THE WORLD'S BIGGES1
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WAD-BUILDING SCHEME IS it only a dream that all fast goods transport hitherto carried by rail may, in future, go by road? At present, from Munich to Berlin by rail takes 12 hours. It is hoped that, in the near future, the transport of goods by • motor vehicles on the new roads will take six hours, or less if the motor industry will build suitable vehicles. It is thought by the German Government that 25per cent. of the millions spent on the ambitious programme of road-building, now being conducted, will soon return to the Treasury—much has already done so:
During the course of the Road Congress at Munich, Dr. Engineer Todt, who is the supreme head of the ambitious German scheme for new roads, and who presided over the Congress, was interviewed by Mr. J. Harms Tiepen on behalf of The Commercial Motor, and we will proceed by giving the interview in Mr. Tiepen's own words_ " These wide Government motor roads that you are building in a netlike form throughout the country on the Chancellor's authority, with your 150,000 labourers, will they be toll roads? They were announced as such in their early days. Are they to be the same as the motor highways in Italy to which people have to pay entrance fees? "
Dr. Todt looked thoughtfully at me for a moment, then he smiled. " Oh, I know what you are thinking. A motorist hates to have to stop, and objects to paying, but to have to do both proves much more objectionable. I understand you, and I know what you are getting at, but you will have to look at the subject from our point of view. These new highways will be solely for private cars and commercial vehicles."
It was during the many Conferences presided over by Dr. Todt that I got to know this interesting personality,
in whom Adolf Hitler reposes such confidence that he has
empowered him to a degree far exceeding that of any Minister. His trust is, in fact, so great that the Doctor carries most of the responsibility for the success or failure of the fight against unemployment in present-day Germany. Consequently, he is, perhaps more than any other man, responsible for Germany's future.
"Apart from everything else, is it not wonderful, as a road-builder, to be entrusted with such a remarkable task?" • Dr. Todt asked confidingly.
"This branch of industry is one of the biggest in the world, more extensive than the cutting of the Panama . Canal, although our technical difficulties are not so numerous as they were there."
Even the French Senator, M. Mallieu, chairman -of. the Federation of International Road Congresses, said in his . closing address, in respect of Dr. Todt: "You have intro• duced to us a new orientation." .
This huge enterprise, upon which so much depends, is certain to bring about in Germany a revision of the entire method of transport and will influence transport all over the World.
Our Conversation touched chiefly on road vehicles and on their importance in future, and not so much on • roads themselves.
Continuing, Dr: Todt said : "Supposing von went by car from Hamburg' to Schwarzwald. Are you acquainted
with our roads as we built and repaired them in years gone by? Curving, too narrow, congested with vehicles of every shape and type, with, in many places, houses on each side. No one then appeared to study motor traffic. Now, you have a road built in a straight line, very widef upon which you can run safely at 120 Idioms, per hour, Who, then, would object to a little expense in order to enjoy this amenity?" " There are two objections," I urged. " In the first place,
you can fix only a very small amount in the long run as toll for a motor vehicle, and what would this be in comparison with the amount required to pay the interest and wipe off the immense capital which you are absorbing in this gigantic scheme? " Secondly, are you not of the opinion that this road scheme, suitable for long distances, may be overtaken by another system of transport—by the aeroplane? Do not the railways suffer in the same manner from the advance of the motor vehicle? Is this not a wise lesson to take advantage of in a case where schemes for transport, the cost of which may ..eventually run into thousands of millions of pounds, are being developed, and for which there is no prospect of being able to clear the debt for generations to come?
" Even now the aeroplane is used for the carrying of goods, and for that purpose performs regular night flights for long distances. More aerodromes are constantly being laid out, and for the carrying of passengers to far-distant places the aeroplane is being used almost universally. Anyone in America' who wants to make a journey of 1,000 Idioms. • takes his ticket in advance for a flight on the following day or night. Are you not of the opinion that this progress of the air-transport industry will take precedence over your grandiose scheme of road-building? "
For a moment I felt disconcerted myself at the force oi my arguments, for who can deny that it might seem inadvisable to tell a man managing such a task as Dr. Todt is doing, and about which he probably has already spent many sleepless nights, what the future may hold for him, but he was not indignant.
"No doubt," he answered, "air transport has an enormous future, but in the same way as our once-renowned railways can never altogether be dispensed with, but will have different work to do, neither can we dispose of the motor vehicle or the highways. All three methods of transport present problems, but each of them is different. It is only now that the motor industry is beginning to develop, because it never before had the opportunity to grow as it ought to do. Motor vehicles have always had to run on patched roads originally developed for the mailcoach. Notwithstanding this, the motor manufacturers have reached such a stage of perfection in respect of their products that, so far as private cars are concerned, the cheapest of them is capable of running at 120 kiloms. per hour.
"It is all very well for you to say that this work will require enormous capital. Just take a piece of paper and see for yourself whether this is really the case. Previous to the building of these highways, we spent many millions, in the course of _seven years, on the repairing of roads. Even then, no one was satisfied, because what we did was patching, and on these roads motor traffic could never reveal its capabilities. Now.' we are spending an equivalent amount, and can safely add to that what will come in as the result of the stir our road-builditig progress is making everywhere, whilst it is bringing to our impoverished army of unemployed the work for which it was gasping. If other nations saw things in the same light they would give up their methods of patching old-fashioned roads, would relieve the railways of the hindrance of the cased goods which they carry, and put these on fast vehicles running on motor roads, thus economizing and lightening transport; more important still, they would assist in solving the problem of unemployment.
" Do you suggest," continued Dr. Tot, "that these are ideals, that in order to have them realized would cost the nation millions? Over 260,000,000 marks have already been returned to our Treasury for the first amount expended."
" How is that?" I asked in surprise.
"It is quite patent," he answered. "The unemployed are incapable of paying taxes; the employed can pay. It is quite true that a labourer is not ,abIe to pay much, and that what he earns can hardly be considered in this con, nection, lnit 'just think what it means to the industries delivering the materials required. They employ well-paid personnel. That is the reason that funds flow more freely into the Exchequer. The hopes of the nation begin to revive and there is confidence in the Government. Just take note of the frame of mind of the German people. Enter the works which deliver the materials for these roads, look at the activity there, and remember the psychological element about which a well-known Minister said recently, 'People out of employment become unmanageable.' • "Do not imagine that this creating of labour for thousands, is a fanciful notion. Let your imagination follow mine as to what will happen if a network of long, wide roads, prepared especially for motor traffic, extends in every direction over the country. Every other kind of traffic on such roads would be dangerous. Let us consider the goods and passenger traffic in their relation to the railways. We are already in possession of railways. We are not manufacturing an instrument for which our customers have to wait.
The railways as a means for transport are old-fashioned. Every nation knows that, and probably it is a kind of humane respect that prevents us from confessing this quite .candidly, or is it, perhaps, that we are otherwise interested in them? Whatever it is, we excuse ourselves for our old.
fashioned ideas by telling each• other that railway wagons, after all, are capable of carrying such big loads and that they are so safe; but is this the case? An engineer dislikes baseless arguments, What he wants are concrete facts, and we *now have these.
"Each railway wagon in this country carries 434 tons per year, which means that it is in use for only 35 days. A 5-ton motor vehicle, however, can carry 1,380 tons. Do you need stronger proof of the economy of using these 5-tonners, especially as the figure for the motor vehicle is far lower than the rail capacity, because at present it is impeded by having no proper roads on which to run, so that it is able to show only a part of its economic value? Imagine what the results will be when all these obstructions have been removed, when makers will be at liberty to adapt their products to tracks on which they will be unobstructed by slow-running traffic and pedestrians, and cari run at an economic speed!
' The Mobility of Road Transport. , „ "Minister. Rudolf Hess put it well when he said : The fact that road transport works in smaller units means a great independence with regard to thg time factor, as well as certain possibilities of individual treatment in respect of the .geographieal direction of the transport.'
" You must not imagine that' the railway people are upset.This is not the case. The ideas I am telling you are not Utopian. Of course, having our ideals, we dream of a wonderful future ; they urge us forward in performing the monotonous duties of everyday life, because we have their realization in front of us. What the railways want is to get rid of those case goods.
"At present, a train jogs along from a village, does a few miles, then stops again, fetches a wagon there that has to be put on another track, and so, shunting, shunting, it proceeds. Include the expense of the railway goods-yard, the stations, the maintenance of rails, not to mention the amount of vexation. Then the goods have to be reloaded on to motor vehicles, because of the 50,000 communities in Germany only 12,000 are near the railway. It is therefore not surprising that the railways in this country already own 2,000 motor vehicles and are turning more and more _ of their goods transport over to road concerns.
Improving Road Transport Economy.
"Has the great growth of private traffic ever occurred to you? The concern which has its own goods to transport been use it cannot wait until there is enough to fill a railway wagon will be grateful to us for suitable roads, and the railways no longer object, because they can easily dispense with these goods ; they give too much trouble. Bulk goods are all the railways want. Take into consideration the average speed of motor traffic as it is now, with all its slowing-down, stopping and starting. From 50 to 55 Idioms, per hour is the average for fast cars, 25 kiloms. per hour or less (or many fast lorries. Now, remove all the embankments, the dangerous cross-roads, the hidden curves, slower vehicles, and roads that are too narrow. Imagine, instead, wide roads properly formed. Will you not then be of the opinion that traffic will increase? Even now, cars will run at speeds far above 100 kiloms. per hour, whilst commercial vehicles can easily do 60-80 kiloms. Let us take this as an example and build our roads to suit.
"It will take six hours from Berlin to Munich by road, then there is a straight track to the Alps. Soon, Berlin will be empty at week-ends ; they will make for the Alps. The Chancellor suspected all that. In this part of Europe we have all we want—woods, sea and mountains, providing that we can reach them economically and quickly. Only by keeping transport costs low can some goods be made to pay ; for want of economy in transport they often become worthless.
"Of course, we have as yet no clear view as to how matters will actually turn out. Traffic is not tangible. Although the motor vehicle is the means for conveyance, it is the road that attracts movement, but mindful of all the facts we have set out to build roads for our people, and it would be advisable for neighbouring countries to do the same, so that we can connect our roads with theirs. Road n24 building is a work of peace. As Minister Rudolf Heal says: ' The more the great arterial highways of neighbouring countries are joined up and co-ordinated the more will the great roads of the nations and their everyday traffic contribute to an increasing respect of the nations each for the other in proportion to the growing international traffic on these roads.' The more the countries of Europe utilize their Budget appropriations intensively for the construction of roads, the more industry and labour are set to peaceful work and the stronger will be the reluctance in each country to disturb or interrupt this activity. I am convinced that the European countries, the road-building programmes of which extend in most cases over a decade, will carry through these programmes undisturbed. I am also convinced that just as international railway lines have come into being, international roads will also be made.
"Until now, no country has followed our example in this respect. The profits arising from quick traffic will be enormous. The railways and motor vehicles will no longer be at enmity. The former will take to the road, and use the rails for bulk goods which other countries transport by water." ' "But if the railways convey only bulk goods, what about the different traffic rates in which they take such a pride? " I asked. "The carrying of bulk goods will be dearer, and the whole railway industry will be dependent on this traffic for its regular income."
The Railways' Use of the Roads.
"Oh, I did not say they would use only the rails," answered Dr. Todt. "The bulk goods and quick passenger traffic will be taken by oil-engiued trains, but the railways must be relieved of the small-goods traffic because this handicaps them. Road vehicles are more suitable for this, and why should the railways not use the roads for this purpose?
"Now I will answer your first question regarding toll roads. Possibly, private cars will not have to pay, but should we decide to put a toll only on commercial vehicles, it must not be concluded from this that we wish to put a slight on them; on the contrary, the manufacturer who eventually uses our roads for the conveyance of goods will be grateful enough for them. We are different from other countries, as we are on good terms with the railways, and they intend to make much use of our roads; in fact, both means for transport, road and rail, supplement each the other. If road traffic be more satisfactory than rail traffic, then the former will be utilized to a greater extent in the interests of the German nation and all humanity.
"As regards figures, you know already that 7,000 kiloms. of road are to be built in seven years.
"Last July, 1,600 kiloms. were in preparation ; next year, part of them will be in use. There will he 15 main roads and 41 by-roads. Up to July we had spent 110,000,000 Marks on labour.
Employment on the Road Scheme.
"We have planned to turn over to road-building by the end of the 1934 building year 300,000,000 Marks, and have set to work on the roads from 80,000 to 100,000 men. Indirectly, however, the number is much larger, and by the end of 1934 there will be, in all, nearly a quarter of a million employed in this connection.
"You realize the width of these roads, don't you? At each side there will be a track of 7.5 metres, in the centre a 5-metre track in which trees will be planted to give shade, and at the sides a 2-metre embankment. Bridges will carry the by-roads.
"In 1933 we received 160.000,000 Marks from the taxation of motor vehicles and an additional 55,000,000 was lent to us in order to avoid dismissing labourers during the winter. This money was used on the main provincial and community roads. The higher taxes levied on older cars realized 40,000,000 Marks for road building. Those responsible for the upkeep of roads will have received during 1934 a sum of 115,000,000 Marks out of the motor taxes, because the State has taken upon itself to pay all expenses for road-building during the time of transition. 35,000,000 Marks were also granted for State roads."