Evening star., 1921-02-27

Inc highways are the nations nat
ural arteries, over which at one time
or another our entire commerce flows
for it is fact that everything which
goes into or which exists as a fln-
ished product finds its way over the
nations highways.
In the case of agricultural products
it is certain that the greater portion
of them find their way over our high
ways before they reach the railway
for transportation to points OF con-
sumption. while many of them depend
entirely upon the highways as an IN
strument of transportation between
the farms and the table of the con-
sumner.
Therefore. if you live in a state sit
uated within the snow belt you know
that it is imperative to be ever pre-
pared for winters snowstorms. so
that the highways may be kept open
that food and supplies for the manu-
facture of the nations wares may
possible.
The control of snow removal should
be vested in the state highway de-
partment. division of maintenance or
repair. for those roads comprising the
state highway system. The county
should be vested with powers that
make it mandatory to remove snow
from all important county highways
not on the state system. The city
should have an organization for snow
removal and extend its areas of work
to the city line on those streets or
roads that connect with the main
county or state highways, and should
not confine city snow removal TO the
congested sections only.
Highways. like railroads. must be
regarded from a utilitarian point of
view and not as mere accessories to
other agencies of transportation, to be
used only infrequently.
The removal of snow is just as i'm
portant as the building of new high
ways, for unless the highways are
kept open at all times their use is
lost to the commercial interests of the
nation. in many cases, for period OF
months Humanity would suffer great
losses if the railroad companies per-
mitted snow to block the way and
halt the free and steady flow Of COM
merce. Such a condition could not be
permitted, for it would entail great
privation and much suffering. Trans
portation over the highways in all
parts of the United States has become
an important link in the recently
formed trinity. 1t not alone relieves
the railways when congeSted. as has
50 ably been demonstrated. but it is
moving overnight on short distances
up to 100 miles gigantic tonnage OF
agricultural and manufactured prod
ucts.
When the inland waterways freeze
over an added burden is thrown upon
the highways. and unless the snow is
removed such necessities as milk.
vegetables and coal do not move
freely.
Every state and county should have
a method of organization for repair,
maintenance and snow removal
Snow Causes Great Losses.
II there were little or no demand
$fHS tn ff., H.
cost of snow removal would still be
justified. II snow is permitted to
melt on the roadbed. it tends to soften
the subgrade and loosen the base un
der the wearing surface Evidence of
these damages may be seen after
heavy SHOWS in the late winter and
early springtime. There is another
and secondary consideration that is
almost as important: What happans
to the roads themselves when they
length of time?
II snow is not removed on a truck
highway. the traffic will gradually
break its way through when a thaw
begins. The traffic will create one or
two sets of ruts or tracks. This con-
slant tracking in the same rut pro-
duces disastrous results on the road
surface. making future repairs diffi-
cult and exceedingly expensive.
Keeping the road free from snow
OF the frost and other elements and
tends to neutralize their effect on the
subgrade and the base. A larger per-
centage of road repairs is due to win
ter traffic than to summer trafic.
There is only one reason for this
the neglect OF our highways during
snowy times.
Inadequate provision for snow re-
moval in the United States in 1920
caused a business loss of $500 0oo. 900.
ThA 1aSg in Naxy oit T..
estimated by the Merchants Associa-
tion to have been $50, ,000, 600 in twelve
days last February.
Snow Removal In Wisconsin.
In Milwaukee county. Wis. the
work of snow removal on it's system
Of trunk line highways is very eff
@ cient. and as a result the county's
throughout the winter The county
takes care of about one-half of ITS
miles of improved highways and the
townships care for the remainder. A
snow removal fund has been created
and Is taken from the general tax
funds.
The county is divided into four
districts. each supervised by fore
man. The snow-removaI work is
done by the district maintenance
crews and is paid for from the snow
removal fund. Last winter six mo-
tor trucks equipped with pIows were
operated almost exclusively in snow
removal work. These trucks were
assigned as nearly as possible to
definite districts and the trucks were
used so as to produce the most ef-
1cient results. With snow to the
depth Of twelve to eighteen inches
the trucks operated very successfully
and one truck in a storm last winter
cleared an eighteen-foot strip of
roadway in one round trip.
During 1920 the county spent $4.700
on snow removal, or an average of
$50 per mile. A large part Of this
cost was caused by the almost con-
tinual high winds. which kept piling
the snow in heavy drifts, necessi-
tating recourse to hand shoveling.
During snowstorms crews were often
kept at work night and day remov-
ing the snow as fast as it had fallen.
Because Of its efficient methods of
coping with the problem of snow re-
<moYal. milwaukee, county hiRhWaxs