The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1917, 1915-03-09
l5o'sG$ miles of improved :oad, cost

F, rOad.;, England ana Wales alone have
27,754 miles OF main reads, 1914 .443
! miles of county and rural roads and
! 1913 miles ot urban roads. England
| ard Wales have an area Of 5S.575
! square miles and l50,G7i miles OF i'm
proved highway. The United States
| has an area of 3.G1G.4Si square miles.
| and yet all the miles of improved
! highway In the United States total
only l90.47l. The area Of the whole
! British Isles is 1891 square miles.
not nearly half as large az the area
of Texas. yet they have 227 $40 miles
| OF improved .oads.
Compared With United States.
England an Wales have about A.
900 miles If permanently paved
roads; 4,G50 miles of bitunlinous
Found roads; 5000 miles of water
bound macadam, sprayed u- iarred
123.0c0 miles Of ordinary water bound
nacadam. and only 2.S57 miles OF un-
macahamiZed or dirt roads. The Unit
I'd States has over ten times as many
miles or graded dirt road included
in its grand total. as it has macadam.
whereas only . per cent Of the Eng
lish roads are ordinary dirt. The pro-
portion of road Improvement In little
old England. therefore. is apparently
| 800 times greater than in the United
| States.
Scotland has 1000 miles of perma-
| ncnt pavement. 800 miles OF bitumi-
bound roads. 800 miles of tarred
macadam 21,0l6 miles of ordinary
water bound macadam. and practical
ly no unimproycd roads except what
are known as local paths. Ireland.
side from other road surfaces. has
| I5.28O miles Of water bound macadam
| road
Highways IN France.
The roads Of France have long been
considered the best in the world
Road building begun there before the
day of Caesars invasion. Some OF
her roads have sustained the traffic
from 1000 TO 1000 years Proper
| maintenance has been had of these old
highways and the average cost has
been low
In France farms are but small
patches Of ground. planted and culti-
waited like large gardens. Yet the
wonderful French peasant sustains
himself ana family and lays aside
money to invest in American bonds.
The French peasant lives on what our
American GARNER wastes and saying
is all inboln characteristics Nearly
all the farmers live In settlements or
villages lsu; few rmhouses are To-
| Gated On the far,-:. The major part OF
the crCp Is consumed locally and the
| surplus is light and the traffic and
| haul much lighter. France is we'll
! supplied with railroads. canals and
waterways and most OF the heavy
hnuls are made by water or rail trans
portation.
| Caesar gridironed France, or Gaul
| as 1t was then called, with an elaho-
| rate system of roads. Some of these
| old Roman roads were paved with
marble. But, after Gaul was con-
| Quered by the barbarians, the roads
were allowed to become covered with
| dirt and vegetation. Louis XIV's
Prime Minister Colbert, reha affiliated
| whenever the king wanted to travel
in particular section,s Colbert al
ways instructed the people in advance
| to build roads along tho route to be
| Travelled. Once built. lie maintained
| them to facilitate commerce and
trade. So
a system of royal roads was cstab-
lished under Louis w and during the
| French Revolution were taken over
| and still more extensively laid out.
Napoleon changed the system of con-
| struCtiOn expense, but continued to
build roads. M
The French have a national high
way department.. which not only
builds and maintains their roads, but
its authority covers bridges, local
| light railvays. mainland railways,
maritime works. and inland naviga
tion and hydraulics.
The roads are built scientifically
proper at a minimum expense and arc
maintained with scrupulous and un-
| failing regularity. The total mileage
| Of the French national roads Decem-
ber 81. 1910. was 38,230 kilometers.
1t was estimated that the government
| had spent t00.000.000 francs. The
cost Of their maintenances in 1910 was
37.000.000 francs, besides 100000
francs for bridges. The French treas
ury furnished the funds provided by
| tax on vehicles with springs. horses.
etc. which in 1910 amounted 10 20.-
100000 francs; q license on public
conveyances. amounting 10 4.600,0O0;
Il tax on bicycles and motorcycles
brought 100000 francs. and the tax
on gasoline amounted to 24,O0O.000
francs Gl!-.
France, with an area OF only 207,-
054 square miles, 10000 square miles
less than tho size or Texas, mas 31O.-
900 miles OF highly improved road
way. or 10000 miles greater than the
mileage Of improved roads Of the en-
tire United States, roads more costly
and lasting.
| Italy Has i,9a0 Miles.
In Italy there are $500 miles of
national roads and 1880 miles of
provincial highways. National roads
are under supervision OF the royal
corps OF civil engineers These roads