Norwich bulletin., 1916-02-01
DOINGS IN THE AUTO WORLD
Public Becoming Interested in Highway Building for Auto Races Announced-1916 Will See Extensive Use of Aumnum- Demand for Light Cars.

Public highway building, work in 1
 which every community is more and
 more vitally interested. is now so uni-
 versally demanded by the people that
 the aggregate expenditure is a con-
 siderable part of the total amount of
 money raised annually by taxation. |
 This statement can be applied to the
 states and to every form of municipal
 government Not only is greater mile
 age necessary; but surfacing must be of a character that will lessen the
 cost of vehicGlar transportation.
 Highways that were formerly be-
 heved sufficient. or were tolerated be- cause of the belief that such improve
 ment was not public benefit, or were too costly, are now regarded as in-
 sufficient or intolerable. and there is no disposition to oppose taxation that
 will be devoted to the building of the best and most enduring forms of
 roads. America has approximately Z, ,500, ,000 miles of what is known as
 public road. Of this mileage approx
 imately 10 per cent. is improved-that is, on which the surface has been
 worked to grade and has been sur
 faced, and is maintained more or less
 systematically. This doesn't include
 streets of towns and cities. While the first demand for road im-
 provement was for pleasure or driv- ing purposes, the requirement of today is purely from economic reasons, so IIdnSpOILdIlOn tween cities and towns at lessened cost. While there is no agreement
 among municipal engineeres as to
 what form or width of road shall be best, because contraction depends up- on the money available and material
 that is locally obtainable, and differ ent policies obtain with reference to development and maintenance, there
 are active influences that are gradual
 ly shaping public sentiment and pro- | 1A1-4 4z penditure for highway improvement. In some of the states there is sys- tematic cooperation between the state and the municipal officials with regard
 to road building. There is a gradual ly increasing movement to employ
 convict labor for this work from the desire to employ the prisoner with | what will be beneficial to the state and to decrease so far as possible the expense that penal institutions must | incur and which must be paid by the | people.
 The magnitude of the work of road | building, for which the United Sates | is each year spending more than funds for other highway improvement | in every community, impels economies. | There is no desire to build a cheaper
 or a less satisfactory form of highway. | There is general recognition of the | fact that the better the construction
 the longer will the roadway endure, | and increased first cost is an insur- | ance of decreased maintenance ex- penSe, provided that there is reason | ably efficient care and upkeep. The | best authorities on highway engin- | eering are agreed that the real sav- | ing can be made by the use of special | ly adapted tools and machinery that | will economize time and lessen the labor for a given work.
 There are certain factors that must | be considered. Labor is generally in creasing in price. The proportion of convict work is so small as to be al- most a negligible factor in American road making. The cost of material depends upon the quality that can be | obtained locally the width and depth | of surfacing, the topography of the
 country and the need of bridges, cul- verts and other incidental construc-
 ton. The real saving of labor and l the preparation of and the handling of materials can pe obtained by the use Of machinery and facilities, and l systematic. organization and supersi- l sion.
 The Contest Board of the American Automobile Association has announced | dates assigned for automobile contests
 to be held this year. The Indianapolis
 Speedway event for May 30 has been l assigned an official sanction number. Other dates on the following list are tentatively assigned pending comple- ton or the preliminary requirements
 under the contest rules:=
 Date. Event.
 Feb. 22. .Speedway-Los Angeles. May 6. Speedway-Sioux City. May IS. .Speedway-New York May 30. Speedway-Chicag (ama- teurs).
 | May 30. Speedway-Indianapo June 10. Speedway-Chicago June 2S. .Speedway-Des Moines. | July 4. Speedway Minneapolis. July 4. .Track-Couer dAlene, Idaho July 4. .Speedway-Sfoux City.
 July IS. Speedway-Omaha- Aug. 5. Speedway-Tacoma-
 Aug. 1s-19 Elgin Road Races. Sept. 4. Speedway Sept. 4. .Speedway-Des Moines. l Sept. 16- Speedway-Providence Sept. 2e. .Track-Trenton, N. J. X .. Sept. 30. Speedway-New York. ,.s Oct .Speedway-Omaha- Oct. IA. Speedway-Chicago '3 Oct. 19. Speedway-Indianapol The rubber water pipes leadinq from