Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-12-07
LESSON FROM FRANCE DURING WAR IS
AMERICA MUST BUILD GOOD HIGHWAYS

I America needs not only more and
more improved highways that the full
possibilities of the motor truck in
the transportation field may be fully
realized, but America needs and should
insist upon better highways, roads
built for heavy traffic, says E. A..
Williams, Jr., president of the Garford
| Motor Truck company.
one of the lessons America learned
from the world war was the great
| undeveloped field open to the motor
truck. We had known that, of course,
but 1t remained for the war to bring
1t home forcibly to every man, woman
and child in the country.
Another lesson learned from the
war has been in the matter of good
substantial roads. 1t has been truly
SAID. believe, that France was saved
| by her roads. And everyone knows
who has been in France that the roads
were of too light construction to stand
| the heavy traffic that went over them
The result was a breaking down of
the road, not seriously enough to inter-
fere with traffic, but bad enough to
make the going hard. France had
BUILT her roads without vision, with
out looking ahead to the days when
great fleets of automobiles, heavy
wagons and heavily loaded trucks
| would be plying them. AS result,
| French roads in the heavy traffic
zone need a great deal of attention.
TRUCKS DO SMALL DAMAGE.
| And, through the study of roads
that this has occasioned / believe !
am safe in saying that of all vehicles
that use the highways the motor truck
probably causes the least damage in
proportion to the service 1t renders -
| that Is upon roads that have been
properly constructed.
American trucks are hauling $780,
| 100000 tons of farm products each
year to say nothing of other products
And SO, l am safe in saying they are
| very mild on roads compared to their
service rendered.
There are two things that cause
damage to roads. One is the impact OF
weight The other is the wear on the
surface OF the road With light roads
such as were found In France the
weight impact does much damage. If
the roadbed is faulty. weight, of course
tends to break it.
But with the well constructed road
the greatest destroyer of road surface
is the steel tire, such as on the buggy
or heavy or light wagon. The steel
tire hits the roadway with an unyield-
ing impact. This constant, ungiving
pounding brushes the stone and shat
tiers all OF the particles. Too. steel
tires, because they are comparatively
narrow. cut and dig deep ruts.
In other words, steel tires literally
pulverfze the road surface. The sue
ton of fast moving pneumatic tires
lifts this dust and scatter ii to the
winds.
MUST BUILD FOR UTILITY.
But that Is not true of motor trucks.
Usually they are equipped with broad
rubber tires. They travel at slow
speeds compared to the passenger
auto, the motor cycle and other We
hices They do not lift the dust and
consequently cause little damage to
the surface of the properly construct
ed road because there is practically no
suction from the truck tire.
The lesson America should take from
France and from the study of the
causes of road damage is that Of roads
for the future. roads with substantial
foundations. True our roads now are
of much heavier construction than
those in foreign countries, but we must
look ahead to the day of the motor
truck train the possibilities of which,
even on great cross-ountry. hauls we
have already experienced through the
tests OF the government during the
rush to get war materials to the
seaboard.
We must build something more than
mere speedways. We must build for
what we men of the truck industry
believe will be in few years the
greatest transportation agency In the
world of business.