The Commercial Use of Highways.*
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By H. Howard Humphreys, A.M.Inst.C.E., M.I.Mech.E.
When you did me the honour of asking me to read a paper before your Society, I hesitated to accept the invitation because I was a little afraid that you might wish to restrict me to the problem of road traction in towns. This part of the subject, though of great and increasing importance, is not one of paramount interest to me at the moment, and II therefore, felt that I should have very great difficulty in doing justice to such a subject. Your Secretary, however, was good enough to relieve my mind, and he also assured roe that a paper of wider scope would be acceptable.
trust, therefore, that, although it may be possible only to touch open the minor details connected with town traffic, i-ts may be raised in the discussion—if not in the uvh;ch will prove to be of service to the Society, and
tO otLa _ may be endeavouring to obtain better roads, and that the discussion may also assist in focussing public attention uf... • what is certainly one of the questions of the day.
I am conscious that I have not anything very new to say, for a great deal of what appears in this paper has been said already by others, well as by myself, but you will, I
think, agree with me-L. eeeler to arouse attention, the
same thing has to be said many times until the initial inertia of public opinion has been overcome ; an abnormal amount of dogged persistence is needful in this country to bring about administrative changes, for, as a nation, we are a little inclined to imagine that every improvement effected is, in its nature, a finality. I stated, at the outset, that road haulage was "one oil the questions of the day." In saying this, I was referring more particularly to the haulage of goods, and to the work done by public-service vehicles; I do not propose, therefore (except in a more or less incidental way), to deal with roads in relation to their user by light cars, This latter class of vehicle, it is true, was, a short time since, merely a rich man's plaything, but it has now become, in many cases, an absolute commercial necessity ; the problems connected with it, however, are special ones, and were I competent to deal with them I should hesitate to include them within the scope of this paper, feeling that so large a subject deserves special ad hoc treatment.
Roads as a National Asset.
In order to form some opinion as to the present and potential values of roads from a purely commercial standpoint, it is necessary for us to consider what other means of conducting transport exist in this country at the present time. There arc, of course, two alternative methods—railways and canals. For moderately long-distance haulage of general merchandise, railways can easily hold their own, but, when it comes to short journeys, involving, it may be, the transport of goods over two or three different lines, with heavy terminal charges as well, road haulage becomes a formidable competitor. In one case, which was brought to my notice not very long since, a saving of 'Epoo per annum had been effected by a comparatively small brewery company which had adopted road haulage, and, not only was the saving effected in respect of actual money, but the economy in time was also very great, as the brewery in question was situated in such a position that a large part of its produce had formerly to pass over three different lines of railway. This may be an extreme case, but there are a vast number of businesses which are benefited, to an enormous extent, by self-propelled traffic; some, at any rate, of these businesses could hardly exist unless they used the new means of transport. Apart from the mere question of competition, it is also necessary to remember that the majority of manufacturing businesses are not situated alongside railways, and that highways must, therefore, he utilised, if not in competition, at any rate as feeders to the railway, and as integral parts of a system of inter-communication. From the point of view of the public-service vehicle, highways are also of increasing importance; large
districts, through which it could not under any conceivable circumstances pay to construct a railway, are now brought into contact with centres of commerce and pleasure by means of motors.
Canals, as a means of combating railway rates, are practically non-existent, for the railway companies have obtained control of something like 3,100 miles of our inland waterways, out of a total length of 3,900 miles, and, whilst the proportion does not, at first sight, strike one as being formidable, yet, when it is remembered that the Lioo miles of railway-owned canals are so situated that they virtually govern the whole water carriage system, it will be seen that at present our waterways are, for practical purposes, in a moribund condition, and, therefore, unable to assist us in developing the much-desired national prosperity. It is unfashionable and unpopular, with a certain school, to venture to suggest the possibility of learning anything upon any subject from our Continental rivals, but it is impossible to consider the question of internal transport fairly, unless we take the trouble to ascertain what our competitors are doing, and, however disagreeable it may be, we must be prepared to put our insular pride and prejudice in our pockets, and to learn such lessons as they may have to teach us. Those who know state, deliberately, that the recovery of France, after the disasters of 1870, was due to the plucky and determined way in which she—in spite of her harassing experiences—set about improving her internal means of communication : between 1872 and 1878, no less than ten millions sterling were so spent.t From 1879 to 1900, more than two thousand miles of new canals were made at a cost of eighteen millions—practically all by the State—and the water-way system was maintained free of Loll. The report of the French Government Commission in 1872 said :—
" If the canals promote agricultural improvements, stimulate the establishment of factories, facilitate the working of mines, quarries and forests, increase, in a word, the wealth, the State—its inevitable partner—takes its share of all such increased wealth, and that share is perhaps sufficiently large to do away with the necessity of levying any direct toll. It is thus that the State and departments have been enabled to construct and maintain roads without demanding any toll from the public who use them."
This pronouncement was partially in the nature of a prophecy, but I do not think anyone can be found to-day who will gainsay the fact that France, as a nation, has profited by her enterprise, and that the life of her peasantry is now lived under far better conditions than is the case in this country. Before leaving this part of the subject, I should like to ask you to bear with me whilst I make one other reference to the influence of transport facilities upon the national progress of France. In 1892, Mr. Francis B. Loomis, the Commercial Agent at St. Etienne, made a report to the American Department of State, and in this he wrote :— " The road system of France has been of far greater value to the country, as a means of raising the value of lands, and of putting the small peasant proprietors in easy communication with their markets, than have the railways. It is the opinion of well-informed Frenchmen, who have made a practical study of economic problems, that the superb roads of France have been one of the most steady and potent contributions to the material development and marvellous financial elasticity of the country. The far-reaching and splendidly-maintained road system has distinctly favoured the success of the small landed proprietors, and in their prosperity, and the ensuing distribution of wealth, lies the key to the secret of the wonderful financial vitality and solid prosperity of the French nation."
I do not think that Mr. Loomis has put his case at all too high, and, whilst, of course, our manufacturing centres are not generally so far from the seaboard as many of .French and German centres of production, the same argument will certainly apply to England, as will apply to France or Germany, so far as peasant proprietors are concerned, and only fractionally less (if less at all) in the case of manufacturers.
Germany again, although perhaps not quite so enterprising, spent fifteen millions sterling on herwaterways between 1800 and iSoa, and a further expenditure of twenty-two millions sterling has either been entered upon, or is immediately contemplated, in order to complete the water-ways which intersect the northern parts of the country. England, in the meantime, has made one ship canal, of a length of 35 miles, and this by private enterprise; in this case, although the original shareholders may have long to wait before they see it return for their money, those who are best able to judge will tell you that the water-way I have referred to, —namely, the Manchester Ship canal—has been of immense nod increasing service to the seven millions of people who live in South Lancashire, and the adjoining districts. In other words, the old dictum to the effect that " facilities beget trade," has been abundantly justified. I do not want to labour the point with regard to waterways: I am only proposing to use it in a more or less negative way, as I have but little hope of the question of English canals being organised by the Government comprehensively, or within any measurable time. If I am right in my pessimistic view, it would then seem doubly necessary to put forth every effort on behalf of our alternative means of transport; if, on the other hand, I am wrong in my view, and our existing canals are put into working order, their chief use must be to compete with railways for fairly longdistance, heavy, and slow traffic—the kind of traffic, in fact, where motor haulage is of the least service. If, then, the experience of France and Germany proves so clearly that the development of their roads and canals has been of such inestimable value to those nations, it must be admitted that the view which, in common with others, I hold very strongly, namely, that our highways have been, at all times, an asset of the greatest value to the nation, is proven, and that, with new means of cheap road haulage, that asset will increase enormously in value, if only the State can be persuaded to provide a proportion of the moderate funds requisite to prepare the roads for the new industrial traffic. There is another aspect I have not touched upon, but which I believe to be of very great im-portance, namely, the value of our roads from a military standpoint. Happily, we have, for many hundreds of years, been free from serious invasion, and I am not one of the scaremongers who believe that the launch of every foreign torpedo boat -must necessarily, imply a direct menace to our lives and liberties; on the other hand, it is well to remember that zi time May come when roads will be called upon to bear an important part in a policy of defence; this was recognised by the Romans, nearly two thousand years ago, and they covered this Lou n t ry with a network of roads which were the foundation of our present system, though I • should, of course, state in fairness that these roads were also used as a means of' offence, and also for the eXtension of commerce. This example was followed by Napoleon, in later years, in France, and he, in his turn, was almost, though not quite (Tresaguet, in 1764, really commenced the modern French system of roads), the originator of modern French highways. This aspect of the question has never been dealt with very fully, though the value of road-haulage was many times demonstrated when troops and material were being embarked for the South African War : it is safe to say— with the improvements which have been made in vehicles since Iwo —that, were a war to break out to-day, self-propelled haulage would be called into service for more than was the case in our last war. The authorities are thoroughly alive to the value of mechanical transport, and it is well known that they have drawn up a scheme for the use of mechanical road vehicles, both in manceuvres or in time of war.
. Whilst the military side of the question is important, the commercial aspect is the one to which I attach the greatest weight, for our competitors are straining every nerve to bring down their production and transport charges, and, whilst our industries are better placed geographically in some cases than those of our rivals, they are often badly handicapped by heavy railway charges. In addition, our factory laws are more stringent, and expensive to carry out, than those in vogue on the Continent, and they, therefore, react on cost of production. We cannot, therefore, as a commercial community, afford to throw away any chance of reducing the price of our goods, and so retaining our hold in international markets.
Present Highway Administration.
The question then arises, are we getting the best out of our highways, and, if not, in what direction can we alter conditions with the maximum of economy', and the minimum
of friction? The public roads of this country arc, at the present time, maintained by counties, county boroughs, towns,. and urban and rural district councils. There are, approximately, 1,85o such local authorities engaged in the work of upkeep, and I need hardly tell you that the standards of repair which are worked to are very often settled by purely local conditions. Since the passing of the Local Government Act of 1888 (which Act constituted county councils), there has been, and there still is a vast improvement going on in main roads, and, generally speaking, the most praiseworthy efforts have been made to cope with the sudden change of traffic brought about by the advent of the self-propelled vehicle. I will endeavour to give one or two instances later on. This is not true, unfortunately, in all cases, as sonic counties, in spite of the advice of their officials, farm out their roads to rural councils for maintenance, and, although., in isolated cases, this policy may succeed, yet, generally . speaking, it is to be deplored, as it tends towards starvation of the roads and the apparent economy is obtained at the cost of efficiency. A short time ago, I was listening to a road case in Court, when the Judge remarked on the fact that he always knew when he passed from a certain comity into another county, because of the absolute difference in the standard Of upkeep in the two areas : the one county farmed out their roads, and the other repaired them directly. A Conference-Wa-s held last summer,at the Institution of Civil Engineers, when it was agreed —I think unanimously —that it was eminently desirable to ask for State aid for highways, both for the maintenance and construction of new roads, hut the conference was not unanimous as to the Government's having a voice in the method of construction, or maintenance. Some representatives contended that Imperial payments should be immediately forthcoming if the accounts presented for payment proved arithmetically accurate. I do not, myself, think any Government is likely to comply with such a request, any more than county councils themselves are likely to pay the smaller local authorities, who may be acting as agents for them in the matter of upkeep, unless they are thoroughly satisfied that they have received value for their money, but I expect this difficulty would speedily be arranged satisfactorily and without damaging the self-respect of anyone 'were such a grant actually in sight.
Turning, next, to the question of roads which are not maintained by county councils, the matter becomes almost more difficult, for self-propelled traffic, with its wide range, is virtually turning many bye-roads into main roads, and is imposing considerable hardship upon local authorities. To some extent, the difficulty of dealing with bye-roads could be met by treating them as contributory roads, as the county councils have power, at the present time, to make grants towards upkeep, providing they are satisfied that such roads serve a_more than local purpose ; but, in this case, again, grants would have to be made conditionally upon the roads being kept in a thoroughly efficient condition. A good deal has already been done by smaller local authorities, but it is rather difficult to obtain actual statistics as to the improvements effected by them.
The proposals contained herein are by no means drastic; they were practically suggested by the Departmental Committee on Highways, who reported in 1903, and of which your Honorary President was a member. The Committee suggested the constitution of County Highway Boards, the formation of which, the report states, would give " greater uniformity, economy, and efficiency." The Departmental Committee also suggested that there were some roads of "obviously more than county importance," and they considered that " their maintenance in a condition of highest efficiency should be regarded as a matter of national concern," and that special contributions to such highways should be made by the State, subject to certain supervision. How it is that such a Valuable report has been allowed to be pigeon-holed it is difficult to see, for it appears to be the duty of all interested in the subject to press upon the Government the need for State aid, and reform in administration, for the commercial motor question is, and must remain, almost absolutely a road question.
What has been done already by County Councils.
The Returns of Local Taxation afford a striking proof that county councils are generally alive to their duties, and that, as far as local funds permit, they are doing their best to cater for the altered conditions brought about by the new traffic, If reference be made to the above returns, it will be found that in 1892 the total cost of main roads amounted, in round figures, to q million. In 1905 the cost was nearly millions, or an increase of 66,6 per cent. A small amount of this increase was, perhaps, due to the " rnaining " of some few miles of district roads in the meantime.
Taking urban and rural roads together, in the twelve months ending 31st March, 1896, the cost of 25,650 miles of main road was .,'1,778,791, or ..68.34 per mile; ten years Later, the cost of 27,380 miles of main road amounted to „762,478,481, or .4;90.54 per mile—an increase of 30.55 per cent. Now, these figures represent, as I have stated above, the average costs of urban and rural roads in the counties
of England and Wales, but it will be useful, perhaps, to examine the returns rather more in detail, and it will then be shown that :— I.—Between 1897 and 1905, 1,68o miles of road were added to the class known as " main roads."
2.—In 1905, county councils were directly maintaining 1,732 miles more main roads than they were in 1897. 3.—In the same period, urban district councils were maintaining 222 miles more main roads... 4.—In the same period, rural district councils were maintaining 274 miles less main roads. 5.—The increased cost of maintenance per mile in the case of the directly-maintained rural main roads was .17, or 30.9 per cent., whilst
6.—The increased cost of the indirectly-maintained urban roads was L19 per mile, Or 9.4 per cent.
The figures I have just given refer to averages for the whole of England and Wales ; it is when one gets nearer the Metropolis, with its highly-concentrated traffic, that the figures become so much more striking that I venture to give some instances.
Mr. Urban A. Smith, the County Surveyor of Hertfordshire, has been good enough to supply me with general figures, which show that, in his county, there has been a rise of nearly ,4;17 per mile (on an average length of 1,15c miles), between ryor and 1907. These figures represent a much higher relative rise than appears at first sight, for, in the county of Hertfordshire, I believe that by far the larger proportion of roads have been " rnained." Mr. Urban Smith also points out that, in the last six years, two' of the most important roads, South Mimms towards Dunstable, and Little Heath to Hitchin, have risen from g7 to „193, and from .;.76 to ,168 per mile, respectively, and that, practically, the whole of the increased cost is due to motor traffic.
Mr. Percy Sheldon, County Surveyor of Essex, informs me that in the last Jo years his roads have increased
per mile in upkeep expenses, viz., from Lion to ,4:170, and Mr. j, F. Hawkins, of Berkshire, points out that, through trying to cope with self-propelled traffic of all kinds, hii county has now to spend a mile, whereas L3 was sufficient three years ago. It will be seen from the figures which I have given, that substantial efforts have been made by the counties to meet the difficulties incidental to self-propelled traffic, and this is true, not only in the Home counties, but in most of the county areas further from London. Take, for instance, Northumberland, in connection with which I venture to read the following extract from a letter from Mr. J. A. Bean, the County Surveyor. This letter expresses, clearly and concisely, what is being done in the extreme North of England, and it shows that good roads pay, and that the best is the cheapest.
" About six years ago, I noticed that heavy traffic: was considerably increasing in the county, and that, ill order to maintain the roads economically, it was important tc provide them with a suitable foundation. We carried out two or three miles, and found that it was likely to make a considerable difference to the cost of maintenance, so that we have since adopted the plan of providing about eight miles every year with a foundation. I am highly pleased with the result. The initial expenditure of providing a foundation to a road is always heavy. The total length we have done, up to the present date, is approxi. mately 38 miles. The cost of the work varies from mid. to is. 5?-td. per square yard, according to situation, and
this includes all labour, carting-, etc. The stones are all hand packed, and the thickness of the foundation varies from 12 inches in the centre to 4 inches at the sides. The reason so much stone is placed in the centre is because traction-engine drivers always take the centre of the road, as it is the easiest part of the road to drive upon. The roads in this county, for the most part, are on a bed of clay, and I estimate the saving in cost to the county is approximately 30 per cent. The above foundations have been made with hard whinstone, as it is the cheapest kind of material one can -use, because there is no need to coat the road with smaller stone, until the larger stones are seen to appear through the surface. With any other softer material, this method is impossible, as the foundations would immediately crumble away if the top coating were worn too thin ; therefore, so thick a coating (or wearing surface) is unnecessary, aswith a soft foundation.
" We are continuing the work of providing foundations -every year, and this, I am sure, is the right principle to adopt. The roads with a foundation are far more comfortable to travel over, and, indeed, traction-engine drivers glory in travelling over a road with a foundation, as they travel at a faster rate over them, and use less steam. In speaking of roads with a foundation, I cannot omit to mention again my experience of tar macadam. We have laid, in this county, eight miles of it : two miles have been complete for three years, and six miles complete for two Years. It has been most successful. The labour on the road has been exceedingly small, it has caused us no trouble, and the cost of repairing one length, which was carried out at the end of last year, amounted to 2id. per square yard, for 9,400 yards, whereas, previously, the cost, for ordinary macadam, was is. per square yard, after being down the same length of time. It has a magnificent surface to travel over, so far as traction engines are concerned, except when the weather is excessively hot."
I do not wish to weary you with instances, but it is only fair to acknowledge good work, and I hope you will bear with me while I quote two other cases as samples of what is being done in the extreme south. In the county of Hampshire, the cost of maintenance has risen in ten years (1896 to 1905, inclusive) from £28,000 to 465,000, and whereas ten years ago there was virtually no appreciable amount of Basalt, Granite, or Quartzite, used per mile (the repairs being effected with 106 cubic yards per mile of local materials), local stone has to-day dropped to 83 cubic yards per mile, and Basalt, Granite, and Quartzite amount to no less than so tons per mile. In the County of Kent, seven years ago, the macadam used amounted to only 41,535 tons, but in 1907 -69,275 tons were laid. One or two counties still cling ob stinately to soft local stone, under the delusion that they are being economical in so doing.
The question now arises as to whether it is right or fair to expect ratepayers of counties which are so situated that the areas are much traversed by through traffic to bear, unaided or unequalised, the burdens thrust upon them, and I must say that it appears to me to be abundantly clear that-at any rate in the Home counties—the ratepayer is pretty well at the end of his financial tether, and that the growing expenses must be met by something more equitable than local rates. I do not see eve to eye with those who say that "those who use the roads should pay for them "; this is a glib and specious dictum, but, when one comes to examine it closely, there is the difficulty, first of all, that it is an impossibility to tax the various road users in fair relative proportions, and, secondly, that the community at large benefits greatly from the extended use of highways, as was pointed out by the report of the French Commission early in the paper. I cannot help thinking, therefore, that in fairness to the ratepayer sustained and determined efforts should be made to equalise local taxation by State aid, in respect of main roads, and to standardise these roads in the matter of strength, and thereby to encourage the mechanical transport of goods. The burdens of district councils should also be eased on a contributory basis. The use of the commercial motor has made a very material alteration in the strains which occur, both on the surface and in the body of the road, for the same sections of road metal have to distribute the weight of the vehicle, and have also to re-act against the propulsive force exerted by the wheels. While roads are in what I may call a transition condition, it seems to me to be eminently desirable that the driving wheels of self-propelled vehicles shall be kept as large as possible, for theory and practice alike prove that the larger the wheel the better the distribution of weight on the road surface, and on the subsoil this latter is the real point in the case of most of our roads. Further, the thrust of a large-diameter wheel tends to displace the road metal less than does the thrust of an equally-loaded small one, the road, of course, being the fulcrum about which the turning moment takes place.