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Show I GOOD ROADS PAY 1 Economic Benefits Easily Recognized jq Improve Social Conditions in S Rural Sections cf (Prepeured by tho U S. Department of Agriculture) S !Sr!i)3iiSraJEr J-L lPs?i. v -3 i sR 5 T LBc tf a"--- XX lnmrS-Pfc E flfvZ '-TjaWy Use of Split-Log Drag, Arlington Farm, Virginia. It Is estimated that tho pooplo of this country annually wasto 2GO,000,-000 2GO,000,-000 bocauso of bad roads. Investigations Investiga-tions havo shown that tho averago coDt of hauling on roads in tho United States in 23 conts por ton por milo. It costs tho fnrmor moro to haul a bushel of wheat 9.4 miles, tho averago dlstanco from farm to shipping point, than It ordinarily costB to ship It from Now York to Liverpool. In tFranco, England and Germany, consular consu-lar reports show instances whoro tho cost of hauling agricultural products Is as low aa 10 cents por ton per mllo. If tho farmers of this country could roduco tho cost of hauling to 13 cent- por ton mllo, thoy would- savo about $250,000,000 which now ropro-Bonts ropro-Bonts their "mud tax." Tho benefits of good roadB aro numerous nu-merous and far-reaching. They aro a poworful factor in promoting better farm conditions throughout tho country. coun-try. Thoy mako tho farmor moro Independent In-dependent of seasonal and weather conditions and permit him to tako hotter hot-ter advantago of favorablo market and prices. Thoy Incrcauo tho valuo of hlg farm and bo enhance his matorlal wealth. Thoy promoto bettor agricultural agricul-tural methods and aro noccssary for an ofllclont rural delivery and parcel post. Thoy havo a profound oCCict on our country schools and tho homo lifo on tho farm. Thero aro indeed fow Investments which tho farmor can. This is duo partly to tho decreased cost of hauling and partly to tho faclj that a good road makes the farm a, moro dcslrablo placo to llvo. Moreover, improved roadB havo a, markot effoct on both thd amount and, charactor of production. For oxamj pie, around tho typical small town, when tho roads aro not Improved,' truck gardening, dairying and othor; forniB of intensive farming aro coni lined to a small zono, Immediately surrounding tho town, which is usually usu-ally scarcoly sufficient to supply thd, local domand. Without good roads, tho production of pcrishablo goods at any considerable dlstanco from mar; kot or shipping point Is too hazard ous an undertaking to bo profitable. With good roads tho produce, can bq brought to markot with regularity and in primo condition, two essentials in, successful marketing. Tho parcel post makes possible dli roct marketing botweon producer and, Consumer regardless of dlstanco. But hero again tho public roads play no! small part,' affecting not only posslbloj extensions of tho system,-but 'also the cost of its operation, Tho condition of our rural schools, is closely connected with tho condition condi-tion of tho public roads. Whllo it is, truo that various factors contributq to increase or decrease tho attendancq at Bchools In given sections of thq B 1-BB 1 T JP-rL I T - r l--l-r t" V v"jSH x- -'rxV4'x !. !?. w . -tW.Ca T -1 a M M M M Hi JJI-iM d Township Does Not Caro for Engineering Advice. mako from which ho Is so sure to ro-celvo ro-celvo generous dlvldonds as from good roads. A reduction In tho cost of hauling is ono of tho moat immddiato henofltB of a good road. A'etrlking instanco of this Is shown by Investigations conductod in Virginia whoro tho nv-orago nv-orago dlstanco from tho .farm to tho markot Is 7-8.10 miles, and tho aver ago load for tho ataplo crops is about 'ono ton. Assuming that tho wages of a two-horso team and drlVor aro $3.00 tier day, it costs tho farmor In Virginia Vir-ginia an averago o'f 20 ccnta per ton mllo to market his crops, if tho roadB wero graded and Improved with a surfacing sur-facing sultahlo for tho particular road and region, tho load could bo increased in-creased at least 50 por cent and tho rpund trjji mado-In tho Bamo or less tlmo witncAft any additional hardship on tho team. This would roprosettt a clear saving of $1.50 por day to each farmor In tho state for ovcry day in tho year In which ho was o- ngod It, hauling to or from tho markot. Tho Increase In land values Is another an-other benefit that 1b noticeable whor-Avcn whor-Avcn rwwJ Improvement takcB placo country, It is a well-known fact tha in our ural schools tho attendancq almost Invariably shows a marked do crenso during tho periods when thq roads aro bad. Another point worth)! of consideration isbat tho ono-roor school la being supplanted by target consolidated schools throughout thosq portions ot tho country -whoro condli tions make it practicable, to convoy children to .school at tho public expense ex-pense Roads passablo at all times, aro most necessary for succesafuj school consolidation. Thoro is abun dant ovldonco to, provo that any ex touslvo road improvement Is followed by better schools nnd bottor school attendance. In somo theso schools, advanced coursoa .hn o been Introi duced, and it has boon posslblo to employ teuchora having upoclal quail, fictitious and training. With good ro'iftlB, eomo of tho advantages ad-vantages of tho city can Lo brought to tho country. Social gatherings ho-r.oino ho-r.oino moro frequont, and imptovod social conditions oxert a decided effect ef-fect upon tho principal objections to life In a rural community lonollncBa and isolation. |