Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1919-10-24

The Solution of the Problems of In
dustry and Big Business Success
fcontr1buted

HloDue as fOnAmeIcA6l benlc3e, We
see all eonvcyances Of product Of the
agricultural and industrial fields, as
well as the travel from town TO town.
to be Of the horse-drawn variety.
The automobile, then commonly
called the ''horseIess carriage" being
built on very small and experiment
al scale, was of very light construe-
ton, not capable of much more
speed-certainIy not any more power
than the old reliable horse could
furnish.
People at that time regarded the
automobile as a pastime. luxury, a
sort of "dare-devilish contraption."
similar 10 the way the airplane was
regarded before the Great War plac-
ed it as an assured factor in business
and efficiency circles, and conse-
quently, people who possessed both
! the old reliable horse and wagon, and
the automobile, wishing to take no
chances, chose the horse as the safer
method of propulsion, and left the
automobile in It's sheen of varnish and
brassy splendor. to be taken out some
other day when the driver had plenty
of time and patience to spare to be
able to stop continually in the road to
tighten on replace nut or bolt,
change an adjustment, or replace lost
parts (if possible}, considering this,
perhaps, lark, for, with all its un-
eertainties, was this not a horseless
-, carriage? And, after being on the
road few hours, it was no uncom-
/ mon sight to see old Dobbin towing
the '.horseless carriage" home after
all.
At that time the roadways as a
travel surface were the old original
dirt, clay, sand, and even rocky ledg-
es, alternating with washouts or mud
dy or wet spots, especially after rain,
or slush after snow storms, so the
idea was evolved to smooth out the
roadway surfaces, as the automobile
was continually being improved, re-
sulting in more speed and the result
ant bumps in passing over the old
roads uncertain surfaces, giving the
early automobilist bad jarring and
beating, making such an operation
hair-raising as well as a dangerous
and expensive job at best.
Next, the hard and smooth road
surface was considered a possible so
luton, and several varieties of sub
stance were tried, until crushed
stone. or trap-rock, was found to be
the solution. So the main highways
and streets were gradually improved
by smoothing. the old surface and APP
plying a few inches of crushed stone,
and this being rolled thoroughly pro-
| duced hard and level surface
This proved blessing and saliva
ton to the new automobile industry,
which, as soon as the roads We're so
improved, were enabled to bring their
machines to a state of being nearer
perfection, with better adjustments of
intricate parts, which heretofore had
been handicapped by the originally
rough roads.
These road developments were con-
tinued from year TO year. according to
the ability of each township to make
appropriations, until these new roads
were conceded by all to be the acme
of perfection.
But now enters another factor for
consideration, viz: the increase in
the size, weight and higher speed at
tanned by the increasingly improved
automobile, which soon began making
large depressions and humps in the
new road surfaces, tearing out, bit by
bit; the rock ballast, thereby wearing
the nearby surface in overwhelming
spots, which necessitated the main
tenance of road repair gangs to re-
pair the spots as far as their ability
allowed them to do, but the bad spots
having increased in size and numbers
in later years, large areas of road sur
faces have been dug up and deeper
and moro permanently re-laid.
Still another factor appears for
consideration, that is, the advent of
the automobile truck which has also
increased in size, weight, capacity and
speed to a factor which spells rapid
destruction to these thinly laid sur
faces.
The earlier constructed roads have
been replaced, wherever practicable,
with a deeper deposit of trap rock,
and so will be more permanent, al
though this repair and replacement
work will continue for some years les
pecially in the Eastern states where