The sun., 1919-04-13
FEDERAL HIGHWAY
SYSTEM IMPERATIVE
National Agency Needed to Co.
ordinate State Roads Into
Through Routes.
By RoY D. CHArIN.

NJ ROT d. CHAPLIN.
Former Chatr~ucn HicA,ooys Trenspovs
Commtttee. Council Of National
Defence.
When the construction Of roads was
first undertaken on large scale in the
United States Il was q comman belief
that traffio was local II was argued
that as highway transportation could
not hope to compete with railway car
riage over any great distance the prob
lem of construction OF roads was that of
linking up communities without consider
ing those communities either In their re-
lation to the state or to the United
States.
For the purposes Of debate tho state
ment that highway transportation can
not compete with rail lines may be ac-
cepted without argument. since II is
generally conceded that the low rates
which prevail on long hauls on rail
lines cannot now be met by even the
most efficient form Of highway trans
portation. which 10 the motor truck.
A Concrete Example.
But to argue from that hypothesis
that highway transportation IL local In
character is to fall into a common error
which has resulted in the creation Of
many uHNOIihcStco ilhhs VI UhEHWayo
over the country, and which, because OF
their isolation. have had n tendency 20
increase costs OF transportation. and con-
sequently the cost OF commodities, since
traffic either originates along or travels
over the road at some stage in its prog
ress from the producer to the consumer
Take the case OF Pennsylvania and
Maryland as concrete example. The
State highway departments OF these
Stafas baya racoOpizad for a too~ TINA
the desirability Of connected gateways,
yet to-day there are but few Of the main
highways leading out OF Maryland into
Pennsylvania which are linked up with
through highways leading out of Mary
land into Pennsylvania, which. in turn,
are linked up with through highways in
that State.
Analyze, II you will. the gateways be-
tween any other States In the Union, and
you will find similar condition prevail
ing, with the exception that the further
one travels from the congested traffic
centres the less likelihood there Is of
finding connected systems between the
States.
The reason Is not difficult to hnd.
Since the day when road building fret
began in a modern sense in this country
the highway departments have always
been Handicapped by a scarcity Of funds.
new, modern type roads, the benefits de-
rived therefrom have become so gener-
ally appreciated that there Is a constant
demand for more roads going UP from
every community in every State.
II frequently happens that a highway
carrying heavy traffic may lead right to
the boundaries Of a State. there to link
up with a district where traffic Is not
heavy. or where the residents have not
been so insistent. for one reason or an
other, for the improvement Of the road
The result Is that the State department
has naturally considered first the de-
nands of its own public and has ex-
pended its funds In other directions.
Interstate Trame.
THE IN itself would not be 30 bad II
we could arbitrarily arrange boundaries
for traffic. But there Is always inter-
state traffic to be considered which may
originate at or near the boundary OF one
state and have Its terminal right within
the boundary OF another. This traffic
Is growing steadily in volume. and II
should be taken care Of. But II Is closely
limited to-day by the costs Of transpcr-
tation, which increase in a startling ratio
he moment the traffic passes from
good road to a poor one. and In conse-
Guence we have not the free interchange
DtiWttn okdtos tIldk We
Further It must be remembered that
traffic of this nature Is not always lin
tied TO flow between two States. Actual
interstate traffic passing across two or
three or more States Is going on to-day.
and one OF the chief difficulties which
the United States Government had to
overcome in its care of military sup
plies passing from inland points to sea-
ports for shipment to France was this
80 t,b Mad
less to say, this traffic which originated
under the press OF war conditions has
not died, nor will Il. since there are
certain economic advantages to fast
through highway transportation OF spe-
cial types of express which are now gen.
orally recognized.
In a broad sense any provision for
national highways means a linking Up
OF the gateways between States. Back
OF that Of course remains the pressing
need for study of the development OF
traffic. where 1t originates and how 1t
Increases. az IN practice we will inevi-
tably find that certain OF these through
links must be more heavily constructed
than others, since they will prove TO be
the most economic routes Of travel and
hence the trunk lines from which feed
ers' will radiate in all directions.
The States are limited in this linking
UP process, Hehco tHc ueNeiopheHl VI u
national system naturally falls upon the
Federal Government with Its unlimited
funds and its ability to analyze these
problems from a national standpoint,
creating the trunk lines where they are
most needed.
Our Big Lack To-day.
To-day there Is no department in the
United States that has the authority TO
connect up these highways or to i'm
prove any one system nor is there
body constituted to analyze the funda-
mental principles covering the flow of
this trafic, but that Is no reason why
we should not have one. New conditions
create new needs, and OF all our new
problems none Is moro vital than this