The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-11-30
BY ISAAC L. TOTEM.

Although much has been said in the
columns of the Palladium during the
past few weeks regarding the good
| roads movement which has been start
ed in Wayne county, believe that too
much cannot be said on this subject;
consequently, will devote this space
today to a few remarks regarding our
public highways.
In the first place, | do not believe
that it is a part of the farmers bust
ness at all to occupy his time building
roads. AS the editor Of this paper
says, 1.-THE construction and maintain
ence of highways is an industrial art,
and this work must be done by ex-
perts. The average farmer knows lit
tie of the science of road building,
still the county has instructed the up
keep of it's expensive highways to his
care"
Very few farmers in this county
have the time to work on the roads,
and it is a very difficult job to get
many of them to work out their road
taxes.
Every farmer in this county knows
full well what good roads mean to
him from profit standpoint, and it
is not because he is negligent that he
does not get out and do more road
work, but it is because he hasn't the
time.
1t is a fact, of course, that it is to
every farmers advantage to know how
to construct and maintain a good road
bed. but the work of road building
proper should not be left to him. 1t
should be under the supervision of
those who have, through study and
experience, found out how to build
roads that will make the transport
ing of farm articles as economical as
possible.
OF course, the farmer is not the only
one who travels the rural highways,
but good roads really mean more to
him from a profit standpoint than it
does to others.
Under the most favorable condi-
| lions it sometimes costs more to place
certain farm products upon the market
! than it does to produce them. The fol
| lowing is an extract from an article
written by c. H. Claudy:
But here are some figures which
are under the established facts; they
minimize rather than emphasize the
| true conditions. There are more than
| 200, 100000 tons of farm products haul
[ ed over the roads of the United States
every year. The average distance
the mean of the great and the least
| from farm to market, is "a miles. The
average cost of hauling in the United
States is from twenty-three to twenty
five cents per ton per mile. The aver
age cost, on the good roads only, of
this country is from ten to twelve
cents per mile.
multiply "a average distance) by
twentythree cents average cost per
ton per mile) by 20O,O0O,00O minimum
tonnage hauled), and the result is the
tidy sum of $432, 10000 spent yearly in
hauling by the farmers of this coun.
try If the cost of hauling were cut in
half, they would save $216,200,000
which would build nearly 100000 miles
of good roads all by itself"
These figures show US an amazing
| fact, and they seem almost incredible;
yet, when we take into consideration
some of our own experiences right at
home, we can readily see that Mr.
Claudy's figures are not beyound the
| bounds of reason.
, A few weeks ago l had charge OF
moving 5000 bushels of onions to mar
ket. The distance from the farm tC
the market was four and One-hal
miles. Half of that distance was over
a dirt road which was in a very bad
condition, making it impossible to
haul more than forty bushels to the
| load
And, owing to the bad road the
teams could not make only two loads
a day. 1t cost four dollars a day fol
each team; that made cost Of five
cents bushel just for hauling a dis
lance of four and one-half miles.
If there had been good roads all the
way to town it would have been ar
easy matter to have hauled between
eighty and one hundred bushels pei
load and the teams could have made
three trips instead of two.
l do not make this last statement
without knowing what could have beer
done. 1t was done by some farmers
who lived even greater distance