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Show The Western Weekly's Automobile Section I WHAT GOOD ROADS REALLY MEAN. louring the present agitation for good roads, very little has been $ said in its favor except from the standpoint of an automobilist, and 1 the fact that good roads will save the farmer money has hardly been mentioned at all. The following article from the Saturday Evening Post will be interesting in this connection : The average cost of carrying a ton of goods a mile by lake is eight-tenths of a mill, and by rail seven and six-tenths mills. The average cost of carrying a ton of goods a mile on first-class roads is said to be seven cents, and on common country roads twenty-five cents. The latest report (made by the Department of Agriculture for 1904) shows 2,151,570 miles of public roads in the United States, of which 7.14 per cent, were improved. In old, populous and rich states, such as New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan, improvc--gk mcnts were reported on less than ten per cent, of the public roads, i Almost every pound of freight originating upon or destined to a I farm moves over a country road ; most of it over a "common" country road, at a cost some three times as high as it would be if the road , j were first-class. Sometimes the goods actually pay a heavier toll for I a few miles' carriage between railroad station and farm than for all the remainder of the journey. The railroads themselves spend millions to clip off one or two per cent, from operating expenses, here and there ; and, if farmers were presented with a feasible scheme for reducing their railroad freights even one-quarter, they would feel that there, indeed, was a burning issue. Road improvement receives much more attention than formerly, but much less than it deserves. The good roads movement has gotten to be a burning question all over the country. The state of Indiana has passed a law allowing a bonded indebtedness in each township up to four per cent, of its assessed taxable valuation of property for the purpose of road build-ing build-ing and repair. Delaware county of that state is spending something 'k like $600,000 at the present time on new roads and the repair of old I'' ones. Some heavy taxpayers object at the start to the extra taxes n necessary to do the improvements, but when the matter is put to them in the right light, they look on the outlay simply as an investment that will pay them good interest. AN ENJOYABLE TRIP. Mr. Geo. T. Odell, who has just returned from a trip to Evanston in his Franklin air-cooled car is high in his praise of the run and in a letter addressed to the Salt Lake Automobile Club proposes that they recommend it to their members. Mr. Odell left Salt Lake on the evening of August 25th, took dinner at Centcrvillc and slept at Brigham City. Wednesday morning after taking breakfast at Brigham the party left for Soda Springs, passing through Cantua Canyon, Wellsville and Logan to Preston, where they had dinner, arriving at Soda Springs in time for supper. A start was made from the Springs at 8 o'clock Thursday morning, Montpelier, Idaho, was reached in time for lunch and Bear Lake for supper. Friday's run was from Bear Lake to Evanston, thence to Spring Valley oil fields for lunch and back to Evanston for supper. Leaving Evanston early Saturday morning the return trip was made to Salt Lake City by 1 :30 the same afternoon, having made in all during the four days trip 505.4 miles, including the side trips made at different places. Mr. Odell recommends the run and says the roads are in good condition with the exception of Echo canyon and a little mud in Gentile valley. Spring chicken and trout can be had all the way in any quantity required. A TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR. We regret that in our last issue the Studcbaker advertisement on the back cover read '08 model A. The car advertised is the new 1909 model and should have read '09 model A. AN OFFICER WHO KNOWS HIS DUTY AND DOES IT. Thomas Griffith, the policeman at Liberty Park, is to be Congratulated Congratu-lated on the way he .has regulated the traffic in the park all the summer. sum-mer. He has put an end to any speeding there; and has done it without with-out having to make a single arrest. |