 10
/ pieces. all OF the fine dust. which 9TH
erWise serves as a binding material
I ,eelng caught up and forced out 10 the
side of the road. AutOmObilists are
continually complaining OF the heavy
I tolls which are charged on many mac
adam toll roads Yet statistics per-
haps prove that the average automo-
bile does much more damage TO the
roads than IT pays IN the shape OF
tolls. One Of the principal automobile
highways of the country is the Valley
I Turnpike OF Virginia In a stretch Of
about ninety miles the tolls amount to
approximately five dollars AutOmo-
bilists all over the country have de-
clared this to be eNtOrtiOn- The turn
pike officials admit that IL would be
CNtOrtiOn II the autOmObiliSts ObserF-
ed the speed laws Of the state OF VIZ
ginia, but that a speed Of thirty 20
forty miles an hour is the rule and
not the exception, and that under these
conditions even the higher prices
charged do not compensate the turn
pike company for the damage inflicted
upon the roads.
Making Good Roads IS Easy.
It has been found in the last year or
two that the ordinary country dirt
roads may be made into admirable au-
tcmObile highways with a very small
outlay of money In fact, when treat
ed by proper methods, they perhaps bz-
come superior to the-macadam roads
and the cost Of maintenance Is almost
negligible Sometime since J. ". Eich-
niger. a newspaper writer OF Des
MOines, Iowa, originated the dragged |
road IN Iowa He took up the cud-
GELS in a newspaper way for a river TO
river" road across the state. One by
one he lined up the counties Of the
state, with the aid Of the governor
ana whole lot OF beriDbOned badges
and certificates to which the seal OF
the state was attached The result was
that an ordinary rural dirt road was
transformed into a magnificent high I
way, and maintained for year with 1
a total outlay OF only three dollars !
per mile. The road was $50 miles long. I
Seeing the success Of dragging on I
this highway, the remainder OF the /
counties began to emulate the example I
OF those who had made a river to i
river road possible.
Dragging Dirt Roads.
dragged dirt road is made by ]
dragging over any ordinary road a I
number Of heavy timbers, bolted or I
otherwise attached together in such a (
way that the material scraped up, 4
over and above that needed in the lev
cling process, is discharged upon the
center Of the rOadbed. Repeated drag
cOnYeXed surface with the center high
er than the sides Water drains off /
this off a ducks back. and cOnse-
Quently a few hours OF sunshine after
an ordinary rain. leaves the road in
good condition instead Of making Il
ready to become q series OF mud pud-
dies and chuck holes.
Automobile highways are now being
built largely with a ton drnGErnrr NJ a. I
phalt or Of some other bituminOus ma I
teriaL Ter is another favOrite. In
some localities low grade Of mOlasses
IS used as q binding material Tar and
other kindred materials are often put
over common dirt roads with most faT- I
CRADLE results
Gen. DuPOnt's Road.
Perhaps the most remarkable road in /
the United States IS the one General
T. Coleman Dupont is undertaking
to build In the state OF Delaware He
has lately decided to give nearly all his
fortune to the good roads movement 10
the United States. He says he Is con-
WINGED that he can serve humanity bet
ter by building good roads than ia
any others OF the usual ways of spend
ing uDeral fortune for the public
good. General DUPONT already has ar
ranged for a road through the state
of Delaware zoo feet wide in the coun-
try districts and 120 feet wide in
towns he proposes to maintain this
road for the state at a cost which VIII
be less than the interest on the bonds
which would have been required to
build the road. He Will undertake this
work Of maintenance for a period OF
20 years. or any part thereof. He in
tends 10 lay foundation OF five inches
or concrete, over which he will put a
coat OF from two to three inches OF I
track rock or local gravel using as
phalt as a filler.
Plans for 100 Nile speed.
The forty feet IN the center Of the
general Dupont proposes to .
use as a high speed automobile road
He thinks that a speed of 100 miles an
hour is one Of the probabilities OF the
future. on either side OF this auto /
mobile speedway there will be a space
o. fifteen feet, which will be used for
trolley lines. He viii encourage the ]
building OF such lines by rendering {
them the right of way free under ;
stipulatiOns which VIII be fair and
just to the travelling public. Outside [
or these fifteen foot spaces viii be 7
two thirty foot macadam roads for
horse drawn vehicles and slow 1raveI-
Ing automobiles; beyond these. spaces
Of fifteen feet for conduits. etc. and a