OCR Text |
Show ROADS Pay for themselves Department of Agriculture Collect Data-l.cwlng Land Values Increase In-crease With Improvement, Tho direct oflect that changing bad roads into good roads h-a upon land value and tho general economic wal-faro wal-faro of a community In shown In sev-oral sev-oral concrete Illustrations gathered by the United States department of agri culturo. Tho department has Just Issued Is-sued a statoment on the subject, baaed upon a mass of Information gathered by tho ofllco ot public roads, which Is making a special study ot tho economic effect ot road improvement in tho country. According to data gathored, whero good roads replace bad ones, tho values of farm lands bordering on tho roads Increase to such an extent that tho cost ot road Improvement ia equalized, If not ex-corded, ex-corded, Tho geenral land values, as wall as fnrm values, show marlccd advances, ad-vances, following tho improvement of roads. Among tho illustrations cited by tho department are the following: In Leo county, Virginia, a farmer owned 100 acres between Den Hur and Jouesville, which ho offered to cell for 11,800. In 1908 this road was Improved, and although the farmer fought tho Improvement, ho haB slnoo refused (3,000 tor his farm. Along this same road a tract of 188 acred was supposed to have boon sold for C,000. The purchasor refused the contract, however, and the owner threatened to sue him. Aftor the road Improvement, and without any improvement upon the land, tho aamd farm was sold to tho original purchasor pur-chasor for 9,000. In Jackson county, Alabama, th peoplo voted a bond lssuo ot $250,000 for road Improvemont and Improved 24 por cent of the roads. The con' sua of 1900 gives tho value ot all farm lands In JackBon county at $5.90 per acre. Tho soiling value at that time was from $6 to $16 per acre. , Tho census cen-sus of 1910 places tho voluo ot aU farm lands In Jackson county at $9.79 per acre, and the selling piico is now 1S to $25 per acre. Actual flgureB of Increased valuo following road Improvement Im-provement are shown. As tho roads In no way affect Boil fertility or quality ot tho farm, advances ad-vances aro duo essentially to tho decrease de-crease In tho cost of hauling produce to market or shipping points. Farms are now regarded as plants for the business of farming, and any reduction reduc-tion In their profits through unnecessarily unneces-sarily heavy, costs for hauling on bad roads naturally reduces their capitalization capitaliz-ation into values. With reduced costs for hauling profits are increased, with the result that tho farm plant shows satisfactory earnings on a higher cap ital value. Tho automobilo, also, has begun to be an Important factor In increasing rural values whoro good roads are in traduced. Immigration Is particularly marked where road conditions aro favorablo; In fact, tho figures of tho department seem to indicate that good roads Indirectly Indi-rectly lnorease the domand for rural property; and tho prico of farm land, like that of any commodity, is ruled by the relation between demand and supply. ,. |