The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1912-03-27

UNIMPRovED EARTH ROAD MAXIMUM
LOAD FOL " HORSE TEAM. ONE BALE
OF COTTON, 500 POUNDS.
people, for such roads diminish the
profits Of the farmer because he must
haul fewer loads, make fewer trips
and market his products when the
roads are passable and not when
prices are best. They are a burden
which compels the consumer in the
city to pay heavily, not to swell the
farmers earnings, but to help the
farmer to pay the money value of the
absolute waste of energy and property
due to bad roads.
There would be an immediate and
tangible saving by road improvement
in reducing the cost Of hauling. How
much this saving would amount to in
dollars and cents would depend upon
the character and extent Of the i'm
provement and the amount of traffic
passing over the road.
In 1908 the railroads Of the United
States handled about SO0,O0O,O00 tons
of freight originating on the respec-
tive railroads. OF this amount about
265, 900 tons represented agricul-
tural, forest and miscellaneous prod
ucts, all of which moved over the
country roads at initial or terminal
points or both.
The average haul from farms to
shipping points in the United States
Is about nine and o%ne-Quarter miles.
The average cost of hauling on the
country roads is about % cents per
ton per mile. The total cost of haul
ing 265,O00,OOO tons would therefore
be about $2.16 per ton, or a total of
$572,93O 1000.
The possibilities Of saving by the
improvement of the roads may be un-
derstood when we compare the cost Of
hauling in Germany, France and Eng
land with the cost Of hauling in this
country. The average in these three
countries is about 10 cents per ton per
mile, and in many cases it Is as low as
z cents. If W. cut the rate in the
United States exactly in half by the
improvement of our main roads we
would still be ~ cents over the aver
age for the three European countries
named. If we could do this it follows
that annual saving would be in
the neighborhood Of $25O,O0O,OO0 OH
hauling alone.
The wear and tear on horses and
vehicles due to bad roads may seem a
trivial matter until we take into con-
sideration the fact that there are about
25,OOO,OOO horses and mules in the
United States, valued at S 2,770,OOO,O0O
and about 100000 carriages, buggies
and wagons, valued at about $685. 600,
600. If by the improvement of the
roads the vehicles would last one year
longer and If one-tenth Of the amount
paid out for repairs were saved the re
sultant sum would run far into the
millions.
Property is much more valuable or
an improved road than on an unim:
proved road. This increase in the val
ue Of the land adjacent to the improv,
ed road has been sufficient in many
cases to pay for the improvement. Ar
effort has been made to estimate the
general increase in land values due t.
improved roads. and the average has
been placed at somewhere between S.
and 50 per acre. There are positively
thousands of examples where farms
have been sold at M increase of from
$50 to 5000 per acre over their value
before road improvement.
An investigation recently made il
Ohio shows that there are sixteen az
ricultural counties in the state tina
have less than 10 per cent of the roads