The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1919-05-27
France, England Lead this
Nation in Road
Building
Work Now Being Done Here
But Start of National
Program


signed, the United States Depart
ment of Labor distributed 100000
posters bearing such messages as,
Good roads Build them now and
see how quickly good times will roll
down the roads" and Build now the
national, state and county roads that
are needed"
Although roadbulding on big
scale has been begun in many states,
even the most ambitious undertaking
will be but start toward nationwide
work now SO much needed Reports
received by the department. show
that highway construction as an I'M
mediate means of absorbing labor has
been undertaken in foreign countries
on scale much greater than that
represented in the program of the
United States government. if COM
parative area and population are TAX
en- into consideration
A comparison of the appropria-
tions of England and France with
those Of this country is of interest.
While Congress has made available
$800OO0O0 for expenditure in 1919
and total of $275,0OO,OOO up to and
inclading the fiscal year of 1921, this
money will be available On all or any
part of the 100000 miles of rural
highway in the United States. Against
this figure. France is concentrating
its fund of Sls2.0O00O0 on 65OOO miles
Of national highway of which large
percentage has already been improv-
ed, leaving the departments and SUBJ
departments to carry on the work in
the less important systems The to-
tai road mileage in England is $780,
o08 miles apd aside from the $s0000,-
600 appropriated by the national gov
ernment, at least as much more will
be set aside by shircs and munici-
palities.
Government figures prepared for
the joint congressional committee on
roads show that England has 2,57l
miles of road to every square mile
of area, France LIS miles and United
States .739. There are 108 French
citizens to every mile of road, 23o
Englishmen and but 4l8l Americans.
On the basis of these figures, the
highway system of the United States
will not equal the ratio of French
mileage to area until we have $780,
COO miles of highways while 100000
miles will be necessary to meet the
English ratie.
Nor is this all. In the matter of
hard surfaced highways, both France
and England are far ahead of this
country in roadbuilding was a result
of continued government expendi-
lures on national systems while
Prussia alone had 5000 miles of
hard surfaced roads previous to its
entry into the war. In proportion to
size. the United States would need
! Oil ,6l4 miles of hard surfaced ways
to rest on parity with Prussia, al
though close estimates show that on
Iy IL of per cent of 6250 miles Of
onr highways are hard surfaced at
the present time.
From the standpoint of absorption
of labor, figures compiled several
years ago by the United States For
est Service show that at that time ap-
proximately IS per cent of forestry
funds expended in road constructions
were directly absorbed by labor. An
of labor involved indirectly
in the construction equipment and
would bring labor's total
in the road program
lose to IS per cent of the total.
Estimates prepared by engineering
show that the United
States could we'll afford to spend
i l,250.00OO0 on hard surfaced sys-
:em of $4,000 miles which could be 50
ocated as to serve directly 46 per
cent of all of the counties of the
United States while Al percent Of ali
he others would be directly ada
:ent to it. In other words, 81 per
:ent Of the total population would be
touched with reasonable directness.
At an annual expenditure of $780,
10000 the fundamental system would
oe completed in twelve and half
,ears.
Appreciation of the value Of road
in the development of ma
ion is not confined to European
Countries. Japan. long indifferent to