The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1922-11-30
PAVING WOULD
EFFECT SAVING
Public Would Profit by Buying Good
Roads Instead of Gasoline and
Paying for Repairs
TO SPEED IMPROVEMENTS
Highway Department Will Recommend
First Issues of State Bonds;
Not to Increase Taxes.

The savings on gasoline alone, in the
next ten years at present prices,
would pay the whole cost of paving the
entire 7,OO0-mile Minnesota system Of
trunk highways, according to practical
tests made by the Iowa state college.
Expert engineers report that equal
savings can be made on tires with
paved, against unpaved, roads, and
this added, the possible savings would
equal the paving costs in five years.
Even greater savings possible on the
life Of every car and the comfort and
convenience afforded by lard-surfaced
highways would represent net gains,
they assert.
Charles M. Babcock, state highway
commissioner, made it clear that there
is no immediate plan to pave 1000
miles or even 70G miles on the trunk
system, and that the figures are ap-
piled to the Minnesota highway pro-
gram to emphasize that the proposed
bond issues to speed up betterments
are "just good business
Iowa test averages showed that a
gallon of gasoline is the motor fuel
necessary to transport one ton IA
miles on an earth road, FL miles on
gravel road and 81 miles on concrete
pavement With gasoline at "a cents
a gallon, ton mile fuel costs are III
cents on earth, lis cents on gravel
and II cents on paved roads. Furth
err. the tests show possible savings of
Sc cents ton mile on gravel over
earth roads, "a cents on pavement over
earth roads and 38 cents on pavement
over gravel roads. The weight Of the
average vehicle is placed at 1876 tons.
These basic figures make it easy to
figure with fair accuracy the gasoline
savings possible from Improvement of
any road on which is known the num-
Der of motor vehicles using it daily.
Applied to the Minnesota trunk
highway system, the test figures indi-
cate fuel cost of motor vehicle opera
ton, per ton mile with 24-cent gaso-
line, of 66-hundredths of a cent less
on concrete road than on the average
unpaved road in the state. With traf-
fic averages of TO vehicles and 966
tons a day on the Minnesota highways,
the gasoline saving alone would be ST.
1926 year, plus $6.75 saving on main
tenance on paving, or total of $4,000
a mile-saved annually.
Interest charges included, concrete
pavement in Minnesota costs 100000 a
mile. So the possible saving on gaso-
line with hard surfaced roads, with
maintenance costs reduced, would in
ten years at the present price of gas
oline, cover the gross cost Of extend
ing paving over all Of the 7,000-mile
state highway system.
Commenting on the proposals to be
made to the legislature, Commissioner
Babcock said:
"The highway department will rec
ommend first issues Of state highway
bonds because it believes the proposal
just good business an1 what a good
manager would urge upon stock-hold-
ers in private enterprise under like
conditions. The public as good roads
stockholders, acting through the se;::-
ators and representatives correspond
ing to the board Of directors in a
private business must decide whether
the proposition is timely. It will
stand solely on it's merits.
"The successful business man bor-
rows funds when he finds he can use
them to build economically and advan-
tageously. Minnesota with credit of
$40 per capita and only 1914 Of debt
or a net credit of nearly $12 per CAPT.
t., is in better position to borrow
morey for needed highway improve
ments than many other states now 60
ing on with much larger highway
funds and programs. Highway bond
and other recommendations to be
made by this department will add one
cent to taxes. Better roads already
are returning to average car and truck
owners more than they pay in motor
vehicle taxes and since the state as
sumed the expense of building and
the more expensive main
roads, county township and city-vi1-
lage levies for road and bridge pur-
poses are rapidly going down. Direct
taxes for roads in Minnesota are being
lowered for the first time in the his
tory of the state.
Current trunk highway funds to
date have totaled 100000 less than
was agreed to under Amendment No.
1 and reasonably expected. Highway
demands are increasing as more and
more people become convinced that
good roads more than pay for them
selves by stopping gasoline, tires, and
ether waste. Reasonable funds pro-
vided, the state will be able to speed
up highway improvements and to the
advantage Of every property owner
and citizen. It will be possible in all
parts Of the state to hasten results de-
manded now, whereas, otherwise more
limited funds must be used to best
serve the greatest number of highway
users and projects in many localities