The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-09-22

the awakening becomes apparent, for
an influence is active all over the state
that is far more effective than many
suspect.
Some months ago / was in Sanford
and on that occasion | took the OPP
portunity to run about over the county
a bit and note the beginning Of a good
roads movement. The people had not
decided yet whether they really want
ed good roads. and although a few
miles had been built, there was more
or less antagoniSm toward the expen-
diture of much money on the i'm
provement. |
This trip. with a party of several
of the leading men of the county,
went out over many more miles of
road. extending in all directions from
Sanford, and the ChanSe is surprising.
In all directions good roads are now
in use or in progress of construction.
with still more planned, and now very
little objection is heard against good
roads.
These Lee county roads are a little
more expensive than the sand clay
roads of the country farther down,
but they are made more substantial,
they are better graded, ard more per-
manent. The cost will run up to eight
or ten hundred dollars a mile, and in
some cases even more. But the peO-
pie are paying the bill cheerfuily, and
asking for more.
Cost and Profit OF Roads.
In talking of the roads the question
of cost and of profit came up. The
value of a good road was expressed
i'm different way but the sentiment
was decidedly in favor of a gain far
exceeding the cost. From the alb
straCt real estate mems pOint of view
came the opinion that from five to ten
dollars an acre is added to every piece
of land within a mile of a good road.
Prospective buyers do not hesitate to
pay several dollars an acre more for
land on or near a clay road than they
will pay for a place less desirably To-
Gated.
We figured a little as we discussed
the benefits Of good roads and the
man with the pencil put it up this way.
Take q mile of road. It is thanked on
each side by Gao acres of land if we
go to the distance Of a mile on each
side. That means over twelve hun
dred acres. If we figure that land is
worth a dollar a. acre more on &C
count of a good Dad that dollar an
acre means the road can cost twelve
hundred dollars a mile and be a pro-
fitable investment. If we our the
increased value five dollars an acre
we can safely put six thousand dollars
q mile into good roads and come out
whole and twelve thousand dollars a
mile if We figure on good roads in
CreaSing the values ten dOliarS an
acre.
We fooled around there figuring on
the value Of a good road in Lee cOun-
ty, which is the same as in any other
county. and the conclusion we reached
was that you can figure the benefits
But we Appropriated a value of q
m dollars an acre AS the worth
Of a good road, and as much higher
as you want to go. and we reached
the figure about in this way. The
value of the land in the county is til
ability to make a crop. Suppose WI
take cotton or tobacco as the crop
Any other crop would serve as well
but these two are good illustration
so we used them.
Bigger Road Possible.
We will put about half a ton Of fer
ulizer or the crop. and haul off hal
q ton of crop. That makes a ton o
freight. The average farm is say fv
miles from the station. There is
ton Of freight to move five miles 70
each acre in the county. On q goo
road the load can be twice as big a
on a poor road. That is to say yo
can haul your fertilizer and crop 70
half the outlay or a good road tha
you can on a poor one, and probabl
the saving is bigger yet. for on
good road a team will make NOR
trips as we'll as haul a bigger load.
On the old roads q man and teal
could move say a ton and a half
a day. That means he can move abo,
three tons now in q day. or every da
be hauls on the road he can save ha
OF his days wage for himself an
his team. besides saving his team ar
1t means that on ACT acre l
farms the farmer on a good road ca
save a couple Of dollars each seas6
in his hauling. If he uns the far
fifty years he can probably save
hundred dollars an acre. and in Il
course Of time he will find that q goo
road would save enough to the far
to be a profitable investment if II
road had cost fifty thousand dolla
a mile.
Up in Pennsylvania l notice tn
are building country roads that &C
fifteen to twenty-five thousand O.
lars q mile, not because they ha
the money, for they haven't but b
cause they can borrow IT to build