Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1917-01-10
WISCONSIN FARMERS
LOSE BY BAD ROADS
Millions Go into Mud and RutS
EvaT} Year.
FARMERS HAUL 2O,0OO,O00
TONS EVERY YEAR
Dairy Farmers Travel $4,000 coo
Miles a Year.

Wisconsin is spending approximately
ten million dollars a year on her roads
or Highways IS ,00O, 600 under State
Aid Law and $5,O0O.O0O by the towns.
The highways are one Of the biggest
public propositions in the State Of Wis
cousin. As a matter of fact. consider
ing the extent of their use, they are
the biggest proposition. We build
court houses and prisons and asylums,
and even the state capitol, but none
of them come home 10 each Of US so
much as the roads and the school
house. Charles Sumner once said that
good roads and good schools were the
forerunners of all progress.
Someone has said that there are
one hundred and eighty thousand rea-
sons why we should have good roads
in Wisconsin-because we have that
number Of farms in Wisconsin. In
addition to that. there are 5000 rea-
sons why we should have irst-class
roads-better than the average state.
These 5000 reasons are the 5000
cheese factories and creameries which
we have in the State These require
more trips to market than needed in
the average corn or grain state.
In the dairy industry alone it is es-
timated that the farmers travel 10000
600 miles year.
- Inc
ing grain. dairy products, live stock,
running into millions every year. Our
dairy products alone are valued at
over a hundred million dollars a year.
which means that a hundred million
dollars worth is hauled over our roads
every year as a result of dairy farm
ing.
As a matter of fact. each farm is a
big producing factory and TO operate
prodtably it must have switching facil-
ities for its fEeiglat-roads over which
to transport its product to the ware
house, where it is put on he rail lines
and carried to the markets Of the
world
The State Dairy and Food Depart
ment and State Agricultural Commits
sioner give US some interesting figures
on the big freight business the farmer
must haul over the road.
In 1915. approximately 10000 600 tons
OF dairy products we're hauled to and
from the ereameries. cheese factories
and coudensories-milk. cream, whey
and buttermilk
Taking the tonnage Of thirteen Of
our big agricultural products. barley.
oats. wheat, rye. hay, potatoes. sugar
beets. beans, peas. clover-seed and
timothy. We find this runs to about
1900 600 tons. Add to this the other
haulage from farm to market, and it
easily runs between fifteen and twenty
million tons. The average haul will
be about six miles
Take out your pencil and paper aud
figure the loss on this tonnage caused
by bad roadside loss per ton per
mile What are the services of a
farmer and his team worth per hour?
What would you charge for your
team and hired man per hour? How
many hours do you lose on the road
by bad roads? Isn't your load cut in
two BY poor roads? Are you making
two trips to market. where you could
with good roads double the size Of
your load and make one trip. Are
you not wearing out your teams, and
wagons and harness. and even your
seIf-driving over poor roads?
How often have you been prevented
from driving TO market when the mar
ket was good by bad roads and how
much have you lost by IL.
You begin to see why We have roads
Don't you think We need better ones?
Are you going 70 keep on driving
in the old rut? II the farmers OF
Wisconsin lose two hours week in
going 70 market by bad roads. they
are losing 80 600 working days a year.
Think this over. and you viii come
to the conclusion that If the money
you are losing on bad roads every
year IS spent ia building good roads
it would build good roads throughout
the State OF Wisconsin.
Don't you think that after all good
roads are an investment rather than
an expenditure-that the taxes you
pay for them bring you a bigger in.
yestment than any Investment you
make in taxes?
Wisconsin is famous for its splendid
farms-behlnd the fences Is the high.
est type Of efficiency. Isn't it time
that we got this efficiency between the
| fences also?