Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-05-06
ROADS OF THE
FUTURE
wy ASHINGTON, D. c., May A.
M There are many indications
w that the next few years will
By Frederic J. HaSMn

WV oOSiL any " llO1Cs NhOSG VI Lllc
presidential candidates seem to have
spoken in favor of fine national sys-
tenn of roads, that being a thing that
is perfectly safe to indorse, and one
that can be made to appeal to any au-
dfence. If it is some organization of
militants and imperialists that the
candidate is addressing, then roads
are necessary for military reasons;
the farmers are to be the great bene-
ficiaries if they are listening; while
the ultimate consumer is assured
that the products of the country
will flow to his very door in an I'M
ceasing stream when there are good
truck roads. The manufacturer
knows that the growth of the great
auto industry and all it's innumerable
accessory industries is dependent
upon good roads.
Here is something that all can
agree about. and certainly it is true
that the road building in this country
nearly all remains to be done. We
have good macadam roads in many
parts of the United States, but they
are not adequate in two ways. In
the first place, they do not join to
form the great trunk lines from one
part of the country to another which
are the essential framework of
good national roads system, and in
well enough to stand the strain of
the great and growing heavy truck
traffic. This fact is fully realized
by T. H. Macdonald, chief of the
United States bureau of public roads,
who states that our whole national
road system must be rebuilt with
the heavy truck especially in mind.
= LOCATE TRUNK SYSTEMS
=, Mr.. Macdonald says that the first
thing to be done is to make a snrvav
OF the roads of the country. determin-
ING just what traffic goes over each
class OF road, and fixing standards
OF construction for each class. II is
generally agreed that trunk sys-
tenn of paved roads is the only thing
which, in the long run, will serve the
purpose. Such roads, made of fitted
stones, will be expensive to build in
the hrst place, but not nearly so ex-
penslVe to keep up once they are
built. Every highly organized civiIi-
zatlon has found such a system of
paved roads a necessity, from Rome
on down: The western European ma
t1ons, being small, found it a compar-
atively easy task to build ADEQUATE
road systems, but in an enormous
country like the United States, it is
There was little interest in roads
in this country for long time. 1t
was assumed that the railroads were
all-sufficient. The automobile
brought the first impetus to road
building, and now the heavy truck
has brought a still greater one. For
it has been discovered that the rail-
road does not displace the highway,
even for heavy freighting, just as it
has been discovered that the railroad
cannot economically be allowed to
displace the canal and river traffic
Real economy and efficiency are
gained by co-ordinating all of these
means of transport, letting each
function in it's proper sphere.
The war department has given a
push to bodybuilding operations this
spring by turning over some $4,000
motor vehicles built for war purposes
for use in road building. At present
the states are not given title to this
equipment, and it can be used only
on roads which are being built in
part by federal aid, but this is ex-
pected to be remedied by legislation
The state will then be able to turn
over some of the equipment to the
counties.
ROADS STIMULATE NTRAFFIC
Inc completion of trunk lines be-
tween east and west and north and
south will perhaps stimulate pas
senger traffic by highway almost as
much as it will stimulate freight
traffic. For the number of persons
who travel from one part of the
country to another by motor vehicle
is undoubtedly increasing at a great
rate; And this touring" is no longer
solely the sport of rich men that it
used to be. For example, if you hire
jitney in Miami, Fla, in January
you are surprised to learn that the
driver of it is native of some place
in Connecticut He has come south
with his wife and several children
every year for five years, returning
north IN the summer. By followin g
the travel crowds, both he and his
wife are easily able to get remunera-
tive work and at the same time es-
cape the extremes of heat and cold
and see something of the world. Nor
are such perapatetic families at all
rare.
A strong evidence of the increase
or the auto-nomad of modest means
is the great boom which is going for
ward just now in auto-camping equip
ment. A great number of devices have
been put on the market by which a
tl!vver may be converted in few
while cooking outfits, stoves and
other household paraphernalia for the
motor1st are also available. These
devices are multiplying at a great
| rate, and agencies for them are
| spr1nging up everywhere. American
ingenuity is really applying itself to
the task of converting the automo-
bile into a complete home, at least
in warm weather. With rents rising
the way they are, it is no wonder
that even poor men find it expedient
to take, to the road and live like
Arabs wherever they can find room
to pitch tent. If you think this
class of modern nomads is a myth,
go to Florida in the winter Or the
Rockies in the summer, and will
see them by the roadside everywhere.
And a very happy, healthy lot they
| look, too.
WE ARE WANDERLUSTBRS
After all, Americans are all sprung
! from wandering, pioneering stock,
and probably most of US are not with
out certain hankering to- take the
! road and see what is somewhere else.
Then, too, there is so much seasonal
work in the United States that the
man who is able to go where he
| pleases can make money more. easily
than the one who has to stay in a GER
| tain place.
The individual who seems to be
| losing out in this great development
of highways and highway travel is
! the horse. AS the good roads advance
| he retreats. Until a couple of years
ago it was often pointed out that de-
spite the great increase in the use of
motor vehicles, horses were just as
| numerous in thisco untry as ever, but
this is no longer true.
The horse population is now in for
q big drop. AS DR.. G. H. Rommel, of
! the department of agriculture points
out, the breeding of heavy draft
! horses in this country has fallen off
about 40 per cent in the past few
years, and that of light horses 80 per
| for this is that while the price of
nearly everything else has doubled or
more than doubled, the price of
horses has increased very little, if at
0ll. The farmers simply cannot af-
| ford to raise horses at the current