Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1913-08-01


TRIP.
Commissioner miller and myself
spent about three weeks on the other
side. one in London attending the To-
ternaiional Road Congress aud the
other two in an automobile examining
/ perhaps 1900 miles Of roads 10 France.
England and Wales. The result CT cur
observation IS not unfavorabie to our
roads. The best foreign roads are not
better than the best American roads.
There are simply more ofihem. That
IS the difference. In Great Britain snd
Continental Europe, the bad road is the
exception, while in our country, the
bad road is the rule, This is because
the United States is IN a comparatively
new and formative Period Of its
development and with an enormous
road mileage Of :. 100000 miles. to the
improvement Of which we have only
been recently devoting our energies.
During the past year, have attend-
ed the American Road Congress at
Atlantic City, the American Rod
Builders Association at Cincinnati, the
Federal Aid Road Convention at Wash
ington and the recrnt international
Road Congress in England. These
gatherings afford an interchange Of
ideas and experiences Of road builders
and engineers and are very instructive
and beneficial. The problem Of modern
road building has not yet been worked |
out, but it viii be solved IN America |
and not IN kurope. Our country has
taken hold n this JOB in earnest, aud
we have the money, the brains, the
energy and the courage to work it out.
This fact is recognized BY the Govern
ment Of France, which has ha NJ de
Paiigny, the Chief Engiacer OF Roads
and BRIDGES Of that country. in the
United States for nearly year with a
corps Of assistants to secure The best
and latest practice on this important /
question.
No intelligent comparison Of the
European roads and ours can be made
without taking into consideration the
difference in conditions, which are
much more favorable there than here.
The first point to be considered is that
there is practically no new construc-
ton on the other side. Their roads
have been in process Of building for
hundreds OF years. and their problem
is almost exclusively now one Of proper
maintenance. We were ,auch surprised
to find in France. whose patrol system
has been held up to the world as a mo-
del, that little care is being paid to the
maintenance Of their State Roads ac-
cording to modern standards. The
only oiled roads we saw in France were
within a radius Of IL or 20 miles of
Paris where the motor traffic Is heavy J..
and where the macadam roads are full
of holes and rapidly going to pieces.
Il the 500 miles Of rural French roads
We covered in days, we did not see
single road that had been oiled, not one
road roller at work, rarely ever a cul-
vert, very little wheel traffic, not half a
dozen motor trucks, perhaps not more
than dozen automobiles day, nearly /
all filed with Americans, aud only 4 |
patrolmen at work, and these were
shaping up the shoulders and not re-
pairing the road. The only reason the
roads Of France are good is because
they have not been subjected to such |
heavy automobile traffic as we have in
Maryland and even as it is they already
show signs Of deterioration. II they
are not protected by a proper opdress-
ing within the next year or two, they
will begin to ravel and rut and Will de-
generate badly.
In England the roads are much bet
ter than ia France, but even there as
much care is not given to prompt main
tenance as we are endaavoring to use
10 Maryland. When hole appears in
an English macadam road, it is not at
once filled III with patch, but the /
holes are permitted to Increase until it /
is necessary to rebuild the road, which
is then done In sections OF generally |
from one quar- ter Of mile to a mile in I
length. In other words. they rebuild /
their roads rather than maintain them
This means a great waste of money and |
is a system we could not afford in our
State. 1t should be borne in mind that !
England and France are practically as
rich as the whole United States and
that each of these countries is smaller
than some Of our states This meats |
that they eau afford to spend and dc |
spend many times more than we 10 On
the maintenance of their roads whilf !
their cost Of construction has Already
been paid for.
Among the many advantages they
have over us are: An equable climate
without extremss Of heat or cold, and
without much frost or hot weather;
rainfall which is just about sufficient
TO keep maeadam road in good shape;
no violent storms or heavy rainfalls;
simple draining problems, 'esel ani
Uniform country, good soil unda,is Il
fol roads, cheap labor, more mrees
lower freight rates on Ipad maitr.ai,
cheaper stone, light motor aud wheel
traifi, road beds many of which have
been In process Of up-building since
the days OF the Romans, proper traffic
regulations, better observance of
the laws relating to roads, a small
territory and road mileage, etc.
Suffered Eczema Fifth Years-Now Well
Seems long time to endure the aw-
full burning, itching, smarting, skim