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Show RESTORATION OF HIGHWAY8. R. H. Fuller Tells How Good Road Benefit farmers and Others. Thoro has been nn effort to lnduco congress to resume road building whero it left oft 75 years ngo. It is 'H argued in favor of this plan that the rural districts rccelvo n disproportion- ' atoly smnll Bharo of tho receipts from federal taxation, nnd tho npproprla-tlons npproprla-tlons mado for tho Improvement of rivers and hnrbors nro cited by way of precedent for good road npproprla-tlons. npproprla-tlons. It docs not scorn probable, however, that tho national govern-ment govern-ment will rollovo tho states of tho duty of providing good ronds, nt least in tho near future; and meantime tho stntcs nro showing themselves qulto cnpnblo of solving tho problem. Now Jorsoy, Massachusetts, Connecticut nnd Now York nro tho pioneers in tho work of good road construction on a comprehensive scale. Pennsylvania, . TRg GAME RQM DlTSmZD. ' M Now Hampshire Vermont and othor M etatcs nro falling into lino, nnd It is only n question of n fow years beforo every stnto In tho Union will bavo Joined them. Tho general schemo of road Im- M provemont contemplates tho construe- m tlon of macadam or equally service- m nblo ronds between tho chief points in m ench county, bo laid out that they will m form n continuous notwork through-out through-out tho stnto. Tho less Important roads nro to bo Improved by methods not so costly. Macadam roads requlro an outlay for construction of from 15,000 to 110,000 a mllo. This heavy initial outlay would be too great a burden for tho scattered population of tho farming regions to boar unaided. Outside help must bo given, and Inns-much Inns-much as-good roads Increase tho pros-porlty pros-porlty of the entlro state the principle of Btato aid has been gonorally ac-coptcd ac-coptcd ns just. It has been adopted in various forms by all tho states which havo Berlously undertaken tho lm-provomcnt lm-provomcnt of tholr roads. Even tho portion of tho expenso which falls upon tho localities, Is usu-ally usu-ally too great for them to meet by im-medlnto im-medlnto direct taxation, and hero again tho state may como to tholr as-slstanco as-slstanco iy lending them Its credit so as to enable them to borrow monoy nt a smaller rate of Interest than they would otherwise bo forced to pny Naturally, whoro tho state helps to build tho roads, their location, con-structlon con-structlon and mnlntennnco must be under stnto control through nn offlcln) or a Btato commission. This Insures tho laying out of tho roads bo that thoy will form a comprohonslvo state system, and tholr mnlntennnco In s condition of efficiency nfter they have been built. Another Important branch of ttu good roads movement is tho introduo tlon of wldo tires on wagons Intendec to enrry heuvy londs. Narrow tlrei are road destroyers, whllo wldo tlrei aro road makers. Tho narrow tin cuts tho road Into ruts, tho wldo tin serves the purpose of a roller In com pnctlng and hardening It. Tests have shown that tho snmo forco that is ro quired to movo 2,000 pounds on nar row tires will movo on broad tires 2,500 pounds on a macadam road, 2,-482 2,-482 on a gravel rond, 2,500 on a dirt rond and 3,200 on a wot clay road, Various methods of rond Improvo-ment Improvo-ment havo been tried with success In different parts of tho country. In Call-fornla Call-fornla moro than 2,500 miles or sandy highways hnvo been mndo hnrd and H Binooth by sprinkling them with crude , petroleum, which binds tho looso parti- H cles of sand together. In Florida phos- H phato clny has proved to bo oxccllcnt ',H road material. -H |
