Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-11-17

the motorist of the highway that
runs past his farm.
Indeed, it is only in a relatively
few sections of the country that the
farmer is compelled to pull his
horses aside to let the motorist pass;
in most counties the city motorist
has to watch out or he will be run
down by a motoring farmer. The
existence of the good road, laid
through the farm lands by the fed
eral and state money which has been
collected from automobile owners,
has made it possible for the farmer
to haul heavier loads to market and
has enabled him to run his family
In town to the movies, thus tighten
ing the monotony of rural life.
The government has extended its
inquiry and undertaken to deter
mine what the automobile owner
gets out of the road in return for the
money which he pays to build it. The
study shows that he gets his moneys
worth. 1t shows that the lessened
cost of operation and of mainte-
nance of an automobile used on an
improved road compensates for the
outlay for the taxes which provide
the road building funds.
=
The Department of Agriculture
made an intensive study of a typical
stretch of road between New York
City and New Haven, Conn. The
survey extended over an entire year.
The road is a concrete one, the fav-
orite type now being built under
federal aid. All kinds of traffic NOV
ing owe the road were checked and
observed. 1t was learned the saving
in gasoline alone, resulting from the
existence of this good road, would,
in fourteen years, pay both principal
and interest on the road on a valua-
ton basis of $4,000 a mile. The
comparison was made with a gravel
road. 1t would have cost the auto
nfobilists who traversed the road
$4,000 a mile more, in a period of
fourteen years, to use a gravel road
than the concrete road. The dis
parity would have been much great
er if compared with an eartn road.
The department is making similar
comparative studies in various Sec
tons of the country and expects to
assemble further data of a nature
| " SAlON lildl llt iiOlOTlSl SelS HIS
moneys worth out Of the automobile
taxes he pays.
The sums which good roads save
the motorists are of immense pro-
portions. The department says that
the annual fuel bill of American
motorists amounts to $1,000, 900, 900.
The annual tire bill is estimated at
$450,000, 900. The cumulative in
Vestnent in automobiles is fixed at
$S,767, 5000 and the amount of de-
probation on this great sum varies
in accord with the quality OF the
roads traVersed. Over poor roads
the percentage of depreciation would
be tremendous, perhaps so per cent
or mor in a single year. over good
roads this would be saved in large
part.
The departments inquiries show
that loca communities frequently
complain that the automobiles wear
out the surfaces of the roads rapid
ly. Every motorist lsnows that this
is true and that a single heavy sea-
son sometimes will develop bumps in
a highway and make resurfacing
necessary to restore it. Even II this
is so, the department says, the auto
mobilists pay enough to recompense
the communities. But, it Is pointed
out, resurfacing is but a fraction OF
the whole cost Of a road. The orig
inal cost includes more expensive
factors and these are durable. Grad
ing is extremely expensive, often the
most expensive part of road building
The construction of drainage struc-
tures-bridges, culverts, bitches
are the expensive operations. The
smooth surface is no more than the
polishing off. 1t may be compared
to the cost of polishing a shoe in
comparison with the cost OF making
the whole shoe.
The roads built by the Romans ii
Europe still are in use and in many
places their foundations have re.
CURED little or no repair in from
1000 to 1000 years. Waiting street
which runs straight up through Eng
land, from London to The Wall, still
exists. The great highways which
Caesar built in France still are used
They have had to be resurfaced time
and again but the foundations arr
there.
1t generally is considered that tho
greatest benefit of good roads arises
from the opening up of the country
) and the increase in the price of ad'
jacent land. People can get abou.
without getting lost in lanes ant
back roads like the man who recent,
ly inquired his way to a southern
town. He met q small boy by tn,
7 side of the lane in which he wa
driving cautiously. us this the roac
} to Lynchburg 2" he asked. Don
/. know" said the boy. Where doel
this road go2" Don't know, sale