Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 March 1892 — REFORMING THE ROADS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

REFORMING THE ROADS

PRESSINC NEEDS OFTHE FARMING COMMUNITY. Wliat Poor Country Roads Cost the Agriculturist?— lMlTeronce Between Kuropean and American Highways—figures Speak Louder titan Words. Reads, Good and Bad. “The road is that physical sign or Bjrmbol by which you will understand any age or people. If they have no roads, they are savages, for the road is the creation of man and a type of civilized society.” This is the motto on the title page of Good Roads, a new monthly magazine devoted to the improvement of the public, roads and streets. If it were j literally accepted, :ho United States would stand very low in the scale of ! civilization, since our common roads are | notoriously the worst in the world. The ! appearance of this magazine, however, ! which is published by the League Roads

Improvement Bureau, is proof of a healthy agitation to remove this stigma. In its initial number is reprinted Isaac B. Potter’s noted article on “The Gospel of Good Roads, ” addressed to the American farmer. This article sets forth In lucid style the disadvantages arising from our miserable roads, and the Importance of their improvement to all . classes of the community. Mr. Potter begins by acknowledging the grandeur of the agriculturist’s vocation, which is ■ the prime source of all national wealth, and should make him the happiest and

most independent of mortals. Still the farmer inherits the common foibles of the race, and Is troubled by the errors and misfortunes which beset us all. Now almost every improved farm implement has been forced upon the farmer fey necessity, and greatly inured' to his benefit. But, asks Mr. Potter, did it ever occur to him that the common road leading from his door-yard to the nearest market is part of the machinery of agriculture—that his farm wagon is a machine, pure and simple, and that the road

bears the same relation to his wagon ttntr the steel rail bears to the railway ear? Every one agrees that our roads are bad. It is a common thing for the farmer to be caught in the predicament set forth in the illustration. He is caught In the pasty depths of the main road, and his best horse is nearly pulling the harness in two in its efforts to lift him and his scant load on to the little bridge neai; the mill. There were 10,000 farm horses in the county on the day this picture was taken, and for about four weeks the roads had been in just this condition. Teaming was out of the question; to haul a load to town was impossible. Assuming the cost of keeping each horse at 25 cents per day, it cost $2,500 per day, $17,500 per week, and $70,000 for the four weeks-the 10,000 horses had been atanding idle. It will be thus seen that a Bad road is an expensive thing. Mr. Potter adds: • “It is expensive not only to the farmers of your county but to the farmers or the entire country. The average rainfall In the United States is something over forty inches per year. The dirt road absorbs these forty odd inches of waterj.fneezes and thaws, dries, pulverises, changes from paste to powder and back again from powder to paste, and for weeks at a time is practically impassable. Farm traffic is tied up. You have produoe to sell, purchases to make, grain to grind, timber to haul, bills to collect and obligations to meet, but all these must -wait because your only avenue of travel is .taking its annual soak. A dozen times a day you look out of' your barn door With the hope of seeing some straggtiag vagrant of whom you can inquire, 'How is the road?'” The pie tore is not overdrawn. It wilt be recognized as a faithful portrayal of as tesMeat common to the Northwest. Bttt mat only are the farmers of the sectta*MA>jeei to trials and tribuiatfeaa. la the great county of Albany, York tkaie, within the very shadow ajf flee state House, the next rtrirtirft wan made. It shows four horses ■ rtifl »tSW||lls|l -Ith a small load. The taamatesa aw plying their whips and

shouting with all their might. The wheels sink almost to the hubs, the horses groan and sweat, and strain the harness to breaking point. To the left is an abandoned wagon. The rough ruts render the road almost impassable, business is at a standstill, au(l tjw farmers complain of “hal'd times," which are dil rectly traceable to neglect of the roads. When one goes into statistics the loss to the farmers from bad roads assumes a terrible aspect. In 1890, according

to Government figures, there were the following draft animals upon the farms of the country: Number. Value. Av. prloe. Horses 14.213.K17 *978,516,562 *6B Mules 2,331,027 182,301,099 78 Oxeu, etc ... .30,*49,024 560,625,137 15 Total 53,398,8 8 *1.721,533,798 “Here," says Mr. Potter, “you have nearly $200,000,000 invested in motive

power of a perishable, uncertain and expensive kind. Busy or idle, these animals must be fed and cared for every day. They are boarders that you can’t get rid of when the busy season is over, and it stands you in hand to keep them at work. Two thousand million of dollars make a large sum. Invested at 5 per cent, interest it would produce nearly $2,000,000 per week. Then you see there are more than sixteen millions of horses and mules alone, and to feed and care for these it costs the modest sum of $4,000,000 per day. A little while ago a vs ry clever and intelligent citizen of Indiana estimated that bad roads cost the farmer sls per year for each horse and mule in his service. This means a loss in the aggregate of nearly $250,000,000 per year. Add wear and tiar of wagons and harneeses, $100,000,000; depreciated value of farm lands, $2,000,000,000; total, $2,350,000,000. “Making the utmost allowance in favor of the farmer and granting tho necessity ior the liberal use of horse power in the maintenance of agricultural traffic, it is easily certain that the farmers of this country are keeping at least two millions of horses more than would be necessary to do all the hauling between farm and markot, if only the principal roads were broughtTo a good condition. If you assume that each of these horses is fed the ordinax-y army ration of hay and oats, it requires 14,000 tons of hay ! or fodder and 750,000 bushels of oats per day to feed those unnecessary animals, which themselves have a money value of $140,000,000. The valuo of hay and oats fed to these horses per day is about $300,000, or something like $114,000,000 per year. ” Then the farmer’s friend draws a vivid picturo of the condition of the farmer abroad and the farmer at home. Here the country is losing and the ! towns gaining; the farmer growing poorj er, the Government growing richer. I Reports from twenty European countries 1 show that their farmers are prospering I in about the same proportion that pros- | perity follows other lines of business;

agriculture holds its ojvn, and there is no more independenrclass of people in those countries than the farmers. Now, singularly enough, the most striking difference between those countries and ours is found in the condition of the country roads. With them communication is quickly and easily accomplished. Instead of rolling up and hoarding a huge surplus, their governments spend large sums In the building and repairing of the country roads. The result is ihat in Europe farmers drive twenty to thirty miles from homo to market with immense loads in all kinds of weather, at all seasons of the year, and return home the same day. The European horse hauls twice as much as an Ameri-

can horse, simply because the European roads are much better. His owner can visit his m ighbors at any time. He can drive to town, make social calls, and enjoy all the personal advantages of a resident of the city, and still maintain the independence and enjoy the pleasures of country life. One of our farmers tried, to drive to town' with a stout span, of bays and a load of hay. The mud waa drying up in places, packing and rolling ,under the wheels. The load wasn’t a bfg one, but the road was drill nitty, and one. of the whiffletrees broke. The. team" was unhitched, and the farmer Vent to the blacksmith’s shop for necessary repairs. While he was gone every horse and vagrant cow that came along nipped his load. Now,

this farmer ridiculed the Idea that the farm horses of Europe hauled twice an much as his horses simply because the roads of that continent are better than ours. But he changed his mind when he saw a picture of a French road, showing a French farmer with his load of hay cn his way to market nine miles distant. There were four tons of hay in that Frenchman’s load, or about one and one-third tons to each horse. The surface of the road was hard and smooth, nicely sloped in both directions, so as to insure quick drainage. The wheels were two and a half times as wide as those on the American wagon, and they rolled over the surface of the road in a manner that tends to make it hard and smooth instead of cutting and creating ruts, as is always the case when narrow ' tires are used. llk Potter proceeds: “Notice the height of the load; it towers up among tho trees, and its immense , bulk gives it the appearance of an American haystack. Compare its height with the height of the driver who walks along by the roadside, or with the size of the chaise which .you see coming along immediately behind. See how easily tho horses jog along! They are moving as comfortably ns you could wish, and there is no sign of tugging or straining in their movements. If you had a road like that from your farm to town, you might d& all your hauling witli two horses instead of the five you now have and save yourself an immense expense. ” Another picture shows a loaded twowheel cart drawn by two horses and bearing six large casks of wine, a load aggregating several tons, on a German road. This immense load rolls easily over the even surface of the highway. Such traffic is practically Impossible on our roads, which wear out horses, har- j nesses and humanity, kill patience and j render unprofitable delays at roadside j inns necessary. Viewed from any stand- ] point, it will be seen that good roadbeds pay. They save power, shorten j distance and time, increase speed, insure j comfort and safety and are a good in- j vestment in every respect. Roads should j be looked after with the same system and care that are bestowed on the management of other departments of government. Their improvement along the lines adopted by the countries of the old world would make every farmer happy and independent in the consciousness thut he is every day and every way in touch with the great world of business and society. On the smooth surface of a macadam road one horse will haul twice the load it can on tho best dirt road and from five to ten times as much as can be hauled when the dirt road is covered with soft mud and ruts. The great destroyers of common earth roads are water and narrow wheel tires. Careful drainage is therefore important, and the use of wide wheel tires is cultivated.

That it only requires co-operation and perseverance to impr ve our country roads is evidenced by three or four small towns in New Jersey. They were made up of a plodding population in moderate circumstances, doing business on a low scale, in accordance with their poor facilities for communication. When the mud was hub deep, tliose who liv, d in those towns stayed at home and waited for the roads to dry. Surrounding consumers were oppressed by a slack supply and enhanced prices. Trade was uncertain, and farming was carried on with indifferent success. But a marvelous transformation took place when road improvement was earnestly undertaken. Land values increased, traffic was quickened and enlarged, social communication became easier and more frequent, schools, churches, shops, market places, and railroad stations became more attractive as a place of residence. Equal good followed the improvement of the roads in Parke County, Indiana. Several splendid gravel pikes were made, all leading to the county seat, while all main roads in the county, and the worst portions of the cross roads were well graveled. Country travel became a delight, business ihcreased, and a general “brightening” up was at once noticeable. In older to get better roads the farmers are urged to insist that the main roads in their districts shall be reconstructed and kept in repair at the expense of the State at large, instead of by a tax directed aguinst the farmers alone. Then they should send men to the State Legislatures to advocate the gospel of gooil roads. Any increaso of taxation involved would be more than offset by the advantages and comforts conferred by good roads, which always have a tendency to accumulate, improve and prosper. This great reform, Mr. Potter concludes, must come from the people, and most of all from tho farmers. It is a reform that will benefit all and injure none. It will “make you broader and better in your person and in your possessions, help and hasten the happiness of your family, shield and save the patient friend that drags your wagon so many miles from year to year, put you on better terms with yourself and all mankind, and leave you wondering what sort of a farmer that was who lived and labored in a sea of mire. It is a reform that Is now at the threshold of your State, and one that will respond to your feeblest Invitation.”

EASY WORK FOR MAN AND BEAST.

RISKING LIFE ON EVERT TRIP.

HAULING HAT IN PRANCE.

A BARD ROAD TO TRAVEL

AN ABANDONED HAT WAGON.