The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-09-30
coon ROADS PROFITS IN VIRGINIA.

wo-r are three articles on The Fro
n,s o. Good Roads" All three are eA'
ceptionally interesting and inioffihs
,u, one Of them is OF especial Interest,"
10 Virginia. in that this state Is c''eo
as anordins a striking Illustration %
~. ,rotts In good roads investment.
November ., 1909. Spotsylvania County
voted a bond issue for road improve
ment, and March following o'0s
were opened and work was commenced
There were ave roads. all now prac-
.tically completed. to be Improved INC
: largest single stretch being Twelve
miles from, Spotsylvania Courthouse 70
Fredericksburg. Three other OF thess
,,,roved roads now run from FREQ
erickstug: one to Hampton's Cross'hs
Fork. one down the Rappahannoek
River and another to Five Mile FORK
and salem Church. To MassaponaN Is
a stretch o, FIVE additional miles OK
branches from the Spotsylvania Road.
The author Of the article, L.. 1.
Hewes, who is "chie; Of the Division OK
Economics and Maintenance of the Or
nee Of public Roads. United States De-
par.nent Of Agriculture" asks: ""hat
has been the economic result OF the
forty miles Of good roads?" and an
swers as follows:
The United States once OF Public
loads was interested in this question
and sent NJ o. Eldridge and j. +.
pennvbacker as economic investigators
70 study the situation. These men maze
q report in March. 1910. and each year
since then an inspection has followed
and the study still continues. In the
two wears from 1909 to 1s1i'
the agricultural and forest pro-
ducts that have been haaolea
and reported by the Hcnmoho,
Fredericks burg and Potomac Raiiroau
at Fredericksburg have Increased ITO"
$4,000 tons to 1900 tons. or more than
q per cent a special form showing
All the items shipped has been niied
a., ar tire tressh, once for each year.
SEW. of the items Of increase are es-
naciaIiy noteworthy. For example,
outgoing poultry. eggs, butter. mIih.
sra cheese increased from 1l4.sIs 10
20 as pounds IN other words the
Ss;rv products which must move quick
IL owe. the highways have more taan
doubled with improvements from tue
bond issue. Shipments OF wheat In
creased So per cent. and shipments OF
fresh tobacco 81 Per cent
But. continues the writer, the Snip
mea,. OF forest products make the
most impressive and Instructive e4-
hibit Most Of these products are
hauled a considerable distance over
wba, Is known as the Spossylvania-
F,sse-ieksburg Road, and into Fred
ericksburs. The investigators founo
that in 1910. owing to the roads hav-
ing been but partially completed the
loads could not be materially increased
But las, year the county commission
ers had to pass an ordinance forbid
ding a load Of more than 1000 feet on
wide-tired two-horse vehicles. The
teamsters thsrupon put on traiiers
and loaded with four tcns OF lumber
TO every team Of four horses. The for
es, products which the railroad re-
ceived increased from 10000 tons in
1903 to $4,000 tons in 1911. and the
loads now move comfortably over the
roads every month in the year. In
March. 1911, the record shows 4,lfo
tons hauled to town against 1850 tons
Tor the same month in 1899.
Coming 10 the saving to the COM
uuni,y in hauling costs in this Viz
y sinia county" Mr.. Hewes declares i:
has been remarkable" and in support
o. his declaration gives these facts and
figures:
~ "a conservative estimate of the saw
iny in hauling is cents per ton pc!
rnile-a reduction from 20 cents to IL
eents-shis means a saving Of SAL
500 IN one year. But the saving really
was more. for in this IS 500 tons 10
account Is taken OF the shipments that
left the town by water; and more
lumber goes out Q. Fredericksburg BY
water than goes by rail The cost o.
the fredericksburg potsylvania Road
vas about s.scoe for the twelve mile.
ard the annual saving IN hauling OF
this read Is more than $4,000.
Another Of the articles In World
Work deals more particularly viii
Profits ct Good Roads. a. represent
- "a the iacTeas. in land values alon:
Snrroved highways The author :,
Logan Waller Page. director Of tn
Once o. Public Roads United state
Department .. Agriculture" In pre-
Osn-sns examples Of how such gncreAs
scliovs tie good roads fss, Nv. Pas
Oys:
- Take TIE tyPicsIly Northern stat
- Ohio 20. illustration: Fo-ty-nv,
.ogYtculfU.sl counties have more tia,
10 %. cent o: the road. improved al
Oxteen counties have less than 10 pc
-0Dns % the .oa6s improved. The aver
nge value % Land IN II" forty-nv
- esuesiss 10 $751;. psT acre. whsres
! n the sixteen COUNTIES ~. zyeras
Vaiue per scr. ~ s,s-SS-7- per cea
J. ,ehs apsg thar tn tn counties with goo
-