Evening star., 1922-09-10
MILLIONS IN ROAD
MATERIAL IDLE AS
D. C. ROADS DECAY
District Not Included in Plan
to Distribute Surplus
Army Machinery.
DENIED SHARE IN TOOLS
IT HELPED TO PURCHASE
Municipal Government Unable to
Push Building Program Be-
cause of Lack of Funds.

While millions Of dollars worth OF
road building equipment Of every de-
scription lies idle in Army ware
houses throughout the country, high
ways in the District of Columbia are
crumbling to ruin because the munich
pal government cannot realize an es-
sential road-building program for
lack of funds.
When Congress passed an act in
1918 authorizing the War Department
to turn over to the Department OF
Agriculture part of its vast stores OF
road building machinery-surplus wal
material-for distribution among the
various states, the District of Colum-
bia was not included, despite the fact
that the people of Washington were
called upon to pay their full share of
the war costs in men and money.
Roads Here Disreputable.
AS result, while every piece of
machinery and tool needed In the
construction of roads lies idle in
military storehouses, nearly twice as
much is needed to build roads In the
District as would be necessary II
Congress amended its law and gave
Washington the right to share in the
apportionment of material 1t helped
to pay for.
No person who walks or rides
around the roads of the District, par
ticularIy in the less thickly popu-
lated sections, can but admit that
the highways Of the National Capital
and again the municipal government
has asked Congress for aappropri-
ations to improve old roads and build
new ones in rapidly growing sections.
Congress has failed to provide the
necessary funds for that purpose.
Now, however. local engineers are
pointing out that the federal govern
ment can easily cut the cost of build
ing necessary roads here to a figure
within its reach by giving the Dis
trict the right to use machinery
owned by the War Department, but
now lying idle and without the prob
ability Of being needed for years, II
ever.
Much Material ON Hand.
Col. II. L. Bowlby. who has charge
of the distribution to the states Of
surplus war material through the bu-
reau of public roads Of the Depart
ment Of Agriculture, was asked yes
terday whether he could obtain from
the War Department sufficient ma
chinery to give Washington a first
class. smooth system Of highways.
He replied:
I'VE can get enough machinery to
handle the job nicely. and the War De-
partment would never even notice it
was gone, it has so much stuff on hand
1t would be necessary, however. to have
Congress amend the existing law. which
authorizes the distribution Of these ma
terials to states, not the District
About the only things we could not
supply are the labor and cement The
War Department had a large supply of
cement on hand. but that product spoils,
you know, and what we did have is
useless. AS regards tools. however,
we could obtain everything necessary,
from rock crushers to chisels, saws and
hammers"
a Per Cent in Machinery.
Cement represents about 45A per cent
Of the cost Of building a road; labor
takes another 12h per cent. 1t can
hn x6ak
cent of building a road is in the ma
chinery. And the War Department has
more than enough to meet its own
needs.
AS experts pointed out, It Is simply
wasting thousands of dollars to Fay
contracting companies for the use Of
their machinery when the govern
ment has warehouses packed so full
that scarcely. one man knows the ac-
tual amount.
The existing law under which War
Department road building is dis
tributed among the states provides
that the material shall be apportioned
according to population. area and the
amount of roads under construction.
The various states inform the Depart
ment of Agriculture. which has
charge of the work, what their needs
are and the machinery is given them
as described.
War Loan Figures.
The people of Washington con-
tributed just as much toward the
purchase Of these supplies as the
residents of the states. Any doubt
as to the Districts right to share In
this distribution ID removed by the
following ofiicial figures. which show
the amounts subscribed here to the
various war loans:
~ Quota. Subscribed.
First Liberty. .......... 100000 $1s.1s1. 500
Second Ldbefty......... 12,000. 600 8.06O,5S0
Third Liberty. 12,S70.000 25.oo7.260
Fourth Liberty.... "a, ,eo3. 600 5l.ol2. $50
Victory loan. .......... a. 600 26,Sd2.260
Z In men. the District contributed
1900 sturdy soldiers. not to mention
the hundreds Of young wapen who
offered their services as nurses. z. N.
c. A. workers. telephone operators.
etc.
These facts would represent wash
ington's plea for the Eovernmant to
return enough machinarys to enable