The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1913-06-05

traffic which they carry. Over unin-
proved roads the travel is generally
| limited to small loads drawn by
horses, and occasional buggies or
lother light wagons. Sometimes an
lautomobile passes, but not often,
| Loads drawn by horses over unlm-
proved roads are necessarily limited,
| as the heavy hauling capacity OF an
fmals is limited to what they can pull
over the worst, PLACES. While three
or four tons are not exceptional loads
for two horses on hard roads of easy
grade, one-third to, one-quarter OF that
amount is. often difficult to negotiate
over a road which, tabpnnds with mud
holes and sharp pitches; with long
heavy hills it is often less.
| When good roads Fare built much
local heavy traffic, which has pre-
viously gone on other routes, is di-
verted TO them, probably doubling the
amount of load travel originating in
the vicinity. which passed over the
iroad before its improvement, j.. =.
The good road easily doubles the
distance that a horse or team and
buggy can travel in day. This fact
| brings into existence a larger amount
| of this class of travel, estimated at
| fifty per cent. more, and by reason
of the greater distance which may be
covered, and the overlapping travel
from other localities, this class OF
traffic may easily be multiplied by
three.
| The development of the automobile
multiplies by ten, according to the
most reliable estimates, the radius of
| a days travel. With an automobile
a business or professional man at the
county seat or other point can visit
practically every part of the county
in a day, and be home before supper
Etime. People from .ather localities,
on business, or pleasure, enter, leave
or cross a territory in a short time
which formerly took hours; local mer-
chants deliver goods twenty-five miles
away instead of within village or city
limits. Automobile trucks establish
| freight lines to villages and smaller
points which were previously unpro-
yided for With all theser facilities,
which improved roads make possible,
it is estimated that the motor car
travel of all kinds is multiplied APP
proxfmately by ten. b." ...n - g.,
Doubling the heavy traffic, trebling
the light horse traffic, and multiplying
the motor traffic by ten, places fifteen
vehicles on the good roads where
there was but one before the improve
ment was made. And this is an I'M
derestimate rather than otherwise A
close observation of the travel over
thousands of miles of improved roads
wih show increases of twenty or
thirty times that which existed before
the good road was constructed. This
enormous increase in travel is one OF
the wonders of the age in which we
| live. And this enhanced travel is an
important factor in the development
lof local markets.
State control of road construction
lis made necessary by number of
different reasons, each important in
Itself, as has been demonstrated by
1.-THE experience of states where state
aid las long been the rule. Among
these are, that the roads In various
counties when built shall form con-
ltinuous routes; that the construction
shall be as nearly uniform as the ma
ture OF available materials will per-
INIT; that the location, drainage, ma
lterial and every other factor involved
in the construction shall be under the
charge of competent and experienced
engineers; that the contracts be let
to competent and responsible contact
ors. who can be held to strict ac-
lcountability; and that the road funds,
state, county and township, be prop
lerly expended and accounted for, so
that every dollar shall produce
dollars worth OF first-class road.
In no other way than by state con-
troll can these things be achieved, 1t
has been demonstrated repeatedly
that the exercise of authority by the
state is necessary in the interests OF