The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1914-05-04
GOOD ROADS
THE EXPENSIVE HAUL Is BE
TWEEN HOME AND THE
LOCAL MARKET.

Sioux Falls. May 4.-Declaring
that the expensive haul lis between
home and the local market" II. c..
Issenhuth, chairman of the state
highway commission, reveals some
surprising facts on the subject OF
transportation, in a bulletin on good
roads and the reasons for them in
which he quotes a letter he has re-
Gently received from l.. w. Page,
director of the office of public roads
in the United States department OF
agriculture at Washington.
1.-THE letter Is authentic and COM
mends itself to every student of pub
lie affairs in this state for the valu-
able Information 1t contains" writes
Chairman %Issenhuth. ut reveals a
surprise on the subject of t%ranspor-
tation. by showing that the eXpen-
sive haul is between the home and
the local market. To be fair we owe
IL to ourselves to first build good
roads before worrying about the
rates charged by the railroads and
shipping concerns. With poor roads
a small load has to be taken. With
good roads a large load can easily
be taken-as large as lis bushels
on one load. Good roads and econ
omy go together"
The letter from the Office of pub
lie roads in the department of agri-
culture to which he refers follows
II have your letter of March 16,
making inquiry for data dealing with
the question of public roads from
the standpoint of the cost of trans
...tatfar ,x.fth -n1ns,I r1FnrnNan IN
the comparative cost of transporta-
ton over the railroads and public
highways.
'In reply will state that in 1906
an investigation was conducted by
the bureau of statistics of the depart
ment, into the cost of transporting
farm products to market. This in
vestigation deduced an average cost
per ton per mile of 22.7 cents, bas-
ed upon replies to inquiries sent to
about $500 counties. The average
haul reported was ga miles. At that
time less than s per cent of the pub
lie highways were improved, so that
these figures may be taken to indi-
cate the average cost of hauling over
unimproved roads. The question of
hauling over the public highways is
dealt with to a considerable extent
in farmers bulletin sos, issued by
this Office, a copy of which will be
forwarded to you by the division of
publications of this department.
"As regards the cost of hauling
ver the railroads, the report of the
interstate m commission for
1910 places ii for 1906 at .0074S
mills per ton per mile, and for 1910
at .00753 mills per ton per mile.
"Of course the rates of water
transportation are much lower. In
1905 and 1906 the average charge
for transportation of sugar from Rio
Janeiro to New York, a distance OF
about FIVE thousand miles, vas
.00127 mills per ton per mile. For
the year 1906 the mean ocean
freight rate on wheat, corn and rye,
from New York to Liverpool, a dis
lance of 800 miles, was $1.006 per
ton, or .0003 mills per ton per mile,
Il regret that this Office cannot
mail bulletins to the list OF farmers
as you suggest. 1t is the policy OF
the department at this time not to
issue reprints but to issue new pub
LEGATIONS from time to time, and the
supply Ol THIS ulllCN dt lHtS tilIt II
very limited. / would suggest that
you take the matter up with your
congressman, and he ne doubt viii
be able to supply the publications
desired. Each congressman has 9
quota of about twelve thousand pub
locations each year, and ! feel SURE
that If you would communicate witt
him he would be able to comply
with your request
In commenting on the facts re
vealed by the Washington letter
Chairman Issenhuth says:
"On county roads the cost of haul
ing Ii 20 cents and z mills per tor
per mile. Take for example an av,
erage load of wheat of rs bushels
at SO pounds per bushel equals 450(
pounds or two and one-quarter tons
Multiply the two and one-quartei
tons by % cents and Z mills bring
the cost to 81 cents per mile for the