Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1912-06-07
REDUCED TAXES SHOW
GOOD ROADS BENEFIT
improved Roads Yisld Greater Income
and Lesson Cost Of
Haulino,

Hauling.
No road Is as expensive as a bad
road. We spend about 100000. 600
year on our roads, and they are
costing us In addition bad roads tax
OF at least $3.50. 100000 annually. II
actually costs the average farmer as
much 20 haul bushei OF wheat from
/ his farm to the railroad as 1t does
to ship Il from New York TO Liver
/ pool. distance OF 3io0 miles.
I Aside from the restrictive effect OF
bad roads on our schools, cur churches
and our social development; aside
( from their influence upon the alarm.
Z ing movement Of our rural population
to the cities in fact eliminating all
( questions save that of dollars aud
cents, II is easily capable of proof that
( the loss to the people Of the United
/ States annually on account OF bad
roads would more than ray for their
general and widespread Improvement.
The burden OF bad roads bears heay-
/ lily upon the shoulders OF the entira
American people. They diminish the
profits OF the farmer because he must
/ haul smaller loads mako more 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
Z "a - nd
erty due to bad roads,
4 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
I dollars and cents would depend upon
the character and exteIt Of the Inn
proyement and the amount OF traffic
| passing over the road.
| In 1908 the railroads Of the United
States handled about sQ0,e00,00 tons
OF freight originating on the respec-
tive railroad. or this amount. about
/ 265, 100000 tons represented agricul-
I tural. forest and miscellaneous prod
utcs, all OF which moved over the
county roads at initial or terminal
points, or both.
The average haul from farms 10
shipping points In the United States
is about "a miles. The average cost
of hauling on the couatry roads Ii
about 25 cents per ton per mile The
total cost Of hauling 265.000,0o0 tons
would therefore, be about s2.l6 per
ton. or total OF $572. 100000.
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 II Is as low
as cents II we cut the rate In the
United States exactly In half by the
improvement of our main roads, we
would still be liz cents over the aver
age for the three European countries
named. If we could do this, Il fol-
lows that our annual saving would be
In the neighborhood of S50,000,000 on
hauling alone,
The wear and tear on horses and
vehicles due to bad roads may seem
trivial matter until We take into
consideration the fact that there are
lbout $4,000, 900 horses and mules In
The United States valued at ,000,-
900 and about 100000 carriages. bug
gies and wagons valued at about $685.
100000 How much longer the wa.
CONS, carriages and buggies would
last, and how much smaller the bill
for repair Of harness and equipment
for repairs were saved. the resultant
Improvement of the roads, the We
hicles would last one year longer, and
| r one-tenth OF the. amount paid out
for repairs we're saved, the resultant
sum would run far into The millions.
/ Property is much more valuable on
an improved road than on an unim-
roved road. This increase In the
value OF the land adjacent to the Inn
proved road has been sufficient in
many cases to pay for the improve
ment. An effort has been made TO
estimate the general increase in land
value due to improved reads, and the
average has been placed at somes
where between 81 and 80 per acre.
There are positively thousands OF ex-
amples where farms have been sold at
an increase OF from $50 to 5000 per
acre. over their value before road inn
proxement.
An investigation recently made in
Tho Etota ~ Clhfo ahnws that there are