Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1912-10-16
WASTING ROAD MONEY.
FREE DEMONSTRATIONS ANY
WHERE BY UNCLE SAM.
THE NEED OF MAINTENANCE - ROADS
THAT RAISE FARM VALUES
AND IMPROVE SCHOOLS.

SADIE. OH tuAc kfcHt haktdht NC 6tG
spending from all sources about s15oyooo,-
0J0 year, which is about what England
spends to maintain its 10000 miles of
good roads. But there the cost of hauling
is less than half what It is re-and the
cost ofihauiing is every bit as important
as freight rates.
As MIR. Page explains in a recent issue of
Worlds Work, "more important than the
actuali cost of building roads is provi-
sion for their continuous maintenance.
In Europe, road once built is kept in q
constant state of perfection. In our
country, however, it is rarely touched
after it is built. This neglect with us is
| not due to any lack OF knowledge in our
| engineers, but to the ignorance of the
public, which prompts them to limit their
appropriations to construction only.
AT we would only adopt patrol system
such as France has, by which every five or
six miles of road is under the care of one
man who is held responsible for its con-
dition at all times, probably not more
than 20 per cent. OF our roads would re-
| quire actual construction. We should.
therefore, begin our reform with main
tenance, and resort to construction only
when investigation shows that harder
surface is necessary.
"we can never hope to have all our
roads surfaced with hard materials; such a
step would not only require more money
than we can afford to spend, but would be
unnecessary. For about 20 per cent. of
the roads OF any district carry about 90
per cent. OF the traffic.
II, then, we could construct the 20 per
cent. of important roads as rapidly as
funds would permit, and maintain all
roads by the patrol system, every require
ment would be met. And this is not a
fanciful idea. There are few counties in
this country where the patrol system of
maintenance could not be adopted at the
present annual expenditure. and give
vastly better results. The office OF public
roads of the United States department of
agriculture is willing at all times to
demonstrate this fact to any reasonable
number OF counties for the mere asking"
This is briefly the situation in which we
find our road management to-day: The
state highway departments, with skilled
engineers, using in the main the best ma
teriaIs and methods Of construction, are
building roads that are unsurpassed in the
world. They are gradually bringing
about systematic methods OF maintenance;
indeed, more investigstive work with new
materials and methods is being carried on
by the state high way departments in the
United States than is being done in other
countries. 1t is to these departments,
therefore, that we must look for real
progress, and the scope should be enlarged
and their appropriations should be in
creased.
L. l. Hewes, another government expert,
gives another aspect OF the same situation
in plea for q traffic census such as is
taken in France. In an article in the
same magazine he says:
1--WE may some day have national road
traffic census ss France ana other Eu-
ropesn countries have. France began
counting travel in 1874; and in 1918 there
will be a new census, the eleventh. The
French census OF 1903 showed that at ten
cents q mile the average annual charge for
hauling on about 5000 miles was a SIS
per mile. On the roads out of Milan,
| Italy, in 1903 the annual traffic charge at
5.s cents q ton per mile was fls, 200 per
mile on $50 miles of radial trunk roads.
"Whst is the annual cost OF hauling In
our own couptrys The interstate COM
merce commission publishes carefully
complied statistics OF all our railroad
operations annually. In 1910 their figures
showed that nearly b billion tons OF
freight were received and handled by our
railroads. A large part OF this immense
tonnage passed over our highways, prob
ably at least $50 million tons. OF high
ways there are in all 100000 miles with
less than 300, 900 miles improved. We can
only estimete the bill for hauling, but it il
apparently little less than $500 mile on
the 20 per cent. Of our roads which do
most OF the work. The total would then
be s352, 000, 900. A saving OF 10 per cent.
Of this sum in hauling would therefore
justify an outlay of go, 900 900 with in
terest at per cent.
statewide benefits from good roads are
visible already. Harold Parker, for ten
years member OF the highway commits
| SANA< ~ AAeosoSaasSttos doSiniNa at q iilctt-
ing in Newark last February that there
was not one abandoned farm on a state
road in his state. From New York comes
bulletin 81 Of the department of agricul-
ture in January OF this year. 1t lists
1,002 farms offered for sale. The report
shows the acreage, soil, fruit trees, stock,
etc., and gives the distance to the shipping
point and market towns and the kind NJ
roads to them. The average value OF all
farms located on earth roads is s35 an acre,
and the average value OF the farms on
macadam or other improved roads is SOL
an acre.
"Other advantages of the good roads
have appeared. For example: James
Ashley, division superintendent of schools
in Spottsylvania county, Va, reports the
| official increase in attendance at both