The Washington herald., 1922-08-06
ADVENT OF MOTORS BOOST
ARGENTINE HIGHWAY PI. AN
South American Country Realizes Need for
Modernizing Roadways.

viding the country with those good
highways 1t has needed for a long
time
Bad roads in Argentina have
trcught complaints from all direc-
tions. especially since the advent of
the automobile. but these usually
were made without considering why
Argentine roads were in poor condi-
ton, or the difficulties to be over
ceme in improving them.
Argentina Is prairie country for
the most part. and. moreover. IL is
very sparsely settled outside the two
or three larger cities. SO that taxa
ton for good roads must of neces-
sity fall heaviest on the urban popu-
lation. which would not always ben
eht from them and which, therefore,
falls to see the justice of having TO
pay for them.
Carts Are Primary Cause.
The primary cause OF Argertina's s
lad roads Is one of the most typical
sights to be seen as soon as one gets
outside the towns the big two
wheeled cart. which does for Argen-
tina what the railroads do for the
United States in hauling agricul-
tht 10 Indfkct. ntSt
carts are huge affairs. have wheels
measuring from ten to twelve feet
in diameter. and are capable of haul
ing 400 bushels of grain. From If
teen to twenty horses are hitched
TO one of these carts. the horses
usually being In one line. shoulder
to shoulder. and heavy loads are
hauled from fifteen to thirty miles
across country.
Thousands Of tons of wool and
grain each year are mved to the
railroads in these big carts, and the
use of these, with their enormous
weight when loaded. makes the
problem of maintaining dirt roads a
difficult and costly one indeed. Dur
Ing the harvest season a road may
he in excellent condition. but after
the wheat has been hauled to mar
ket II looks vastly different. Hith-
erto the problem has seemed to be
an endless cycle. since these big
carts are the only vehicles which can
get to market over bad roads. and
the roads are kept In poor condi-
ton by the carts.
The necessity for solving this
problem Is hardly a new discovery.
for the cost of bad roads has long
been felt. especially by agricultur-
ISIS. In Argentina the average cost
to the farmer of hauling cereals and
wool to market is SO centavos (nor-
mally 81 cents, a ton per kilometer.
while in the United States this cost.
based on Argentine value of trans
rortation facilities. is about 25 cen
tavos on earth roads and less than
Is centavos per ton per kilometer on
hard surface roads.
Annual Cost Is Heavy.
Estimating that the wool and
grain produced in Argentina Is
hauled on an average ten kiIometers
most of 1t Is hauled a longer dis
tance-this difference in transporta-
ton costs represents a loss to the
Argentine farmers of approximately
35.000.000 pesos ($12,661.0o0) an
nually.
Several. attempts have been made
In the last few years to get high
Yay law through the national con-
press and some OF the provincial
legislatures. but these efforts always
have been sidetracked to make room
for what was considered more
urgent legislation,
The good roads movement. how
ever, mas TeCciNcu new
from the Argentine TouAng Club.
ard more tangible results of it's
campaign may later be evident in
the. passage of legislation sought
The good roads projects selected
for presentation to Congress propose
the establishment Of. a national
highway commission, to be COM
posed of a chairman and four gov
ernors appointed by the President Of
the republic, this commission to
have control of national funds for
reads appropriated. by Congress and
OF constructing highways author
ized. The commission also would be
charged with harmonizing national
and provincial effort to obtain better
reads. This probably would he one
Of its hardest problems since certain
provinces already are limiting that
the national government might
override the constitutional rights Of
rrovinces in the matter of road con-
struction