The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1919-08-19
veyance, and to it is due a new
stress upon the 100000 or more
ro;los Of road in the limited States.

veyance, and to it is due new
stress upon the 100000 or more
miles of road in the United States.
Today there are said to be ABOUT
100000 motor vehicles in use IN
this country. Of this number it is es-
timated that 100000 are commercial
cars, ranging from light delivery wa
gons to heavy trucks.
Allowing an average of 5,oOO
miles year for each of the 5,OOO,-
! 600 remaining passenger cars and
assuming an average of three passen-
gers to car, the result will show
total of 45,OOO,OOO,OOO passenger
miles travelled during the year. This
, figure exceeds that for the railways
of the United States for the year
1916, which was 34,OOO,oOO,oOo pas
senger miles. So are automobiles and
roads shown to carry more people
more miles than railroads.
Good roads have direct effect on
the cost of living. Motor trucks and
good roads enable the farmer to
transport his products to market at a
price less than of hauling it in wa
gons and shipping it by rail. Often
soodstuffs perish on the farm because
of the lack of proper transportation
facilities. They often deteriorate in
transit because of the slowness of
their journey.
Cood roads speed them up.
The bureau of public roads gives
the cash expenditure on highways for
the year of 1915 as $267, 100000.
During the war, most of the big road
building projects were temporarily
suspended and the result is that
most of the highways throughout the
country are in run down condition.
The work of improving the high
rays already in existence and start
ing new projects will be limited on
ly to the supply of labor and material
according to T. H. Macdonald, chief
of the public roads bureau. "Road
construction work which is progress
ing in all parts of the country" he
said, els rapidly absorbing all the ex-
cess labor there is in the land, and
it is my opinion that before very long
there will be shortage of workmen
for road work. During the next three
years we look to see the biggest road
construction program carried out
that has ever been undertaken in
any part of the world"
All over the country bond issues
for the construction of roads are be-
ing announced. States are taking ad-
vantage of the opportunity to receive
financial help from the government
under the terms Of the federal aid
act, which provides that where a
State spends one dollar for road
work it is entitled to similar a.
mount from the government. Most OF
the States are getting federal aid on
a 60-4O basis. The only limitations
prescribed by the federal aid act are
that the roads shall be "rural post
roads," When road has met this
condition it is the duty of the secre-
tary of agriculture to give his ap'
proval to its construction and feder-
al aid is extended.
The federal highway council, which
has headquarters in Washington, IS
cooperating with some 1000 other
organizations throughout the country
interested in good roads for a con-
nected system of national highways
to be constructed and maintained
with the support Of the federal gov
ernment.
As the result of the efforts OF this
organization, a bill has been intro