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Show WIDE 1ES HELP IMMENSE BENEFIT IN KEEPING HIGHWAYS IN GOOD CONDITION. CONCERTED ACTION NEEDED Two-Ton Load on Wagon With 134 Inch Tires Will Do More Damage In Cutting Up Road Than Twice the Load on Three Inch Tire. By HOWARD H. GROSS. The question of good roads throughout through-out the country is of tremendous importance, im-portance, and the people are everywhere every-where clamoring for them. The great majority seem to be wandering around In a maze of uncertainty as to what to do. The solution involves many factors. Local conditions are subject to a wide variation both as to soil, road material, mate-rial, amount of traffic, etc., hence no rule can be laid down that will apply In all cases. The subject must be given intelligent treatment by a capable cap-able engineer, familiar with the surroundings. There Is however one thing that can be done that will be of immense benefit to the roads of all times, whether earth, stone or gravel, and that is wider tires upon the wagons. Untold millions of dollars of damage to highways is done every year by heavy loads upon narrow tire farm wagons. These are often from one and a half inches to one and three-quarters wide, seldom more than two and a quarter. A two-ton load on a wagon with one and three-quarters inch tires will do more damage in cutting up a road than twice the load upon a three Inch tire. If we could have uniform, concerted action In any community, whereby three to three and a half Inch tires would he put upon every farm wagon, it would mean much better bet-ter highways than we now have. The narrow tires mean deep ruts, and If the rule is a narrow tire upon wagons, wag-ons, the man who goes out upon these highways with a wide tire is badly handicapped. Hence, if any good is to come from the wide tire movement, it should be generally adhered to. It Is a truthful statement that wide tires make roads and narrow tires destroy de-stroy them. An equitable basis would be to license li-cense all vehicles doing business upon up-on the public highways, grading the license fee according to the width of the tire, and letting the amount of money paid in be used to maintain the roads. This is just and no one, who is willing to tote fair can object to It. In grading the license fee it should be in such a manner that it will be to the interest of the owner to substitute a wide tire for his narrow nar-row one. When this Is suggested, it will be at once caid that It Is impractical, and that It cannot be done. It is surprising sur-prising how many objections can be found against the doing of anything that a person does not want to do. About three years ago the city of Chicago passed an ordinance providing provid-ing for wide tires upon vehicles using the streets for traffic. A tremendous howl was made by all teaming interests inter-ests and they brought In the wagon makers to state that the changing of these-wheels meant an expenditure of millions upon millions of dollars, and It would take several years In order to have the change made. Large manufacturers manu-facturers of wagons said the wagon stock was gotten out for the narrow tire wagons, and it would take at least two years before any general change could" be made. At that time the writer took a hand in the campaign with others, and published in the Chicago Chi-cago papers illustrations of how this change could be made (see cut herewith). here-with). The city council stood firm, the ordinance was passed and the users of narrow tires were arrested and fined. In a very short time wide tires began to appear upon the streets, and now the use is general and the solution has been mainly as indicated, namely, substituting wide tires for narrow ones upon the same wheels. Any local blacksmith or wagon maker can make the change indicated and the expense ought to range between $8.00 and $12.00 for a wagon. The question Is, how shall this be brought about? The writer would suggest a state law licensing all the vehicles, the same as the automobile Is now licensed, and let it apply upon everything that goes upon the road, graduating it with a view of making the vehicles that do the most damage pay the largest tax. Without giving an entire schedule the following will Illustrate what the writer has in mind: That after a given date no vehicle shall be used upon the highways unless un-less It carries a license. On a two horse farm wagon with a tire of 1 inches or less the annual license fee to be $7.50 a year. Over 1 inches and under 2 Inches, $4.50 a year. Over 2 inches and under 3 Inches $3.00 per year. Three inches or over, $1.00 per year. The money collected to be credited to the road- district and be used for road repair work. ' , There is another advantage to be rather than make them worse? Dynamometer tests have been made showing the amount of power required re-quired to move a given load, over various va-rious surfaces with tires of different widths. Many persons will be surprised sur-prised to know in the large majority of caBes a load can be moved with less power with vehicles having wide tires, rather than narrow ones. There may be another and easier way to accomplish the end desired than the imposing of a license tax upon vehicles. That would be to credit the owner a certain amount each year on his annual road tax bill, upon furnishing proof that all hl3 vehicles ve-hicles used upon the highways conformed con-formed to the wide tire requirements. Suppose the owner has a road tax of, say $12.00, and he has two wagons used upon the highways. Credit him $4.00 per year upon each wagon for four years. In this way the tax abated abat-ed will more than pay the cost of changing the wagon. Thus, his interest in-terest would be sufficient to induce the owner to make the change. Public sentiment would also change rapidly In support of the wide tire movement, and in a year or two a man would be ashamed to he seen on the street with one of these road do-stroylng do-stroylng wagons. Referring to the Illustration above. A wide tire can be placed upon an old wheel without any filling piece as shown in the Illustration. Just let the tire project a half inch on each i S H 1 & -BLT " Spaced 3" ff lj R Y ) Shoang Z'Al Tre on Z'z Wheel . 3c Raws 3pacD 4-". jolts MAYt ea oniiT&o ano Screws Substituted if desired- or 0 rows op wire mails spaced c5 inchgs wll 5ei evERY Purpose gained by this method over and above the preservation of the highways; that is, the same wagon is more useful use-ful on the farm or on the fields for doing ordinary farm work. The hauling haul-ing over hay fields and grain fields with narrow tired wagons does considerable con-siderable damage. Hauling out manure, ma-nure, and in a variety of farm work wide tire wagons are advisable. Many farmers keep wagons with wide tires for this specific purpose. Why not have all vehicles carry a wide, sen-Bible sen-Bible tire that will improve conditions side of the felloe. This will greatly simplify the changing from the narrow nar-row to the wide tire, and for many localities lo-calities will serve the purpose just as well. Wide tires make roads, narrow tires destroy them. There should be a thorough co-operation between all of the residents of the several townships for better roads. Nothing can be done so quickly and so cheaply that will be productive of such good results as to discard narrow tires and substitute wide ones In their place. |