The Coconino sun., 1919-06-06

If all the automobiles Tn this c0uE- try stood evenly distributed over all the roads of this country, there would be five motor cars to every ? miles of road. And there are 2,457 1884 miles of public road.
 If every motor car in the United States were loaded to its limit with people, half the population of the United States could be hauled at one load. And there are about 100000 900 people in this country.
 Getting down to boot heels and bitu- lithic-just to to avoid the vulgar phase of bedrock and brass tacks-- about S7 per cent of all the motor vehicles in the world are on the roads of the United States. By estimate, there were 100000 automobiles in the world on January 1, 1919. By ac- tual county, 6,146,677 of these were in the United States. These motor ve- hicles paid, in license and other fees, 51,477,416. And this is exclusive of the 107,OO0 motor vehicles manufac- tured for the government.
 Each one of those six million one hundred and odd thousand motor cars, when it runs on unimproved roads, pays about twice as much for tires and about twice as much for gasoline as when it runs on surfaced roads. And there are about eight times as many miles of unimproved as of improved public roads in the United States. To be specific, the public roads in the United States measure 3,457,33 miles, of which only 296 ,290 miles, or about 12 per cent, are surfaced. The rest are earth roads.
 Are the owners of those six million and odd automobiles interested in the federal aid road-building program for 1919? It is the most stupendous road building program in the history of the world.
 Expenditures for road construction this year are likely to reach $500, ,000,- 900, according to the estimates of the United States Department of Agricul- ture, the government agency charged with the administration of the Federal Aid Road Act. Practically all states are planning a continuous system of connecting highways throughout the state. and there is more general dis position than was ever manifested be- fore toward cooperation among neigh boring states so that improved roads will not terminate at state lines.
 Congress, shortly before adjourn ment, made an extra appropriation of $209, ,OO0,0 in the postoffice appro- priation bill to meet the federal part of the program. Officials of the Bu- reau of Public Roads, United States Department of Agriculture, point out that this is the largest appropriation ever made by any government for a similar purpose, and that it will en- able the federal and state govern ments to carry on a road-building pro- gram of magnitude never approach ed in the history of the world. This work, it is estimated, will employ more than 100000 men in active road work, in addition to the men engaged in the production and furnishing of road-building materials. It affords one of the large opportunities for profit able employment for returned soldiers and sailors.
 The program is a continuing one. The recent federal appropriation is for three years. State, county and local funds will come largely from bond is- sues. And there is where the 6,0OO,- 900 automobile owners ought to shine with tremendous radiance.
 Both sensible selfishness and plain duty call upon the automobile owner to vote for road bonds. His tire and fuel costs, as before mentioned, are cut in half by good roads. More inn portant still, if he be city man, as very large proportion of automobile owners are, it brings what he eats to his door at less cost. Good roads have always meant something in the way of reducing living costs, but they mean more now that the motor truck has come to stay-and to expand. One function of the motor truck is to re- lieve congestion in the neighborhood of large cities--a congestion that has increased during the past several years, and that, if it continues, will tend to run up the cost of living.