The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1963-01-10
Why All the Salt?

To the Editor:
Are we being sold down the river?
I could almost say are we losing
our birthright for a mess of pot
ash? l refer to the sailing Of our
roads for snow removal, and | am
writing in the hope Of stirring up
some thought and discussion about
what has become very serious
matter. Every year more and more
salt is used. TO the point where i'll
almost seems to have become an
end in itself. l find that very few
automobile owners favor this prac-
tice-Which supposedly is for the
benefit of all-and vet, in spite Of
its outrageous cost the highway
departments persist in it,
1t is not simply a question Of
whether or not sailing melts the
snow. Even assuming that it does
the real issue is Of whether or
not we can afford the luxury Ct a
practice which costs every one of
US hundred Of dollars year Is
it worth the price we pay
The advertisements of the chemi-
cal companies would have us be
lieve that salt generally sodium
chloride, calcium chloride or BOTH
is a great cure all II. is not, often
making conditions worse instead Of
better. The salt Itself costs money
and the spreading of it takes time
and labor Under ideal conditions
the salt will melt the snow. Under
conditions If only fails
to do this, but actually makes the
| snow collect and vets it into a
slush which later freezes into solid
! ice, thus making conditions great
deal worse. with the pavement
rougher and more hazardous than
il would have been without the
salt We all have seen how snow
viii blow off the pavement when
it is dry, and how it sticks and
collects when the pavement has
been made wet by sprinkling Of
salt.
Do I need to point out the great
rust damage to our automobiles
from salt. damage costing every
one of us hundreds Of dollars every
year in depreciation and repairs?
Even though your car may be
new one which does not rust
through while you have it, the
depreciation is there just the
same And what of the older cars
which do rust through? Is it worth
it?
The chemical companies would
have us believe that salt does no
harm to the highways. Who can
drive down Bird Street-or almost
anywhere these days-WithOut be-
ing appalled, at the condition of
the pavements after Just a few
weeks of salt treatment Isn't it
obvious that large part of our
annual road repair bill. is directly
the result of sailing?
Salt does damage the roads Be
ing a powerful alkali and corrosive
agent it attacks the road surface,
| destroying the natural oils, eating
into and etching away the surface.
Being Microscopic it keeps the
| pavement wet and susceptible to
frost damage when otherwise it
would be dry Rain and snow by
themselves do not make pave
ment so to pieces in a few weeks.
What is the alternative? Flowing
| Flowing still is the basic operation
/ in snow removal. Flowing, along
with iudicious sanding of danger
spots, still does a good job and
does it without damage to pave
ment or cars. Once the body of
snow is removed the thin remain
der disappears by melting or sub
limation if given the chance.
Our highway departments are
manned by Woodworking groups of
men dedicated to keeping our roads
open. They know their job, they
know what should be done. Why
| are they so often sent out to spread
salt when there is no snow Gas
again they were a couple of nights
ago. with hardly a flake in the
air and more salt than snow on
the pavement? Why do the high
way departments seem to use
every slightest excuse to dump as
much salt as possible? For whose
| benefit is it being done?
Isn't it time we all gave some
serious thought to this matter? If
enough people agree with our
| thinking, let's make it known.
Gordon K. Douglass