Evening journal., 1922-04-22
Good Roads Advocates Gather at Dinner


curves OF the future OF telephony
and tell us that the telephone is yet
in its infancy.
There are thirteen million tele-
phones in use in this country sur
prisingly small, number. Every day
there are made an average OF 36
million telephone, calls. the staggering
total OF 1S billion calls annually. AS
great as that total may seem. that
is Approximately but one call every
three DAYS for each man, woman and
child in this country. Yet you ask
any business man how many times
his phone rings and he will tell you
once a second.
Lets compare these totals with
the motor car. another mechanism
which has taken its rank along with
other Indispensable utilities. for It
Is the subject OF good roads which
has brought us together tonight; and
II 1t were not for the motor car
there would be no good roads.
There are. according 10 the
United States Bureau OF Public
Roads. 10. 0.44S, 900 passenger and
commercial cars in usetn this coun-
try. For purposes OF our calculations
let us take an even ten million.
IF each car carries an average Of
but two people (most OF them can
carry fve) and operates but 800
days a year (most of them could
operate 365 days a year, the equiva-
lent Of six billion passengers are car
ried each year In addition. accord
ling to the National Automobile
Chamber OF Commerce, 100000 600
tons OF freight are carried by the mo-
tor trucks. This is four TO six times
the number of passengers carried by
all the steam railroads in the United
states and about half the amount of
freight hauled by the railroads
THE National Automobile Cham
Der of Commerce has made a survey
and ascertained that the average
travel of the passenger cars is 64OO
miles annually. That would mean
approximately 60 billion miles trav-
q elled yearly by all the passenger au-
tomobiles in this country, which Is
about 164 million miles day. The
chamber is authority for tho state
ment that 90 per cent OF all automo-
biles are used more or less for busi-
ness purposes. Further, that 30 pei
. cent of the total number of auto
mobiles in the United States are
owned by people living in communi-
, ties OF 5000 inhabitants or less. Also,
that one-third Of all passenger cars
and one-sixth Of all motor trucks
Z are owned by farmers. Contrary to
popular opinion. these facts show
! that the automobile is more general
b ly used in the country and the small
towns than in the city. They fur
ther emphasize the great need of a
network of good roads covering all
parts OF the United States.
b "The United States Bureau Of
Mines says that the 1921 consump-
T tion OF gasoline In this country was
four and one-half billion gallons.
According to the highest authorities
in the petroleum industry. four bill
S lions gallons or 90 per cent, is used
r. for operating vehicles.
s Let us endeavor to parallel tho
telephone figures with those OF th'
81 autom ohile.
is The telephone Is generally con
,r ceded to be one OF the essentia
as tools OF modern civilization which
N AnNnluItlN
ar his hours OF business as well as rec
reation Few civilized men live 4
4 such isolated solitude that they ar
81 beyond the reach OF the telephone
e I'm this country there Is one tele
D." phone TO every eight persons. Their
r. is one motor car for every clever
l. persons. There are three calls dail.
m on every telephone. The averag
~ motor car travels 21 miles daily
a Every time a telephone rings Their
u Is motor car somewhere in thi
r country which has travelled sever
n miles performing some useful func
II ton.
" Here we have statistics demon
- strating the constant and universe
use OF two mechanisms, each in it'
own sphere performing an indispen'
o. sable function in the every day life
Il OF millions OF people. Their wide
! spread use Is based purely upor
- their utility value. No other reasor
a would be a satisfactory explanation
10 OF this phenomenon.
Individually we can multiply oul
4 personality by the writing OF letters
n by the use OF the telephone. tele'
@ graph and cable. Occasions fire.
, quently arise when these methods o.
s communication will not answer. Oui
physical bodies must be transported
- quickly from one place to another
q The automobile is the only effective
[ means of always having at our dis
D nosal the power thus to overcom,
. the obstacles OF time and distance.
when Morse invented his tsle.
9 graph and Bell his telephone mar
had long before learned to draw fine
4 wire; else these two inventions
- would have been useless. The rail
o road train would be merely an in
= teresting mechanical curiosity to ex
hbit in the Smithsonian institution
IL man had never found a way t,
!, make tracks for it to run upon.
THE automobile was born into 8
. roadless world Compared with tn,
millions of miles OF telephone wirei
10 and the thousands OF miles OF stee
r rails which make these other tw,
% great inventions effective. the auto
a. mobile is stiN In a roadless world
q The automobile was the creation o
brains which dreamt of thousands o
Oh miles Of boulevards where once ex
or isted mud holes and ruts. One
90 more by comparison we have onl
80 commenced 10 cover up those mn
\, holes and ruts Yet a good road
~. movement which promises incalcu
10 able benefits TO mankind is well ur
Ger way. In this movement the ar
tomobile has been the most mower
~. iul missionary emphasizing as noti