Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1915-05-28
Where Wisconsin Stands On The
Traction Wheel Questions.

From The American Thresherman.
1t appears from letter written by the
State Highway Engineer A. r. Hirst to
Mr.. S. D. Foster. Chief Engineer of the
State Highway Department of Pennsylva-
mia, under date of March 81, 1915, that the
Pennsylvania Highway Department is at
tempting to line up all the States to pass
restrictive acts covering the use of trac-
ton engines on the public highways. The
reply of Mr.. Hirst is especially gratifying
to the threshermen of Wisconsin; but con-
tains little of encouragement for the would
be-road cars of Pennsylvania. The letter
follows:
We have yours in regard to the use of
traction engines on public highways:
Twill say, frankly. that we have made
no investigations on this subject in Wis
consin, and on inquiry to our men we find
very little indication that the traction
engine in Wisconsin has done any con-
siderable harm to any Of our State con-
structed roads i'm fact, it is hard to re-
member an instance where they have
done any harm.
The engines in use in Wisconsin are for
the most part light ones. weighing six to
eight tons. They keep off the surfaced
roads whenever possible due to the jar on
the machines. and usually there are alter
native earth road routes.
In general. we have felt that, outside of
some extreme types Of Tugs, it IS up to the
designing engineers to build pavements
that will withstand the effect of the use
of roads by traction engines, which engines
are so necessary in the conduct of farming
operations, and any policy forbidding them
the use Of roads, or radically changing the
requirements as to wheels, is mistake.
and that the small advantage possibly
gained by the State Highway Department
in insisting on these things is much more
than lost in the feeling reused throughout
the State.-not only among threshermen,
but the farmers whom they serve.-that
highways are being built, and efforts made
to restrict their use, so as to seriously en-
barrass considerable portion of the rural
population.
We cannot see that we have had any
serious results from the use of traction
engines on roads in this State, and we
have never contemplated any restrictive
action.
might say that the problem of unwieldly
motor trucks, weighingin many cases more
than traction engines when loaded and
moving at high speed, is apt to be more
serious one from the standpoint of road
maintenance than the traction engine
problem.
regret to seem out of sympathy with
this movement, but while the gains may
be some. we personally feel that the loss
and the feeling engendered by restrictive
action far overbalances the small losses
and increased maintenance that we are
suffering.
Mr. Hirst points out very clearly that it
is up to the Highway Departments of the
various States to construct roads that will
bear the traffic and not try to pass restric-
tive measures. This is the right attitude
for the Highway Departments of the States
to take 1t isn't their duty to tell the peo-
pie how they shall travel, people have
settled that question for themselves. tits
their business as officers under the law to
build the roads the people need and leave
politics alone. If they don't they will find
themselves crushed by the very powers
they have evoked.
1t is apparent that the struggle in Penn
sylvania is not yet over with and will not
be until their present engineer realizes he
must provide for the needs of all the peo-
pie of the State.