Great Falls daily tribune., 1919-08-17

Good market roads pay dividends to
the people, declared l.. /. Hewes, gen
eral inspector of the United States
bureau Of public roads in an address to
the Montana State Bankers association
which last week held its annual con-
vention at Mammoth Hot Springs. There
is a real community income, negative in
character but measured by decreased
cost Of travel and haul, in good roads,
he asserted. This income" said Mr..
Hewes, lis independent of general COM
munity uplift consolidated schools,
EAder radius of farming, operations or
diVersification of crops. 1t is strictly
saving on the going business operations
or an operating income"
Mr.. Hewes reviewed the advance that
has been made in road building IN the
United States since the work has been
taken charge Of BY state highway de-
partments and asserted that the money
now available to the various states from
federal aid, totals more than two billion
dollars.
He discussed at length the various
methods of financing road building and
devoted some time to methods which
give the best results and to the various
kind Of bonds which may be used. He
said:.
For the first hundred years Of our
national life We almost .e completely pnt,,ly
we failed to build any first-class roads.
The Cumberland Pike and the toll roads
Of the valley Of Virginia are the possible
exceptions. We come then, to the
quarter century just past and the con-
trast is astonishing.
1T is almost exactly twenty-five years
ago that Professor Shaler of Harvard
Highways In it he sounded the note of
the new era and Immediately became
chairman Of the first Massachusetts
highway commission. New Jersey has
already started with a state department
for county aid and in the years that
followed Immediately, all New England
adopted methods for state aid. The
the Mississippi valley and to California
and other states in the west. Virginia
in the south and then in 1916 the last
eighteen states completed the list, SO
that today no state is without its state
highway department.
"Statc road building under twenty
five years Of state highway departments,
actually has resulted in more than 10000
miles OF first-class highways. To see
what this means YOU are reminded that
the famous main national roads of
France total slightly more than $4,000
miles. These French roads were CEN
tury in the building.
Large Percent Surfaced.
eve have, however. accumulated to
date the enormous total mileage of ap-
proximately two and one-half million
and to January 4. 1915, had surfaced
ten and onehalf percent or PSI, POI miles.
On this vast mileage we spent in the
year 1904 from all sources about $780,
100000. BY 1914 we have had 50 in
creased our attention to road better
ment that we spent that year approxim-
ately $240, 100000 and year later the
best figures indicated an expenditure of
$500 100000 or practically a million
dollars for every working day. Today
we have ceased to speak in millions.
Director Mcdonald of the bureau of
public roads told me in Washington
last month that the road money now in
sight-that is, voted and appropriated,
totalled approximately one billion dol
lars. Since then / am informed that this
figure may be low by two hundred mil
lion.
This accelerated expenditure for
roads has come with the parallel de-
velopment of state high departments
and state control.
4There is no question Of the success
of that principle. No state has ever
receded from its state road policy, altho
West Virginia took a breathing spell
Of year or 50 and returned with new
determination. and votes soon on a
S5O,OOO0OO road bond issue.
Construction Standardized.
ut is quite probable that state road
building has depended for its success on
Standardization of construction, develop
ment OF q permanent trained personnel
or engineering force and on the equitable
distribution of revenues from richer to
poorer districts
increase in nationwide expenditure fer
highways would ever have reached it's
present development without the advent
of the automobile Fifteen years ago
there were a few thousand motor
vehicles and total of registration fees
almost negligible.
In 1918 the registration of all motor
vehicles was about 6146,O00 with total
registration revenue of about $55 ,OOO.-
OOO-and more than three-quarters of
this revenue was turned over to the state
highway departments Of the several
states for use directly or indirectly on
construction or maintenance of state
highways.
Eve come naturally now to the de-
tails of the financing Of this vast high
way program and particularly to the sec
ond topic on highway bond issues. On
January ], 1914 there had been voted
DN stdLe. touHLleS duu townships, L0Lal
of S445, 147 073, in highway bonds lin
cluding bridge bondsl. OF these bonds
and those voted during 1914. $344, ,763,-
O82, were issued and outstanding on
January !. 1915.
State Bond Issues.
"Since that time there has been a
very large increase including $6O,OO0.-
900 state bonds in Illinois, $4,000, 900
each in Michingan and Pennsylvania, $4O,-
100000 in California, $12,500OOO in
Oregon and several other large state
issues totalling S239.46O,00O and more
pending. County issues have been equal
~ surprising. 1t is estimated that in
California alone S2O,OOO,OOO county
bonds have been voted this year The
total is over $15O,OOO,O0O
I'm the progress Of issuing highway
bonds. several items are visible: first,
the number of longterm bond issues is
decreasing; second, the old time sinking
fund bond is decreasing: third, there is
definite provision for amortizement or
obor Of tho loap. fa,,rth fbar ,u