The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1914-12-17
BAD ROADS CAUSE
HEAVY EXPENSE
Farmers and Merchants Are
Equally the Losers.
RESULT OF INVESTIGATION.

mission Show How Thousands of
Dollars Could Be Saved Annually by
Improving the Highways Of State.
Farmer Loses $17o For Each Acre.
The farmer and the business man as
well has at last come to realize the loss
he suffers from bad roads, and the
conditions is little appreciated by those
whose interests have not brought them
in contact with it. The cost of bad |
roads has long been known in a vague
way. but recent scientific investiga-
tons have brought the matter home In
tangible form to those who suffer from
them, says the Review of Reviews.
One Of the most thorough investiga-
tons of the subject ever conducted,
the results of which are used as text
wherever the doctrine of good roads is
preached. was made by the Minneapo-
lis Civic and Commerce association.
While the conditions Investigated We're
those of territory tributary to Mime
apolis. they are undoubtedly typical
to IL greater or less degree of those ex-
listing elsewhere.
A committee of the association Sc
iected for investigation the farming
district, $50 square miles in area, the
trade Of which Is tributary to Mime
apolis. From a thorough canvass of
the conditions existing there it was
found that the 4O69 farmers in the dis
trict hauled 100000 tons of farm prod
uce to market in 1911 and sold it for
S6.665.6S0 To do this they had to
make 3O5,OOO trips. the time spent in
hauling equaling 800 years of eight
hour days and the distance covered
eighty Eight times the circumference
Of the world
Bad road conditions caused losses in
time. partly due to slow progress. part
~ to the necessity Of taking less direct
routes and partly because smaller
| loads had to be carried Detailed in
time were as follows: Due to not tax
| ing the shortest route, $4,000: due to
| slower progress. $75.MO: due to extra
trips necessary by smaller loads. S159.-
| 900. total loss of $296,O00. Losses
from inability to reach the best mar
ket. from the spelling of produce and
from injury to horses and wagons
were found to aggregate 1921 900; from
restricted ability to haul manure, $91.
600. The total loss caused by bad
roads was placed at S60S.72S.
The committee made the following
deductions: On account of bad road:
each farmer lost for the year S1.7O fo
every acre that he farmed: 13 cent.
every time he carried a ton of farm
produce over one mile Of bad road:
per cent of his total crop He paid a:
much for bad roads as for labor, mor'
than for feed for his stock. twenty
FIVE times as much as for fertilizer.
!. The total loss to the farmers in thi
district for the year from this caus
. would have bought all the corn pro
duced in 1t, or all the wheat, or the GA
crop twice over, or all but 10 per cen
| Of the potatoes, or all the barley. rye
] flaxseed, timothy seed. hay and forag
| combined. The losses would replac
! the farm implements or the cattle ey
cry three years, the horses every fou
2 years, and would pay off all the mor1
. cages in the district in three year!
> with 100000 to spare.
3 The farmers, moreover, were not tn
. only losers from bad roads. The con
. mittee found that the worst section
D OF the roads they had to travel b.
!. tween their farms and market wer
T within the city limits: that there wei
approximately $500 business house
3 in Minneapolis. employing 5000 wai
ons. whose loss from bad roads W;
$4,000 for the year
The combined loss of the farmer
merchants and manufacturers for OF
8 year was s1.51S.OOO AS there n
L about 1900 miles of roads in the di
trfct. which would have been kept
y good condition for 5000 a year.
|, properly constructed, in order to asce
!, :, tain what amount could profitably
: invested in good roads, the committ
g deducted this amount from the tot
= = loss. leaving S1.2OO.OOO. Capitalized
: a. per cent, or per cent, which
= = more than bonds would cost. the pri
: !. cipal is $2o,OOO.OOO If this amou
: were invested in good highways at )
: 600 mile the district would still bre
even on the investment.