Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1913-08-02
Chairman State Roads Com.
mission Tells OF His Trip
And Road BUILDING

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Editors TUE MESSENGER, Snow Hill:
Commissioner Miller and myself spent
about three weeks on the other side
one in London attending the Interna-
tional Road Congress and the other two
in an automobile examining perhaps 1900
miles Of roads in France. England and
Wales The result Of our observation
is not unfavorable to our roads. The
best foreign roads are not better than
the best American roads There are
simply more Of them. That is the diff
ference. In Great Britain ana Cont
mental Europe, the bad road Is the ex-
ception. 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
.. ~. 0o0 miles. to the Improvement of
which we have only been recently de-
voting our energies.
During the past scar have attended
the American Road Congress at ATTAIN
&c City. the American Road Builders
Association at Cincinnati the Federal
AID Road Convention at Washington
and the recent international Road Con-
gress in England These gatherings
afford an interchange Of ideas and ex-
periences Of road builders and engineers
ard are very instructive and beneficial
Tho problem Of modern road building
has not yet been worked out but II will
be solved in America and not in Europe
our country has taken hold Of this Job
in earnest and We have the money. the
brains, the energy and the courage to
work il out. This fact is recognized by
the Government Of France, which has
had NJ. de Pulligny, the Chief Engineer
Of Roads and Bridges u that country
in the United States for nearly year
with a corps Of assistants to secure the
best and latest practice on this impor-
tant 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 construction on
the other side. Their roads have been
in process of building for hundreds of
years, and their problem is almost ex-
clusvely now one Of proper mainten-
ance. We were much surprised to find
in France. whose patrol system has been
held up to the world as model. that
little care is being paid to the main
tenance of their State Roads according
70 modern standards. The only oiled
roads we saw in France were within a
radius of Is or 20 miles of Paris where
the motor traffic is heavy and where
the macadam roads are full of holes and
rapidly going to pieces. In the 800
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 culvert, very lit
tie wheel traffic. not half dozen motor
trucks, perhaps not more than a dozen
automobiles day. nearly all filled with
Americans, and only patrolmen at
work, and these were shaping up the
shoulders and not repairing the road.
The only reason the roads Of France are
good is because they have not been sub
jected to such heavy automobile traffic
as we have in Maryland. and even as il
is they already show signs of deteriora-
ton. If they are not protected by a
proper top dressing within the next year
or two, they will begin to ravel and rut
and will degenerate badly.
In England the roads are much better
than in France. but even there as much
care is not given 10 prompt mainten-
ance as we are endeavoring to use in
Maryland. When hole appears in an
English macadam road, it is not at once
filled in with patch, but the holes are
permitted to increase until it is neces-
sary to rebuild the road which is then
done in sections of generally from one
quarter OF a mile to a mile in length.
In other words. they rebuild their roads
rather than maintain them. This means
great waste Of money and is 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 means that they can
afford to spend and do spend many
times more than we do on the main
tenance of their roads. while their cost
Of construction has already been paid
for
Among the many advantages they
have over US are: An equable climate,
without extremes Of heat or cold, and