The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-29

M P Northington and Erskine Ramsay. The board of revenue promised the com mittee that a survey would be made, and the county engineers say that the re- ports soon will be ready to submit.
 MIR. SIBLEY'S LETTER
 Mr. Sibleys letter follows:
 Birmingham, December 2S, 1915. To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 Your editorial in todays paper on 'The Road to the Warrior" is most commend able and timely
 The arguments presented by you and the influential and prominent citizens whom you interviewed are most cogent and irrefutable.
 I spent week before last in Tampa, Fla. and had several automobile rides over the magnificent brick highways of Hillsboro county, built this year from the proceeds of a $1 100000 bond issue, and the people are so highly elated over the results that an election will be held short ly for an additional $500, ,000 of bonds to complete the system of brick highways to the county boundaries in each direc- tion.
 The principal highway is the one leading from Tampa to Plant City, distance of 9 miles Approximately the same as to the Warrior river). It is IS feet wide with clay shoulders on each side On the trip to Plant City we passed 1S6 cars which will give you an idea of the volume of traffic, and among them were two large auto trucks with trailers, filled high with goods from the wholesale houses in Tampa for the retail merchants in Plant City and nearby towns I was told by my host that an auto truck service was also operated over the brick highway from Tampa to Port Tampa, and plans were being laid to inaugurate same over the other highways. The people down n ,tx-'c hoe set.
 The example of Hillsboro county has been followed by others so rapidly that during this year nearly $6,000O0O of bonds have been voted by various counties in Florida for good roads, of which over 75 per cent are to be built of brick l was particularly struck by the fact that there was absolutely no dust whatever on the brick highways in dry weather and no mud in wet weather
 USE BIRMINGHAM BRICK
 It was exceedingly gratifying to learn that practically all of the brick high ways in the Tampa district were built of brick manufactured in the Birming- ham district, so with such a saving in freight and other materials so cheap close at hand, a brick highway with cement grout in the joints can be built as economically in Jefferson county as any part of the world, and the early construction of same would not only be boon to all the people. but stimulate home industries that spend large sums in pay rolls and purchase of supplies from local merchants.
 Governor Glynn of New York last year sent special message to the legislature In which he made the following state- ment: Instead of roads that wear out in 10 years, New York must build roads that will last from 20 +o 30 years Instead of building highways that cost 5000 q year to maintain. New York must con struct roads that can be maintained at moderate annual cost. Instead of put ting down roads that cannot withstand the traffic that passes over them the state must find some way to build roads that are fitted for present conditions. Brick roads have been laid in hundreds of cities and have everywhere demon- strated their durabili Brick roads have been down for 9 years and have i admirably stood the test of the hardest l kind of traffic The annual cost of main- | taining these brick roads has been re- ma rkab1y low. ranging from practically nothing to from $10 to $50 per mile. Even | If New York were compelled to pay $25,- 000 a mile for brick roads, it would be economy to build such roads instead of ma cadam roads in all places where the states highways are subjected to heavy automobile traffic. The total evpendi- l lures for 20 years on a macadam road amount to $36,OO0 This includes $l2,000 for building, $18.000 for maintenance, and 5000 for rebuilding at the end of the first 10 years. The total expenditures for 20 years on a vitrified brick road amount to $26.00O if we allow a maximum of $25,- 1 coo for building and $50 year for main terance. On these outside figures the difference in cost for 20 years between the macadam and brick roads shows a | t~< <-F II rs<,Ir