Arizona republican., 1919-02-16

With the winter half over, and the season rapidly approaching when ac- tual work can be at least laid out and preliminary preparations made for ac- tual road construction, 1t is a good sign to sec the weekly increasing ac- tivities on the part of good roads as- sociations in practically every state in the union. towards hurrying up necessary steps to provide money for the 1919 construction Of good roads
 Practically every state either has measures up before local legislatures or are now preparing them for pre- scntation to the state authorities. For instance Minnesota officials believe that tho solution of the marketing problems in and around Duluth, as well as other large cities, will be found in motor truck system, but as they state, if you see any of the roads which have been used by motor trucks you will get an idea of what happens when roads are not built properly, for most of the roads-good roads many of them were too-that have been much used by motor trucks, have been shot to pieces They were never built for such traffic.
 Yet there is such traffic now. and there will be more such traffic in the future. What the country has to think about to think about very particularly in a way 10 produce results. is re- making of roads so that they can stand up under motor truck traffic. That means a revolution in road build . ing, if not a rebuilding of pretty near ly all the roads in this country.
 The state of Minnesota is preparin: a road building program that will involve the expenditure of more than six million dollars in the next F months. Commissioner Of Highways Babcock. says that the war demon strated the great value of motor trucks for freight transportation. and in his plans for better roads in Minnesota he will act with the object in view of making this one of the most ef- ficicnt states in the union for the use of motor trucks That means that roads must be built and maintained with a foundation sufficiently strong Co stand the wear of the heaviest truck traffic
 Should tho United States ever agair | engage in war. the war department an l ticipates close to 100 per cent use o | trucks in the transportation of sol | diers and war material over good road. ] in this country, and it will encourag, | the construction of highways to tha ! end.
 | Just what good roads will mean C | the motorist alone is indicated by tn, | following tabulation Taking 200.00 ! as the number of passenger automo | piles used in Minnesota, and are useC ! to the average extent of 5000 mile per year, gives a total of one billio1 ! miles per year travelled over the stat, ! Good highways would cut 10 per cen of the wear and tear and deteriora | ton of these cars. At an averag,
 value of $500 per car the total valu'
 of the automobiles of Minnesota woul,
 be S300.000.000. IT 10 per cent deter
 ioration is saved. here alone is a say | ing tO the people of Minnesota O
 S3O0O0O00 per year.
 Now that the motor trucks and pas
 senger automobiles are coming int almost universal use among farmers they arc becoming more insistent i their demand for good roads than tn 1 residents of the large cities.
 Minnesota is considering a well dc
 viscd system of hard surface high
 ways in that state from the tourls crop standpoint, believing that sue
 crop would equal the gross valu
 of the wheat crop. Certain Minnesot
 good roads associations uphold a 1