Evening star., 1915-06-20

of all kinds in use in the United States
is well over 100000.
The advent of the motor vehicle
brought about something of revolu-
| tion in road-building practices and
theories, officials of the Office Of public
| roads point out. affecting conditions in
| several different ways at the same
time. They describe the motor vehicle
that has reached the road problem
since McAdam.
On the one hand it made necessary
the modification of the macadam road
ton. or the substitution for it of
harder surfaced road: and at the same
time it made road building more ex-
pensive. On the other hand it created
a widespread interest in and demand
for good roads. and through motor
vehicle taxes placed additional funds
for road building at the command Of
county and state.
The surface on ordinary macadam
roads. when all vehicles had metal
tires. was maintained by the cement
ing power of the stone dust which the
wheels ground in sufficient quantity
to replace losses by wind and rain
Rubber-tired motor vehicles. it was
soon found, however. not only do not
grind the stone, but greatly facilitate
the loss of the binding material that
is already in place. bringing about
rapid deterioration.
AS soon as it became evident with the
increasing use Of automobiles on coun-
try roads that ordinary macadam could
no longer be depended on. the Office of
public roads began a study of the new
problems and has since constructed nu-
merous sections of experimental bitum-
inous and other hard-surfaced roads in
various parts of the country. These
sections are still under careful obser
walton as to wearing qualities and cost
of maintenance. and the data that are
being collected from them are expected
to add valuable knowledge to the sci
ence of road construction. Since 1905
nearly 5.00O.0 900 square yards of such
roads have been built
No recent data on the relative mile
age of various kinds of improved roads
Office of public roads. but it has just
begun work on a nation wide survey
that will supply the most comprehen
sive fund of information on this sub
ject ever collected in the United states.
This census will list roads in ten
classes and will give exhaustive infor-
nation as to cost and methods of taxa
ton and finance.
Statistics already in possession Of the
office show that there were over 2.000,-
900 miles of roads in the United States
in 1914 and that of this mileage only
about 10 per cent was surfaced. About
10 per cent of this in turn had been
built by states and under state aid.
ne Increased COSt OF OlIuInlHOuS-
bound over the ordinary water-bound
, macadam road is between rs and so
per cent, 1t Is estimated. varying ac-
cording to conditions and location. In
spite of this. however. road building
has been greatly stimulated in recent
proved roads Is about 10 per cent a
year. significant fact in connection
with the effect of automobiles on road
building is that In 1914 the revenue
fYnY ~ jNyn h4
states was over s12.0Oo.oO0. A large
part of the annual funds raised in this
way is used in road building.
Among the several hundred other
things that the European war has done
to the industries.
European War and economies a n d
Gold Movements. people a, OF Of the the
United States 1t has played havoc with
the normal course Of their gold move
ments. Statistics just compiled in the
Office of Robert w. Woolley. director
Of the mint. show some of the inter-
esting changes in the sweep into and
out of the country of this commodity.
A steady flow of gold to Europe every
year since the foundation of the fed
eral government is the price the United
States has paid for its phenomenal
growth from a wilderness to highly
developed modern nation. for one OF
the important means for the develop
ment has been the use of the accumu-
lated capital of the old world, and pay
ments of interest and dividends on this.
together with the very large item by
which goods purchased abroad exceed
ed goods sold to foreign countries have
been shipped over the ocean as golden
tribute.
With the outbreak of the European
war this outWard-bOund golden stream,
which seemed to economists to be NOV
ing swiftly enough as it was. took on
the speed of a millrace as European n
creditors dema nded the clearing from
the channel of all credit obstructions.
Something of this increased flow is
shown by the fact that whereas the
net gold exports for the twelve months
ended June 80. 1914, were about s45.00O,-
600, for just half the length of time
following-the month of July and the
first five months of the war-they
jumped to over $1ll,000,o00 This was
an increase for a comparable period of
about 500 per cent
BY the end of the year, however.
other forces, brought into being by the
war, were making themselves felt in
the economic world. The vast ship
ments of merchandise demanded by the
nations at war had been piling up
credits to such an extent that the gold
now from our SnOFeS. according TO the
figures of the director of the mint.
slowed down. stopped and actually be
gan to move in the opposite direction.
Now gold is tumbling across our bor
ders in constantly increasing yellow
food. Instead of net exports amount
ing to over $55,000.000. which would
have been recorded for the first quarter
of 1916 If the rate Of outward flow for
the last half of 1914 had been main
tanned. there were net imports of s42,
574,07s
Though figures are not available, in
dications are that since the beginning
of tho second quarter the inward flow
OF gold las been gaining rapidly in
volume, and Treasury officials would
not be surprised if the latter half of
the fiscal year. which ends June 80,
should show an aggregate of gold i'm
ports more than sufficient to compen-
safe Tor the ahnormally large exports
of the first six-month period.
Not the least interesting to Treasury
off1cials among the effects of the war
on gold movements is the fact that the
economic disturbances in Europe and
America nave forced the sensitive yell
low metal to make an unwonted pill
grlmage eastward across the Pacific.
For the first time in its history San
francisco Is receiving vast shipments
OF gold from China and other oriental
countries. Thus, whereas only about
si,soo'ooO in gold was received from
abroad at San Francisco during the en-
tire fiscal year ended June 80. 1914.
during the next six months over $S,
100000 worth of the metal came in,
and during the period of half that
length next following more than ST.
10000 in gold was received.
since Asiatic countries are not max