The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-10-21
GEORGE ARSHALL.
ON GOOD ROADS.
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF
GOOD ROADS DEPARTMENT DE.
LIvERED STIRRING ADDRESS ON
GOOD ROADS LAST MIGHT
EVERYBODY ENTHUSIASTIC,

%E|A SiAnLA superintendent
Oh the federal good roads department
oellvered a stirring address last night
A ~ the Fargo Commercial club to a
datse NUMBER OF business men of the
city who are greatly Interested in the
Improvement of Cass county roads.
Mr. Marshall proved an interesting
4 speaker and his talk awakened an
hiterest IN every man present to do
something for the betterment of the
county roads. 49,
IN r Mr.. Marshall said: Tn 1909
otT1e was a clause in the fall election
Ial IN Spottsylvania county, Virginia.
n a began a new era for the coIIntv
~ was DOUBTLESS with much misgiving
mat the voters read the call. # ask
ca the county to decide whether or
not II dared to go into debt-to Dor
aoW Sloo, o0O for improved roads. The
question had been before the neonln ali
summer. Mass meetings had been beid
ana IN July, at F~redericksburg. there
was a convention and a Good Roads
ASSOCIATION resulted. All sides of the
question were debated, and when the
Ddllots were counted on Nov. 2, 1909.
me none had been voted. The fol-
lowing March the first bonds, amount
ing to 4 10000, were SOLD by open bids
and work commenced.
1HeFe were five roads to be improy-
eu ana they are now nearly all COM
pleted. From Fredericksburg to tho
opottsylvania courthouse is the long
est single stretch. 1t was finished last
iall. In March of 1910, it reorired q
whole day to make the trip Of Twelve
miles, with a few stops for photo
graphs. Last March the Journey was
made in comfort in five hours with
Stops at exactly the same points. Three
other improved roads now run from
CrreueTIcksourg one to Hampton's
INT0SSlnr fnTI or~ I-.
nannock river, and another to Five
Mile FORK and Salem church. To Mas
sapOnaX is a stretch of five additional
miles of branch road from the Spott-
~sylvania road. What has been the
economic result of the forty miles of
new road? ~
The United States office of public
roads was interested in this o1eestion
ana sent NJ. O.. Eldridge and J. E.
Fennybacker as economic investipat-
ors to study the situation. These men
made a report in March, 1910, and
each year since then. an inspection has
IoIIoWed and the study still continues.
The area, population, soil, railroads. |
SCHOOLS, churches, taxes and other such
matters vital to the life of this conn |
W nave been investigated and progress |
reports completed. In two years. from |
I9o9 to 1911, the agricultural and for
cts products handled and reported bv !
the richmond, Fredericksburg & Po- |
tomac railroad at Fr~edericksburg have
increased from 49, 900 tons to II. 600
tons or over As per cent A special
form showing all the items shipped
mas been filled out at the freight office
each year. Some of the items of in
crease are especially noteworthy. For
example; outgoing poultry, eggs, but
l14,815 to 273,028 pounds. In other
"oFds' the dairy products which must
move quickly over the highways have
more than doubled with the improve
ments from the bond issue. Wheat
shipments increased 59.6 per cent and
fresh tobacco 31.8 per cent, but the
forest product shipments show a most
interesting fact.
and other forest products |
are hauled into Fredericksburg from |
considerable distances, especially over
the Spottsylvania road. In 1910, when
mis- road was only partly completed.
the ioads could not be much increased.
out last year the county commission
ers mad to pass an ordinance forbid
dlng a load more than 1000 feet on
wide tired two horse vehicles. The
then put On t~railers and
loaded with four tons Of lumber to
each four horses. The forest products
eanuled as railroad freight increased
from 10000 tons in 1903 to So, 900 tons
IN 1911, and the loads now move COM
Iortably over the roads every month
IN the year. In March, 1909, the record
SHOWS $3.50 tons hauled to town against
Ito tons for the same month In 1911
a good Dad ]
The saving in hauling costs to the,
community in his Virginia county is
remarkable. At least IS, 900 tons NOV
an average Of eight miles in 1911. /
conservative estimate of the saving
IN hauling is 8 cents per ton mile on
the improved roads-a reduction from
70 cents to II cents-this means S41.-
o0o IN n year AS a matter Of fact,
the saving was more, for no account
IS taken Of the shipments moved by
water, and more lumber goes out of
fredericksburg by water than by rail.
The cost Of the Spottsylvania -Freder-
lcksburg road was about $28, 900 for
the twelve miles and the annual saw
ing in hauling on this one road is over
$4,000.
Lee J. Graves, an attorney at Fred
reported in March of this
year that he had sold more farms on
the improved roads in 1911 than in all
The county for five years. Many areas
are now cultivated for the first time
the civil war n new, land is
constantly cleared.
Other advantages of the good roads
a appeared. James Ashley, divi-
sion superintendent of schools in Spott-
'ylVanla county, reports the official
Increase in attendance at both white
colored schools at from S per cent
% 35 per cent, from 1909-10 to 191O-11,
rhe greatest increase was at Lees
Hill school on the new Fredericks-
'urg-Spottsylvania road. The figures
or 1911-12 are expected to show still
greater improvement. There is little
oubt that when the complete record
# the economic study is available the
citizens will look back to the bond
in the fall of 1909 with amuse-
nen at their doubt. With the Cooper
and help of the state highway .
other counties in Virginia
re beginning serious highway i'm
'rovement. DinWiddie, Wise n ten
Their counties have already issued
and Augusta hopes soon to do
AS far as there is n record. the
conditions, the social and the
BUSINESS life in the active building
are presenting conditions
comparable to those observed in Spott-
y~lvania.
Investigation work Of a kind
imilar to that in ~Spottsylvania
ounty has been undertaken in thir-
cen counties by the office of public
and while it is not yet complete,
has progressed far enough to indi-
ate that's the economic benefits which
ccrue to the community from road
have, as a rule, been
realty underestimated. Two notable
oints in all these studies are the rise
/ land values and the decrease is the
ost of hauling. These two benefits
mot anfiraIy, canarata and distinct n