Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-04-04
SECRETARY HOUSTON ANNOUNCES AMBITIOUS PROGRAM
OF GOVERNMENT TO BOOST GOOD ROADS CONS TRUcTE0N

| wv " @W "A u AVE-
! Many important steps have been
taken to expedite road construction
under the enlarged program recently
authorized by congress, and the in
dications are that a larger volume of
highway construction will be accom-
| plished this season than in any pre-
| vious year in the history of the ma
/ ton, according to a statement issued
| by David F. Houston, secretary Of
agriculture. today, The requisite Of OF,
/ for executing this program-that is.
! the department of agriculture,
| through the bureau of public roads
on the one hand. and the forty-eight
state highway departments on the
| other-is already in existence. A
conference was held by the secretary
| on March ! with the state highway
commissioners of the eastern and
! middle western states and all phases
| of the problem. and especially the IN
terpretation of the liberal amend
ments of the federal aid road act,
! were considered. The regulations is
! sued under the act have been care
! fully revised in the light of past en-
! perience and of the suggestions OF
fered by the state highway depart
|
fications. and estimates have peeh
| modified to meet special conditions
existing in some of the states, ana
other changes in practices and pro
ceedure have been and are being
made-all with the definite object OF
| speeding up the work. The appoint
ment of Thomas H. Macdonald, chlet
J engineer of the Iowa state highway
! commission, as engineer in immediate
| charge of the work of the bureau OF
| public roads under the federal alo
| road act has just been announced by
! the secretary, and it is planned that,
| in the near future, MI Macdonald
will formally assume the position OF
! director of the bureau OF public
, Freight Rates an Obstacle
| 1t developed at the conference on
| March 1 that the present freight
rates are one of the principal OBJ
| stacles to the active resumption ana
| extension of highway activities. me
| situation was laid before the proper
! officials of the railroad admlnlstra-
| ton on March 1 by representatives
! of the department of agriculture and
! of the state highway officials. They
were given a sympathetic nearing,
| and the question is now under actlVe
! consideration by the railroad admin
| istration. It is hoped that a favor
| able decision will be made in the near
| future. Secretary Houston also has
| taken UP with the secretary OF war
| the question of releasing from the
army, highway engineers IN TINS
| country and abroad, in order that
| their services may be utilized during
| the coming road construction season:
The secretary's statement in full is
During the. war it was necessary
to curtail road CONSTRUCTION opera
lions, because of the difficulties OF
securing transportation, materials,
and the requisite services. Now that
the situation has changed, the work
will be actively resumed and Vlgor-
ously prosecuted notwithstanding the
fact that conditions are still abnor-
NAL in some respects. especla!ly WIN
refence to the prices of materials and
supplies 1t is not believed that Inc
people of the nation can walt LOT
prices to recede before beginning IN
dustrial operations. Such hesitation
will add to the dithcultleS lnsIeau VI
tightening them.
Larger Funds for 1919 Work
1.-The congress at it's last session
accepting the recommendations OF
the department of agriculture, not
only made available from the fed
eral treasury large additional sums
for road construction in co-opera-
ton with the states but also made
some important amendments to the
federal aid road act. These amend
ments will have the effect of great
Nv lessening the difficulties of Sc
lecting and constructing needed
roads. The amount of federal FUNDS
available for road building on March
was over $72,900,00O, which under
the law must be matched by at least
an equal amount from the states,
making a total of 100000, in
GLIDING approximately S9,800,OOO'
from federal and state sources for
roads in the national forests. on
July 1, $95,000,000' more of federal
eral road purposes and S4,OOO'0oo
for national forest roads. which
with equal contributions from the
states. will provide an additional
S198,000,000 for federal aid road
work, making an aggregate sum OF
S343, 100000 for the calendar year.
In other words, the 1919 program
for federal aid road building is
greater than any previous annual
bodybuilding accomplishments in
this country. 1t is so great, in fact,
that the states will undoubtedly de-
fer taking up part OF the FEDERAL
funds until 1920. because expert
enced contracting and engineering
organizat ions must be developed
from the stagnant conditions of the
war period, before any exceptional
amount of road building gets under
way.
state Roads Plans Extensive
1.-THE states and their civil sub
divisions also will carry on large
amount of road work without feder-
al aid The extent of this is uncer-
tain and will depend upon local la
Dor, industrial and agricultural con-
ditions. The present indications are
that approximately $28O,OOO,OOO Will
be spent in this way.
aid road act
amended, places only three limita-
tons on the type of road to be con-
structed. as follows:
81. That the roads shall be Sub
stantial in character. This means
that the road must be constructed,
tive traffic with such maintenance
expenses that the total annual
charges will represent a reasonable
expenditure for the public service
rendered by the highway. 1t is to
the interest of the states that the
roads on which federal funds are
used be substantially constructed
because the law requires the states
or other civil subdivisions, as a pre-
requisite. to receiving further funds,
to maintain properly all roads built
with federal aid. There is nothing
in the law which restricts types of
construction between narrower linn
it's than those established by sound
finance and good engineering prac-
tice
"2. That the amount contributed
from the federal treasury in con-
nection with any road shall not ex-
coed 100000 a mile. The main thing
is to build a road that will stand
the traffic in the particular sec
ton of the country where it is con-
structed. The conditions in certain
sections may require a heavy, ex-
pensive type of road while in other
sections a less expensive type may
meet all the requirements. 1t was
noticeable in the recent conference
with highway officials that sentt-
ment is growing throughout the