Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1914-08-19
GOOD ROADS As
CROP PRODUCERS
Government Studies Show How the
Agricultural Output of a County
Depends Upon Its Highroads

That an improved road will in
crease vastly the productiveness Of
the area through which it runs has
now been satisfactorily demonstrated
by studies conducted by the United
States Department of Agriculture in
Virginia Conditions in Spotsylva-
MIA County were investigated with
particular care, and the results have
proved surprising. In 1909 the county
voted 100000 to improve 40 miles Of
roads. Two years after the compile
ton of this work the railroad took
away in IL months from Fredricks-
burg, the county seat, II 900 tons Of
agricultural and forest products haul
ed over the highways to that town.
Before the Improvement of the roads
this total was only $4,000 tons annu-
ally; in other words, the quantity of
the county's produce had risen more
than 45 per cent. Still more inter-
esting, however, is the increase
shown in the quantity Of the dairy
products. In 1909 these amounted to
114,815 pounds, in 1911 to 273, O28
pounds, an increase of practically 40
per cent in two years. In the same
time shipments of wheat had increas-
ed SO per cent, tobacco 81 per cent.
and lumber and other forest products
48 per cent.
In addition to this increase in
quantity the cost of hauling each ton
of produce was materially reduced. In
other words, the farmers not only
produce more, but produce more
cheaply, for the cost of transporta-
ton to market is of course an import
ant factor in the cost of production.
From this point of view, it is esti-
mated that the 100000 spent in i'm
proving the roads in Spotsylvania
County saved the farmers of that
county 41,000 year.
In the past two years the traffic
studies of the Federal experts show
that approximately an average of 65,-
600 tons of outgoing products were
hauled over the improved roads in
the county an average distance of 8
miles, or a total Of $4,000 ''ton-
miles," Before the roads were i'm
proved it was estimated that the av-
erage cost Of hauling was 20 cents a
'ton-mile;" after the improvement
this fell to IL cents "ton-mile," or
saving of 8 cents. A saving of 8
cents per mile on $4,000 "ton-miles'
: $4,000 a year. The county's in
vestment of 100000 in other words
returns dividend of 40 per cent an
nually.
Because this saving, in cases of this
character, does not take the form of
cash put directly into the farmers
pocket there is a widespread tendency
to believe that it is fictitious profit,
while as matter of fact it is Just as
real a source of profit as an increase
in the price of wheat.
In Dinwiddie County, Va, for ex-
ample where peanuts are one of the
staple crops, the average load for two
mules on main road was about 1000.
pounds before the road was improved.
After its improvement the average
load was found to be 1000 pounds,
and the time consumed in hauling the
larger load to market was much re-
duced. In other words, one man
with a wagon and two mules could do
more than twice as much work with
the improved road than with an UNI
improved road. This is the expla
nation OF the extraordinary rise in
the total output of agricultural pro-
ducts in county with a good road
system.