The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1917-08-04
FIRST COST HIGH BUT LAST so
TO 100 YEARS

FIRST COST HIGH BUT LAST SO
TO 100 YEARS
Adds to Land Values and Reduces
Cost of Hauling Milk and Farm
Products
Sen 2. 9. Barr Tells OF farming Con.
ditions Where Country Roads are
Improved
Sen. Robert 3. Barr OF Fort Scott.
Kansas, who was with the Kansas par
ty last week on their tour of inspec-
ton of improved roads around Chi
cago, Milwaukee and Detroit writes
very interesting story for his paper,
the Fort Scott Tribune. From the ar
ticle the following IS an extract.
First Cost of Good Roads
The first county visited was that OF
which Milwaukee IS the county seat.
Here we were met by Charles Jacob
US, chairman of the county highway
commission. In this county there are
100 miles of concrete roads radiat1ng
out of the city, going IN all directions,
md contracts for miles upon miles OF
additional roads are being let. In
his county the people will not listen
20 anything except concrete roads,
claiming that a rock road VIII not
suffice and are the most expensive IN
the long run. In this county these
roads now cost $4,000 for an eigh-
zen foot road, constructed eight IN
ches IN the center and tapering to SIX
inches on the sides. When some of
.hese roads were constructed the cost
vas only S13,500 for a sixteen foot
Dad, but the increased cost OF mater
al and labor has materially increased
hat price now, so that every foot
l., 10
Of the cost of the road the state pays
forty per cent. and the county sixty
per cent. There is no benefit district
the costs being borne by the county
! generally, which makes 1t more apph-
cable. The county highway commits
sion simply lays out road and 1t IS
/ built The material used IS cement,
sand and gravel, it is put down by a
machine in one course and 1t IS CLAIM
ed that the road will last a life time.
One road that we inspected has been
in use with very heavy traffic for
eight years, and 1t has only shown a
wear of one-sixteenth of an inch A
concrete road does not deteriorate-
it simply wears uniformly all over the
road. Most of the roads in this coun-
ty are sixteen feet wide, although it
is now found necessary to increase
this width to twenty feet in order to
properly care for the traffic.
Farmers are all for Paved Roads.
Along the route in the country we
stonned and interviewed farmer after
farmer and not one was dissatisfied
win improved highways. Asked as
to how it affected farm values, the
answers were all the way from TWEEN
ty-five per cent. to $50 per cent We
found Instances where farms were
oh oft
was improved, and we came IN con
tact with one farmer who said the
farm was brought by him for 50, 800
and that after the road had beer
down three years he sold it for S12,
900. And this is the song we hearC
all along the line. A teamster salC
that before the roads were improved
he used to charge $40 for a certain
. number of tons but that now he haul:
twice as many tons for SO and makes
twice as much money The people VI
, in this country wouldn't get along
without improved highways and none
, of them claim that the cost is too
heavy. In fact they say they would
sooner stand a heavier burden thai
do away with them. And these arr
expensives roads also, nothing hk'
rock roads, the cost of which L
around $4,000 annie. We founC
much complaint among many farm
ers who live off the improved roads.
Good Roads Help Dairy Farming
The improved highways have bull
! up the dairying and all the farms arr
/, dotted with fine dairy herds. W.
drove into one farm yard near Mil
waukee and sought out the owner o.
the place. He was a native of Ger
many, who, introducing himself, sait
he was a German, but assured US tina
he was an American citizen. He wa
over optimistic concerning improved
highways and his place certainl!
showed that he was alive with pro
gressiveness. He had go acres o.
land, nine miles from Milwaukee anC
he said that $3.50 an acre would no
buy it, and everywhere we went, W.
: were told that my farm isn't To-
= sale" This was especially true OF
improved highways. And the reason
why this Germans land had doubled
in value was because he lived on al
improved highway, had fine hero
of registered dairy cows and was onl!
paving ten cents a can for having {
truck take his milk TO market The
dairyman who lived on a dirt roaC
paid fifteen cents can. We ind ina
the price for milk up here IS abou
the same as it is around Fort Scott
the difference being that farmer doe
J not haul his milk, but is content tt
pay ten cents can, if he happens tt
live on improved road, and fifteel
, cents a can if he lives off it. ImprOV
ed roads up in this country have de
: veloped dairying and trucking, NJ
r matter how far the farmer lives from
the market.
Traffic Heavy-Upkeep Light.
! In Wayne county, of which Detroi
is the county seat, we were driven ov
or 12n miles of cnncrete roads AM