El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-10-23

Heated wherever roads have been i'm
I proved.
Horse Out of Date.
From an economic viewpoint the
value Of the improved highway is OF
] paramount Importance not only 10
the farmer, but to 100000 people
in the United States whom he feeds
In the transportation Of food products
TO market the horse is no longer a
. profitable investment. 1t has been
estimated that the cost Of his feed
alone increased over 163 per cent
( from 1908 TO 1918. and the area given
TO the production OF what he eats
would more than equal that of Hi
nOis, Iowa, Ohio and Indiana combined
Assuming that one acre Of land
scientifically farmed would yield suf-
ficienr food to sustain three persons.
the horse feed farms of the United
States would support 374, 200. 600 people.
The farmer who is compelled TO
use draft horses to haul his products
TO market on account of roads which
make the use Of motor trucks i'm
possible or impracticable, suffers fl
nancially for the reason that his ra-
dius Of action is confined to those
markets or shipping points lying with
in the little circle which ne can prof
itably reach The consumer suffers,
because the farmer will not haul to
market products which he finds he
can make no profit from on account
Of haulage costs, or because the far
mer on account of proper hauling IA
cilities must barter his products with
the nearest middleman who in turn
makes a profit which might otherwise
be eliminated
High Cost OF HnulnEe.
To is frequently the high cost Of haul
age which prevents the farmer from
entering more distant and profitable
markets and causes him to dispose OF
his produce to others for marketing
and distributed With the advent of
motor trucks has come a far wider
radius Of action, a greater carrying
capacity and much greater speed in
reaching more distant markets Thus.
the farmer may, much oftener than in
the past. dispose Of his produce direct
TO the consumer. with far greater
profit to himself and less cost to the
latter. The full benefit Of this use
of the motor truck, however, viii not
he realized either by the farmer
the consumer until the good roads
movement has educated the people 10
an appreciation Of these important
facts
~ExtravnEnnee."
Iu many parts OF New Mexico you
will find an unexpectedly large num-
Der of taxpayers who look upon our
OUTLAWS for the Improvement Of the
public highways as an extravagance-
Cummin-led with some benefits. per
haps. but still the paramount thought
is that much more money IS being
spent than the state and local gov
eminent can afford, or than is neces-
sary for the development of the state.
To overcome that feeling or antagOn-
ism 10 the movement for better roads,
active educational work viii be nee
essary If we are TO have the develop
ment which everyone knows the I'M
portant bearing that good roads viii
have on our future progress must
desire to witness 1 have assembled
n few figures which may be Of inter-
est TO the meeting in this connection
on October I, 1915, we had in New
Mexico, 4739 motor vehicles. repre-
senting an investment of approximate
~ S3.9S6.559. or an average cost per
car OF SS41.01. The state license paid
the secretary Of state by automobile
owners TO be turned over by him 20
the state treasurer for the benefit OF
the state highway fund amounted 10
SZ2.45T65 during the current year.
State Gets Much Income.
In addition to this tax, owners OF
motor vehicles viii pay for the present
year. state and local taxes on an as
sessed valuation Of about SlSOo,OOu
for the privilege Of owning and oper-
ating them in New Mexico. The rev
cuue derived from licenses alone viii
more than pay the interest on the
BY the state. and if the number of
cars increases at the rate OF 20 an
nually, which is most conservative, the
amount derived from the license tax
Will not only paw the interest upon
the bond issue. but II the surplus is
deposited on interest as a sinking
fund. viii retire the issue in fifteen
years The improvement in the roads
Of the state which Will result from
the judicial expenditure OF the $500. 900
referred to will undoubtedly cause a
large increase in the number of mo-
tor vehicles used both commercially
and for pleasure, so that the benefits
will be manifold accruing both to the
owners Of automobiles and to the state.
/ Furthermore, as I have hitherto en-
deavOred TO indicate. wherever roads
have been improved so that automobiles
can pass over them with ease and
comfort lands lying along the route
invariably increase IN value so that
the owner is directly benefited and
the states revenue derived from tax
alton viii be augmented.
Tourist Motor Travel.
In addition to what has been hither-
I TO pointed out, We must not lose sight
Of the tremendous influx Of the tour
list motor travel into and across the
state which We may expect as the re-
suit OF better highways. Large sec
tions Of New Mexico have great, and
I probably TO many OF US, unexpected
possibilities as summer resorts. The
Z state abOunds in hot springs. some OF
which are famous for the curative
qualities OF their waters, but are lit
tie used because they are remote from
the railroads, or the condition OF the
{ roads leading 10 them is so bad that
automobile travel over them is well
nigh impossible
Given a few main arteries of splen-
did highways through the state and
your touring motorist will soon dis
cover such places and make il worth
while for private capital to open good
roads to them Thus the unusual re-
sources Of the state for pleasure pur-
poses will bring us enormous sums
annually at once, which the slow pro-
Sress OF railroad building would de-
fer for many years. That these pos
sibiliues may become actualities with
in the next few years, we could well
afford to spend not 100000 but 81
100000 in the coming five years in
state aid for the improvement of our