Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-11-21

Inc same NuHGIeC good IOauS BOOST
ers who went squareiy on record yes
terday afternoon as opposed to motor
speeding on country highways wen;
touring the roads Of Fulton county to-
day. and the route laid out tor the two
hour spin indicates that speed laws
We're to be called off for the day and
the motorcycle cops told to go chase
each other The visitors left the Pied
mont hotel at. 10 o'clock. went out past
HapcvilIe, in by another route through
the city and out Peachtree road, and
expect TO wind up at the Driving club
for luncheon. More than dozen Of the
best highways in the county were on
the itinerary.
The good roads workers are among
the livest wires that have come to At
lanta in several seasons. They are en-
thusiasts, and more than that they are
experts. They know the technical side
Of road building, and their conventions
have got beyond the now all let's get
together and holler" stage of the game.
THEY are telling each other things, and
they seem as interested in listening as
in talking, something rare at conven-
lions.
Charles p. Light, of West Virginia,
field secretary Of the American Asso-
citation for Highway Improvement, is
considered one Of the active good roads
workers Of the country. he is the apos-
tie of the log drag and believes that
dragging a road frequently and well is
the solution of about SO per cent of
highway troubles. And he breaches the
gospel of the drag everywhere he goes.
get Grade and Bridges"
IF you have limited money and want
to build a road, spend the money on
grading it," he said today. 1.-THE grade
is the only really permanent thing
about road. Get that right. Bridges
are next. Build a strong steel bridge
and you won't have to do it over. Then
surface your road II you have any
money left-but grades and bridges are
the main thing.
Every man thinks he is a road ex-
! pert, just as every man believes he
could run a newspaper better than the
editor or beat the landlord running a
hotel. Every farmer thinks he knows
all about building a road Every man
can not be road expert, but most OF
them can be educated. We need expert
knowledge. the very best engineers, ii
we would have we'll built and perma-
nent roads.
But tell the readers Of The Georgian
who want good roads and are willing
to work and pay for them that the los
drag is the best investment in the
world. They can keep up road FOL
from SIS to $40 a mile per year with {
drag. Don't try to drag twenty mile
stretches. Have a drag for every tive
or three miles of road, light enough FOL
two mules to pull and drag the roa(
after the rains. There isn't any way
to say exactly when. 1t is like pop
ping the question to your sweetheart
one must act according to the sur
rounding circumstances" .-
U. S. Aid May Hurt Projects.
Mr. Light advanced the theory that
government aid for the national high
ways might be a bad thing If unwisely
| handled.
I'm afraid you folks are going to
give us too much money" he said, ad-
dressing Congressman John L. Bur
nett of Alabama. NO; I'm not sar-
castle. l mean It. I'm afraid congress
viii give us more than we can use
wisely. There is apt to be a great
waste If the governments funds are
not carefully looked after We waste
| $40, 100000 a year on roads now-just
throw 1t away on makeshift roads and
repairs and unnecessary expenditures
Charles c. Gilbert, assistant secre-
tary of the Nashville Board OF Trade
is a veteran good roads worker, He
was on the first automobile which
| crossed the East Tennessee mountains
and struck roads that had not beer