Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-12-29
WILL DISCUSS
ROAD BUILDING
ANNUAL MEETING MAY BE
ATTENDED BY MEN
FROM COUNTY

The Twelfth American Good Roads
Congress is to be held at Chicago on
January II to 20 next under the aus
pices OF the American Good Road
Builders association, and it is ex-
pected that Marathon county will &c
represented at the show and conven
ton by J. H. Vogt, its highway COM
missioner. and perhaps by the mem-
bers of the road and bridge commit
tee, Gust Doering, Henry Hamann
and Ed Pauls Others who are in
terested in highways may attend.
The construction of gravel roads
and especially ways and means OF
salvaging those already constructed
so as to tighten tax burdens in rural
communities is one Of the subjects
featured for discussion.
More Attention
1T is planned to give more atten-
tion to this phase of road construc-
tion at the coming congress-" said H.
L. Bowlby, of the U. S. bureau of
public roads, president of the Ameri-
can Road Builders association, Tor
we realize that the cost of highways
lis of more Importance to the farmer
than any other phase of the good
roads movement. The extent to
which the farmer is adopting motor
transport and thereby becoming in
creasingly interested in highway i'm
provement is indicaied by the fact
| that 1920 census reports show that
| 139. 169 motor trucks are now being
| used on 13l ,551 American farms. The
t.corn belt states are now the leading
purchasers of trucks but the demand
everywhere is becoming increasing
| ly heavy There are now 2,146,512
passenger automobiles in use on
! 1,979,564 farms. Over 80 per cent Of
all our farmers now own cars and
more than 2 per cent now use trucks.
| That the good roads movement has
| had its share in making rural life
more attractive is indicated by a
gradual increase in the number of
! farm owners and farm tenants. Of
| the 6,44S,3e6 farms in the United
States, 3,925.095, or 60.9 per cent, are
now operated by their owners; 6S,525,
or IL per cent, by hired managers,
and 2,454.746, or 3S.1 per cent, by ten
ants. In 1910, GIL per cent of
| American farms were operated by
owners, 0.9 per cent by managers
and 81 per cent by tenants. In 1890
the tenantry comprised only 2S pei
cent"
Interests Farmer
Nobody III the world ought to be
more interested in good roads than
the farmer. With him 1t should be a
kbusiness proposition. Good roads
mean to the farmer greater income,
! less cost Of operation, saving of lime
in marketing products and getting
supplies, and independence, more or
| less, of weather conditions and rail-
road transportation. The program
for the good roads congress in Chi
cago this time will be of greater in
terest 10 farmers, as will the expo
sition of road building and highway
transport machinery"
At a recent drawing for space for
| the good roads show in Chicago nine
| ty-five pere cent of the 10000 square
| feet of space was taken, breaking all
records and necessitating the use Of
additional buildings to house the ex-
hibits. Close to $1,500,000 worth of
| labor saving road machinery and ap-
! pliances will be exhibited.
| At the good roads congress many
subjects of Importance to all highway
users will be discussed, including
elimination of grade crossings,
Strengthening bridges to carry the
ever-increasing truck loads and more
equitable distribution of taxation fol
the construction and maintenance of
highways. Last year federal, state
and municipal taxes on motor vehi-
cles reached the staggering sum Of
$316, ,720 0,000-equivalent to S34 per
car Governors of As states, commits
sioners of 1900 counties and may
ors of 5000 cities are expected to ap-
point delegates to the congress.