The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1912-06-06

LOAD FOR TWO 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 aud not when
prices are best. They are 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 Swing 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 in
.5rovement and the amount of traffic
passing over the road.
In 1908 the railroads of the United
States handled about 100000 600 tons
of freight originating on the respec-
tive railroads. OF this amount about
265,0OO000 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 one-quarter miles.
The average cost of hauling on the
country roads is about % cents per
ton per mile. The total cost of haul.
Ing 265,0Oo000 tons would therefore
be about $2.16 per ton, or a total of
572,999G0O.
The possibilities OF saving by the
improvement of the roads may be I'm.
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 cent? per ton per
mile, and in many cases it IS rs low as
cents. If we cut the rate in the
United States exactly in half by the
improvement of our main roads we
would still be Its cents over the aver
age for the three European countries
named. If we could do this it follows
that our annual saving would be in
the neighborhood of $25o00o,oo0 on
hauling alone.
The wear and tear on horses and
vehicles. due to bad roads may seem
trivial matter until we take into con-
sideration the fact that there are about
25,000000 horses and mules In the
United States. valued at $2.TT0o 100000.
and about 100000 carriages. buggIes
and wagons. valued at about $50, OO0,-
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 on
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. An
effort has been made to estimate the
GENERAL increase in land values due to
improved roads, and the average has
been placed ut somewhere between 50
ind 50 per acre. There are positively
thousands Of examples where farms
have been sold at an increase of from
$50 to $500 per acre over their value
before road Improvement
An Investigation recently made in
Ohio shows that there are sixteen ne.
rtculturalt counties in the state thut
have less. than 10 per cent of the roads