=Public Garages.=--As it was found necessary to go up into the air in

large cities to accommodate the demands for room for offices, stores,

and other businesses, so now some cities are preparing to build public

garages of the sky-scraper type for its automobiles. If press items

are correct Chicago is about to make a trial of the sky-scraping

garage near the heart of the retail district for the accommodation of

automobilists who wish to drive to business, leaving the streets where

they now park their cars free for transient motor cars.

There is nothing particularly new in a sky-scraper garage. They have

been used for private and for hire purposes for some time. The novelty

lies in a municipality considering itself obligated to furnish parking

places for automobiles. But why not? The public provides, now, roads

for them to travel upon, and parking places upon the ground level. If

extension to this space is made by piling one parking place on top of

another instead of one beside another, what is the difference? It is

presumed that a nominal fee would be charged and that outside parking

places would be limited in time of occupation by any particular car.

The distinguishing feature of several-story garages is the manner in

which the cars are taken to the upper floors--whether by elevator

propelled from some outside source or whether they are driven up

inclined planes by their own power. The press notice regarding the

Chicago scheme indicates the car will be driven up to its stall in

any one of the ten stories, and when ready to go home the driver will

ascend to his car and drive it down the exit ramp and go on his way. It

will be an interesting experiment. If it succeeds central garages will

be built in even the smaller cities.

The elevator garages are quite common. The car is driven onto an

elevator large enough to handle it and taken to any story desired,

then driven off to its stall. A reverse operation brings it back down.

The elevator will probably be run by electric power. The present

cost of installing a bus elevator[227] is practically as follows:

First cost, $7500; repairs and depreciation, per annum, $500; cost of

current, $750; interest on investment at 6 per cent, $450; assuming

one operator, salary $1200. Total yearly charge $2900. These figures

are claimed to be very conservative, as some run as high as $5000. The

possibility of a break of the moving machinery tying up the rolling

stock will make a second elevator imperative, the annual charges would

be, assuming no extra man to be required, $1700; making altogether

an annual charge for elevators of $4600, and the total cost of the

installment, $15,000.

On the other hand it is claimed that when the ramps are constructed

with the building the extra cost is slight, being little more than that

of the floors which would be necessary to cover their spaces were they

not put in. After being put in they are claimed to be superior because

there are no moving parts to break down, there is no maintenance

expense, no salaried operators, and they provide quicker service, as

several machines may be run up or down in the same time it would take

to transport one on an elevator.

The ramps are said to take up more space than the elevators, but the

claim is made that by dividing the garage into two parts and having

the floors in one part come approximately half way between those in

the other part, much shorter ramps may be used, and the space taken up

is not so very much greater than would be required for elevators. The

ramps are made about 16 feet wide, and the grade approximately 15 per

cent.

=Terminal Stations.=--For the purpose of accommodating patrons bus and

express terminal stations are being installed. So far these have been

established and financed by private companies. Where several bus lines

or express lines radiate from a city a union depot may be expected not

only to pay, but greatly to convenience the public. Small hotels and

out-of-the-way places are ordinarily used when there is no central

station. It is difficult to keep these in mind, and as they use the

telephones of the hotels, restaurants, shops, etc., that they occupy

for headquarters it is difficult for everybody to remember where they

are located and find them when needed. Coöperation between the hotel

employees and the bus lines for the giving of patrons information

relative to schedules, fares, rates, etc., is not always satisfactory.

The organization of a stock company with bus lines, express lines, and

merchants as stockholders for the purpose of building and operating a

terminal depot may be formed. It will be necessary that the merchants

be brought to see the financial returns that will come to them from the

passengers which will be brought to the city every forenoon, allowed

time to shop and return home in the afternoon; and that the number of

passengers will be increased if convenient and accommodating terminal

facilities are at hand.

Experience at Omaha shows that a large percentage, 85, of the

passengers carried by the buses are residents along the routes and

not commercial travelers, and are therefore potential customers. Many

of these people when making their purchases ask that the purchased

articles be delivered to the central depot in time to meet a particular

bus. The purchaser is given a check upon the surrender of which he

receives his package at the depot. Of course the more central the

location of the depot may be the better the accommodation to the

passengers. On the other hand the rent of the station may and probably

will increase as it is brought nearer to the center of the retail

district. Anyway it should be within walking distance of the principal

retail stores.

The main costs of such a station will be rent, light, heat, water,

taxes, insurance, upkeep, and the personal service of an agent and

janitor. At Omaha seven bus lines and eighteen merchants entered into

an arrangement whereby the merchants were to guarantee the rent while

the bus operators were to furnish, maintain, and operate the terminal.

The rent was $200 per month. For current expenses each member pays $2

a month dues and a service charge of $15 a month in advance for each

scheduled in-and-out daily trip. Thus the Omaha-Weeping Water line with

one in-and-out bus would pay about 50 cents a day; Omaha-Lincoln line

with two buses each way, $1 a day; and the Omaha-Fremont line with four

buses in-and-out every day, $2. A small additional income is received

from a cigar, candy, and miscellaneous sales concession, it being

12¹⁄₂ per cent of the gross sales less $7 a week which the association

pays toward the salary of the clerk who acts as their information and

ticket agent. A limited free checking service is maintained for the

accommodation of passengers and shoppers. A colored porter presides

over a shoe-shine stand and calls the departure of buses and assists

the passengers with their baggage. He also serves as janitor. Special

courtesy to patrons is maintained as a means of increasing business.

The depot has 36x80 feet space and is divided into a general waiting

room and office, a ladies’ rest-room, a smoking room, and space for

baggage.

Here is a joint terminal for a few bus lines running out of one of the

smaller large cities of the country into an agricultural community with

unpaved but excellent earth roads. The operators feel that even though

small it has proven its worth, as they have a definite business center

where patrons can get information about schedules and buses and find

comfort while waiting. It also makes for an _esprit de corps_ among the

several bus companies which very frequently loan buses to each other in

cases of emergency. The compensation in such cases is 15 cents per mile

if the borrower furnishes gasoline, oil and driver, or 22 cents a mile

if these are furnished by the owner. In case one line does any work for

another the basis of pay is cost plus 10 per cent.

It is considered that the bus lines are themselves a convenience to the

public as their schedules and routes are planned to give service where

the railroads do not. For example, a resident of Wahoo wishing to go

to Omaha by train leaves at 11:15 A.M., there being only one train a

day, arrives at Omaha at 1:15 P.M.; but must wait until the next day to

return, as the only train leaves Omaha at 12:41 P.M.; arriving at Wahoo

at 2:31 P.M. The citizen has, therefore, spent practically two days to

make the trip. By bus he can make the round trip the same day--leave

Wahoo 9:10 A.M.; arrive Omaha 11:30 A.M.; leave Omaha 2:00 P.M. and

arrive back home at 4:20 P.M.; or he can have still more time in the

city by leaving at 5:10 and arriving home at 7:30 P.M.

A number of instances like the above could be cited. On the contrary

one of the bus lines runs between Omaha and Lincoln, passing through

the same towns that are already well served by several trains per day.

The time of making the trip from Omaha to Lincoln by bus is about one

hour longer than by train. There seems little use for such a bus line

except to pick up passengers between train stations.

Much more elaborate terminal stations have been established in other

cities, for example Indianapolis, Indiana, and Portland, Oregon. A

Minneapolis terminal to accommodate 100 buses a day has been opened and

the company expects ultimately to spend $100,000 to create an adequate

terminal.

At Poughkeepsie, New York, a city of 40,000 people, the Chamber of

Commerce learning that an ordinance had been introduced in the

Common Council prohibiting the parking of motor buses on the streets,

evolved the idea of a central waiting room for the convenience of all

passengers from the rural districts, the establishment of a definite

bus schedule and the installation of a checking department.[228]

After a year’s operation the merchants were extremely well pleased

with results. The bus drivers were invited to use the accommodations

provided at the entire expense of the merchants, of a little less than

$1500 a year. Rental is at the rate of $50 and janitor service $12 a

month. The room is steam heated and made as comfortable and cozy as

possible, so that women and children find it a pleasure to wait there.

From 150 to 300 persons use the bus terminal daily. The bus drivers

have formed an association and taken over the care of the building,

as they believe this one of the best things ever put forward for the

development of their own business.

As an example of how it works this is given:

A lady in Red Hook desires one of the Poughkeepsie merchants to

send her certain goods, she simply telephones her order to the

Poughkeepsie merchant, who then consults his time table regarding

buses operating in that direction. He next selects the merchandise;

makes up his package and his boy takes it to the motor bus terminal,

where the attendant in charge receipts for the package. This bundle

is then put by the attendant in the proper bin and the right driver

takes it just previous to leaving the station. The driver delivers

the package the same as the parcel post man would, with promptness

and dispatch. No charge is made by the attendant for taking the

package but a charge of 10 to 50 cents is put on the parcel by the

bus driver, which he collects from the recipient of the package, or

it is prepaid as the merchant prefers.

It is said there has been no loss by theft. The drivers each carry a

key to the Bus Terminal Station which is opened by the first driver

to arrive about 6:30 A.M. and closed by the last to leave about 11:00

o’clock at night.

This is not a freight-trucking depot, only packages being handled. From

the customers which the buses have brought it is estimated the trade

in the first year was over a half million dollars, a large part of

which is partly traceable to the courtesy and convenience rendered to

out-of-town patrons by the establishment of the depot.

=Gas, Air, and Water Stations.=--Another business of great importance

that has followed the increased use of motor cars is that of the sale

of gasoline and oil. Of course there are the large manufacturing and

wholesale companies; of those it is not the intention here to speak,

but of the retailer who is endeavoring to accommodate the motoring

public.

There is no city of any size now but what is supplied with one or more

filling stations. Much money is being spent on the stations to make

them convenient and attractive to the motorist. The modern filling

station consists of the necessary storage tanks, usually placed under

ground, for gasoline and oil, and the pumps for measuring and forcing

the “gas” into the tank of the motor, with other pumps or facilities

for care of oil. Then there is the building containing an office,

a storeroom for oil and supplies, rest and toilet rooms for women,

and possibly also for men. There is usually a marquise extending out

over the place where automobiles stop for filling, to keep off rain

and sun from the pumps and also from driver or passenger in case he

or they desire to get out of the car for any purpose. Water and air

are available at these stations and are looked after by attendants

if desired. There are also pits where crank cases may be rapidly

drained and refilled. While these accommodations are for the purpose

of attracting trade, the very fact that they do, shows them to be real

conveniences.

Of course, there are also those things which the automobile dealer

calls “service.” That is places where may be purchased and repaired

broken parts, where batteries may be filled with distilled water, and

so on. Usually water, either fresh or distilled, is free, but in some

places in the “deserts” out West it has to be hauled miles and a cost

charge is made.

=Named and Numbered Roads.=--For a number of years road enthusiasts,

automobile clubs, and chambers of commerce have been selecting and

marking main lines of road across the country or through their

particular cities. Some of these roads such as the Lincoln Highway,

the Santa Fé and the Yellowstone Trails extend across the continent

from coast to coast; or north to south as the Dixie, the Jefferson,

and the Jackson Highway. There are very many of these volunteer

organizations; they attempt to secure the improvement of highways,

ranging in length from transcontinental routes to short county lines,

by bringing influence to bear on road officials and creating in the

minds of the public generally an interest for better roads. Some states

like Iowa and Nebraska passed laws enabling an association promoting

any route to register it together with the marker that is to be used,

providing penalties for injuring or defacing any sign board, and making

it unlawful for others to use the name or marker design on any other

road. It is said over a hundred routes were marked in Iowa, fifty in

Illinois, and other states somewhat proportionately.

Opposition has been offered on the theory that it is the State’s

business to mark and maintain signs along roads. It has been suggested

that since the General Government has selected a system of national

roads and since these must be by law continuous, that they be numbered

continuously by the same number. For example the transcontinental road

farthest north should be numbered 1, the next continental road, 3, the

next, 5, and so on. That the roads running north and south beginning

on the east be numbered with even numbers. Several of the New England

states have already agreed to a common number or name for roads running

through them. The point is that when a road has been marked a tourist

may travel clear across the continent on the same number and would not

have to look up a new number or name when he crossed a state line. Also

when once made public a map of the roads would be good next year or the

year after, and the traveler need not fear its having been changed. It

might be possible that places would be located by certain roads as they

were once by rivers. In the practical work of drafting, numbers are

more easily placed on the map than are names.

[Illustration: Fig. 2.--“Road Closed” Sign as Furnished by Department. The Engineer

in Charge Inserts Routing of Detour and Mileage in the Space Under the

Words “Follow Marked Detour.”

ROAD

CLOSED

BY ORDER OF--

CLIFFORD OLDER, CHIEF HIGHWAY ENGINEER

VIOLATORS SUBJECT TO ARREST

PENALTY: FINE, IMPRISONMENT OR BOTH

OPEN ONLY TO RESIDENT AND CONTRACTOR’S TRAFFIC

FOLLOW MARKED DETOUR

Engineer in Charge Will Indicate Exact Routing of Detour Giving

Mileage and Direction

Fig. 1. Standard Warning Sign for Barricades.

SLOW

BARRICADE -- 400FT

Fig. 3.--Standard Detour Sign as Furnished by Department. The Engineer

in Charge Prints on the Sign the Route Number, Name of Trail, its

Emblem if the Road has a Name and Emblem, the Next Town and County Seat

or Main City On the Road.

DETOUR FOR ROUTE

Fig. 4.--Map Showing Position of Barricade and Detour Signs.

WARNING AND DIRECTION SIGNS USED IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS]

=Marks, Signs and Guides.=--Whether or not the Government will

take over the numbering of through roads the states and volunteer

associations will no doubt continue marking. The marks are very

comforting to a person traveling on an unknown road, and few there are

who do not at sometime travel unknown paths. Not only does it keep him

going along the right way but signs giving mileage to the next town are

always watched for anxiously.

One of the most common and most effective methods of marking a road

is to paint a band of distinguishing color around the telephone poles

along the way. In addition to the color band a letter or insignia may

be used. The Lincoln Highway uses a red strip at the top and bottom of

the white band and a blue L. The Detroit, Lincoln, Denver route uses

black strips at the top and bottom of the white band and black monogram

made up of the letters D. L. D. The state of Nebraska erects markers

showing the number of the road in its state system and the number of

the mile on the road. This is partly for the convenience of travelers

and partly to assist in systematic filing of records in the office. In

case it is necessary to make a special report the patrolman can give

the location almost exactly, for example, “Road 14, mile 32, north

quarter, washout,” or more simply, “14, 32, N Q, washout.” This is

very definite. The state of Wisconsin uses a triangle as an insignia

in which is placed the legend “State Trunk Highway,” the number of the

highway and the abbreviation Wis.

Several of the states have adopted the method of setting quite large

signs alongside the roadway and forbid the placing of advertising

signs, even though they give road information, or signs by local

volunteer associations. This would seem to be going a little too far

for volunteer associations have done much for better road construction

in this country as well as to give publicity to the advantages of

traveling over the particular road in which they are interested.

The influences which they have been able to bring upon local road

officers by various means has had a wonderful effect in keeping in good

condition the marked road and by emulation other roads joining with it.

The most of these associations have contented themselves with marking a

route from one terminal to another. They have not asked for a special

kind of surfacing. They have aided by advice and perhaps occasionally

assisted to put in a sample mile of good road. For example the Lincoln

Highway is at the present time interesting itself in financing and

constructing an “ideal section” of road in Indiana. (See Chapter XII,

p. 413.) On the whole it is the belief of the writer that the good done

by these associations inures to the great benefit of the general public

and until a comprehensive plan can be agreed upon by all the states

they should be allowed to continue their work.

=Distance and Direction Signs.=--Direction signs are such as point out

the direction which a traveler must take to keep on a particular route.

Distance signs also give information as to distances from the sign to

particular places. These two classes are often combined. In addition to

these there are warning and detour signs which may also be direction

signs.

Mile posts are not new. It was the custom to plant them along the

old Roman roads. It has already been mentioned that board markers

are frequently placed along the state numbered highways. It would be

better to have well-designed cut stones or concrete posts set at even

miles, and, perhaps, also at ¹⁄₂ or ¹⁄₄ mile points as well. The post

should bear the number or insignia of the highway and the mile number,

measured from some particular terminal. Wisconsin uses a triangle

as an insignia; other states use an outline map of the state, which

is usually not so simple and requires larger sign boards and hence

greater expense, and is not so symmetrical and neat looking. The

abbreviation of the state name is sufficient. This is to be placed on

the side facing the road. It has been suggested that on the side toward

the approaching traveler may be placed the name of the next village,

town or city in that direction with the distance in miles. On the other

side visible after passing would appear the name of the last village

passed. The only difficulty with this scheme would be the size of the

post required. To get the name on in readable letters would require

a post 16 to 24 inches square. So large a post would run the cost up

materially.

A hollow circular post with a cap cast on its top could be made of

cement.

Iron signs have been successfully used. The Automobile Club of

Minneapolis used a malleable cast-iron form 30 inches long, ⁵⁄₈ inch

thick, and 3 inches wide. The letters are 2 inches high and the letters

and a half-inch border are raised about ¹⁄₈ of an inch. The sign is

bolted to a 2¹⁄₂ inch galvanized-iron pipe set in concrete. The sign

is galvanized, the background painted white and the raised border and

letters finished in black. The cost was approximately $7 per sign.

Steel signs with letters spot welded to them are on the market.

Concrete posts with board signs are common and if occasionally

repainted make a durable comparatively cheap sign.

One of the chief objections to the advertising signs placed along some

highways is that the information relative to the highway occupies

a very small portion of the space and is not easily read while the

advertisement stands out very prominently. If the road authorities put

the signs up at public expense they could be much smaller and would

desecrate the landscape correspondingly less.

=Uniformity of Signs.=--It would be well if simple standards could

be adopted for the entire United States, or at least for each state,

and that all signs be set with uniformity. If placed consistently at

the same distance and height from the roadway the eye of the traveler

will naturally seek them and they will be more easily read. Evans and

Batchelder[229] recommend that double-distance board signs be 36 inches

long by 17 inches deep when they carry three rows of names and a fourth

row for the authority responsible for the sign. If the fourth row is

not on the sign 15 inches deep will be sufficient. They recommend that

the size of the plain block letters be graduated according to the

importance of the places mentioned. The top line for the most important

places 4-inch letters; the second row, less important, 3-inch letters,

and the third, least important, 2-inch letters. Single direction

signs to be 20 inches long and the same depth. All signs on posts are

recommended to be placed an average height of 6 feet above the roadway,

on houses 9 feet. If the double direction names are placed below each

other the board will not need to be so long.

[Illustration: A New Jersey distance and direction sign.]

=Letters and Colors.=--The letters should be clear and distinct; the

style known as block letter is good. The colors should be highly

contrasting. Black and white is as good as any; however, Eno[230]

thinks that black with yellow and red with white are the best

combinations; yellow on black being better than black on yellow. Eno

would classify signs as:

Primary, those for warning and directing moving vehicles, vivid

yellow letters, arrows or graphics, on a black background.

Secondary, those for stationary vehicles, designating public

parking spaces, cabstands, car and bus stops, etc., black on yellow

background.

Tertiary, those for the control of pedestrians, designating

crosswalks, safety zones, etc., red on white background.

=Warning Signs.=--The name indicates their purpose, that they are

intended to warn against danger or to indicate that extra precautionary

measures should be exercised. They give notice of sharp turns, bad

bridges and culverts, railroad crossings, cross-roads, and so on.

Frequently the word “danger” is printed followed by a descriptive

word indicating the kind of danger; for example, “Danger--sharp

curve,” “Danger--bad bridge,” “Danger--railroad crossing.” Or there

are used such words as “Slow” or more simply “Slo,” with a graphic or

descriptive word following, as, “Slow--school,” “Slo--drawbridge.”

The International Road Congress suggested a standard graphical sign, 24

by 16 inches, with white symbols on a black background. Some American

roads use a modification of these, p. 440.

=Map Signs.=--There seems to be a tendency toward map signs and the

necessary large boards which they entail. It is the opinion of the

writer that it would be better except for exceptional places to keep

to as small a marker as can be seen readily. The sizes recommended by

the International Road Congress are plenty large enough and probably

could be decreased without impairing their utility. An ordinary sign

is itself an unsightly thing, and after the campaigns that have been

made against the advertising bill boards it seems hardly consistent

for the state to put up almost equally unsightly disfigurements of the

landscape.

In Maryland the direction signs between towns are 30 inches wide by

20 inches high and display in white letters on a black background the

name of the road, the distance to and from important points, and all

principal connections. Evidently “the wayfaring men though fools shall

not err therein.” Other states are putting up similar signs. Illinois

is using about the same size boards setting them for each turn in the

road, each entering road, whether or not it comes in from one or both

sides, each school and other places where special care should be taken.

On a map attached to some of these signs is a point or star indicating

the position of the sign on the road.

[Illustration:

CROSS ROADS

TURN TO RIGHT

TURN TO LEFT

DANGEROUS DESCENT

RAILROAD CROSSING

INTERNATIONAL ROAD CONGRESS WARNING SIGNS

WHITE ON BLACK BACKGROUND

GO STRAIGHT AHEAD

TURN TO RIGHT

TURN TO LEFT

STOP SIGN

RAILROAD CROSSING

WARNING SIGNS AS USED ON SOME AMERICAN ROADS

BLACK ON WHITE BACKGROUND]

In addition to direction and distance signs Maryland erects large,

10 feet square, map signs at the limits of each of the larger towns.

Upon this map is delineated the main routes through the town in

white and the secondary routes in gray, the names of the streets and

well-established landmarks, so that a person can make a decision of the

route he wishes to take and follow it without difficulty. The color

scheme is white letters on black background. They are oriented to read

in the direction of travel so that if the signboard were pushed over

ahead on its back the road would point in the direction of travel. On

the map in red is a star with the words, “You are now at this point.”

On the top of mountain grades Maryland erects boards similar in size

to the map boards, which state the number of miles down the mountain,

indicate curves and give concise instructions how to drive down so as

to avoid accident and personal injury. This is to assist inexperienced

drivers and those unacquainted with the region by telling how to brake

their cars by putting them into “high,” “intermediate,” and “low” at

certain places, which, of course, will be very helpful, and may save an

accident.

Where the state roads cross from Maryland into neighboring states a

large sign 15 to 25 feet is erected on which is displayed the salient

features of the state motor vehicle law. No one, therefore, need be

ignorant of the law and thus unpleasantly encounter the state police.

The contract price of these signs range from $12 for a single face

direction sign to $347.50 for a state-line motor vehicle law sign. They

are kept in repair by the contractor at prices ranging from $3.50 to

$20 each per year.[231]

=Detour Signs.=--Perhaps nothing is more exasperating to the tourist

than to come to a barricade with the word “Detour,” and then find the

detour road practically impassable. In many states the contractor on a

piece of construction work is obligated to care for detour roads and

detour signs during the time the road is closed. Finding the obligation

not well fulfilled several of the states are taking over that work

in order that it might be done in a manner to satisfy the traveling

public. Wisconsin[232] considers the proper marking and maintaining of

detours more important than similar work of the regular trunk routes,

for well-marked detours are necessary to keep enthusiasm for good road

construction alive. Minnesota, North Carolina, and other states have

adopted similar plans.

Before a road is closed a detour is selected and marked and thus

automatically becomes a part of the state trunk line system. A map

sign is placed at the ends of long detours showing the road under

construction, the detour, the location of railways, cities, and

prominent natural features. The traveler thus gets a definite idea of

the way he must go to return to the main highway. Ordinary markers are

placed along the line of detour.

In Connecticut and some other states a half width of the roadway is

paved at a time, allowing the other half to be used while the first

half is under construction. This is possible where the detour is not

too long, or if there is passing room in the one-half way. Concrete is

well adapted for this sort of construction. The joint down the center

is a benefit rather than a detriment to this type of road surface; it

acts as an expansion joint and allows a certain amount of flexibility

under the warping action of heat, and furnishes a mid-line mark to keep

passenger traffic in proper lanes.

[Illustration: Yellow on Black.

Yellow on Black.

Yellow on Black.

White on Blue.

An improved form is given below:

Yellow on Black.

TRAFFIC GUIDES (From Eno’s “The Science of Highway Traffic

Regulation.”)]

Widening the roadway before reconstruction has begun will also furnish

room for the passage of vehicles. Of course under either of these two

last methods the passing vehicles are more or less of a nuisance to the

constructor and if a reasonably direct detour entirely away from the

work under construction can be maintained in satisfactory condition

so much the better. While the traffic must be inconvenienced to some

degree by detours the fact that an effort is being made by the road

authorities to make the substitute as pleasant as possible will leave a

“good taste in the mouth” of the traveling public which is worth while

whether that traffic is local or from a distance.

=Location of Detour Markers.=--The location or arrangement of detour

markers in reference to the traveled way has received considerable

attention. Of course the first signs are the barricade warning and at

the barricade. In Illinois the State Department of Highways requires

the barricade warning to be placed about 400 feet from the barricade.

The map signs of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Carolina are used also

as barricade signs. Any driver, not authorized, passing a barricade is

by the laws of some states subject to arrest and fine. Detour arrows

are placed at road intersections in such a manner that traffic going in

either direction may follow the arrow. Illinois uses a black arrow on a

white background. Iowa has somewhat similar signs except that the color

scheme is a white arrow on a black background. The word “detour” is

printed above and below the arrow and the one painted out that is not

needed after the sign is erected. In Iowa upon primary (State) roads

the district engineer, and upon county roads the county engineer, is

held responsible for the following:

First.--He shall determine whether or not a detour is needed.

Second.--He shall coöperate with the local officials in choosing a

detour.

Third.--He shall provide for the proper marking of the detour.

Fourth.--He shall provide for the maintenance of the detour and

report such provision in the central office.

=Speed Signs.=--Most cities and towns have speed limits lower than

that allowed in the open country. Some of them even divide the city

into zones and make a different limit for each zone. On the outer

edge of these zones and the outer edge of the city are often placed

signs of warning such as “Speed Limit, 15 miles per hour.” In one

city was facetiously added “Go slow and see our city, go fast and see

our jail.” On the backs of these signs, the side seen by the traveler

as he leaves, are sometimes painted the words “You’re Welcome--Come

Again.” All of which is to give the traveler a good impression and thus

advertise the community.

=Traffic Guides.=--Before leaving the subject perhaps something more

should be said about traffic guides in the cities as most of what

precedes has been written with a view to country roads, although many

of these signs are applicable to city streets.

Lines upon the pavement should be used to define crosswalks, parking

spaces, and restricted and reserved zones. Curbstones may be painted

white or yellow to indicate no parking against them. In parking

spaces the stall lines are painted, as this will keep vehicles close

together and more will be able to park. If they are allowed to drive in

promiscuously there will often be half and three-quarter spaces which

cannot be used. Painted lines should be about 4 inches wide. If well

put on with good paint they will wear for a considerable period. A

painted line down the center of a roadway, especially on curves, is a

great convenience and safety device for passing vehicles.

Eno tells us that the earliest traffic regulation signs in New York

were worded “Slow moving Vehicles, Keep Near Curb.” These were followed

gradually by many others.

It is not necessary to place on signs the name of the department

authorizing them as, “Police Department,” “Department of Streets and

Alleys,” as these take up room and make the signs no more impressive.

The simpler and shorter the wording the better. I have been told, I

did not see it, that in Boston instead of having a sign read “One-way

Traffic,” it is made to say, “Vehicles Using This Street Will Follow

in the Direction of the Arrow Only.” This may be merely a slam at the

Bostonese but it illustrates the point.

[Illustration: Yellow on Black.

Yellow on Black.

Improperly worded signs.

Properly worded

Black on Yellow.

Black on Yellow.

Yellow on Black.

Yellow on Black.

Yellow on Black.

NEW YORK CITY TRAFFIC GUIDES

“In November, 1903, one hundred blue and white enameled signs,

directing slow-moving vehicles to keep near the right-hand curb,

were put in use in New York. These were probably the first traffic

regulation signs ever used.”

(From Eno’s “The Science of Highway Traffic Regulation.”)]

There are several types of signs in use. Most of them are made of

enameled metal and may be placed on stationary or portable standards.

The stationary standards may be made of iron pipe set in cement with

the sign attached to its top. The sign should be just above a tall

man’s head, say 6 feet 6 inches from the walk. Portable standards are

frequently used, having an elongated (nearly elliptical) iron base,

sufficiently heavy to hold them upright, and a pipe extending from a

hole in the center vertically about 4 feet high, to bear the sign.

These signs are placed on sidewalks to designate parking and no parking

places, safety zones, etc.

=Dummy Cop.=--A post, column, or monument designed to stand at the

intersection of streets in place of a traffic officer has been called a

dummy cop. Mushrooms or cement bumps are sometimes utilized in the same

manner. Bumpers are used, too, to indicate restricted and safety zones,

isles of safety, etc. A dummy cop at night ought to carry a lantern or

be illuminated from some outside source.

=Semaphores.=--A traffic officer sometimes uses a Go-Stop sign so

arranged at the top of a standard that by turning a handle he can

present one or the other of these two words to the traffic. Some of

them carry a light at night, and an umbrella to shade the officer

during the day. They are objected to on the ground that there is no

neutral position, they always say either “Go” or “Stop.” If by a change

in plan they could be designed so as to show neither word when the

officer was not at his post they could act as dummy cops.

Crow’s-nest, or traffic tower, is a term given to a lookout or sentry

box supported about 7 feet 6 inches above the street by a strong post.

The crow’s-nest has a roof for shade and shelter and may carry a

semaphore above it, and another lower down to attract the eye of nearby

persons. As used in New York the arms have electrical control, and

at night carry red lights. The semaphore is for the block system and

may be made superfluous when rotary traffic methods are in vogue. Mr.

Eno, who is given credit for the suggestion of the crow’s-nest, does

not believe that they should be installed at every intersection, as a

“continuous block system wastes too much of the traffic capacity of the

street because between the time the signal is given to stop and the

time the signal is given to go the vehicles (just ahead of the break)

have gone ahead a long distance.... This leaves a large proportion of

the street surface unoccupied by vehicles.”[233] The rotary system is

advocated as one which will distribute the traffic uniformly over the

whole surface of the street, and also equalize the speed of vehicles to

a safe mean. Crow’s-nests may be used where there are street cars by

making them high enough to clear the top of the cars.

=Signal Lights and Colors.=--The railroads in all these years have not

come to a common usage of colors in signaling. All roads use red for

stop, danger. Some use white and some green to proceed with caution;

white and green are both used for clear, proceed. Here white is the

same as yellow, because lanterns using oil burn with a yellow light

which railroad men call white. Electric signals may be white in reality.

There now seems to be a demand for standardization and at a meeting

of the American Association of State Highway Officers (1922, at

Raleigh, N. C.) a color scheme was recommended that may become a

standard for both motorists and railroads. One of the difficulties is

that red and danger are no longer properly associated because of the

common use of the red for tail lights of automobiles, for sandpiles

or other street obstructions, for the tops of semaphores, and for

various other purposes. The story is told that not long ago a bridge

was being repaired and a red light was placed at one side. The signal

was intended as a warning that the autoist slow down and proceed with

caution. The driver of an approaching car took the lantern to be

the tail light of an automobile. He swung to the left to clear the

obstruction and plunged down an embankment.

[Illustration:

© _Underwood and Underwood_

TRAFFIC TOWER ON FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY]

It would be better if red should never be used as a precaution signal

but only as a stop signal, but at the present time that cannot be done

because automobiles now carry, and most states require it by law, a red

light behind. The color once considered a sign of danger has become

almost meaningless. Red lanterns are placed on roads, or at bridges,

or in the street where the road is not impassable but merely hazardous

and the light in reality means proceed carefully. If colors are to be

signals to tell whether or not to stop on account of danger, to proceed

cautiously or to go ahead without fear, they should be standardized and

their proper use protected.

The code of colors as recommended by the Association of State Highway

Officials is:

Color Green to mean proceed, the way is clear.

Color Yellow to mean that caution shall be exercised.

Color Red to mean stop.

The Association urges abolishment of the red for automobile tail lights

and the substitution of yellow (white). There are other reasons why

this should be done; one of them, a white light will illuminate the

number tag much better than a red light. In fact Ohio requires a red

light shining out behind and a white light to illuminate the tag. On

the other hand by the different colored lights one can distinguish

whether one is going toward the front or back of an automobile, a thing

of importance, sometimes.

This may be far enough to go at the present time, but later the

standardization of other signal and guide lights would be well. The red

light on street obstructions should be abolished. Better a bright white

light for with good illumination the danger will often disappear.

=Road and Street Lighting.=--While road and street lighting are

primarily for the purpose of promoting safety, they, as signs and

guides, are here treated under the heading of comfort and convenience

to the user.

Like other things pertaining to roads, lighting has during the past

few years seen wonderful development. Open-arc lights have all but

passed out of use. Even in the field of incandescent lighting many

improvements have and are still being made. Efforts have been made

to cater to the esthetic sense and create beauty by artistic shapes

and sizes of lamps and by harmonious groupings. Safety, comfort, and

esthetic design cannot always be combined, then one or the other must

give way.

Silhouette vision, that is, where the object appears dark against a

lighter background, requires a much less illumination intensity than

direct or detail vision. In the first case the object is between the

observer and the light while in the second case the light is reflected

from the object to the observer. Then there are spot lights and flood

lights where the light is thrown directly upon the object and as

little as possible allowed to disperse into surrounding space. Dean

Ferguson[234] has pointed out that safety lighting is secured by any

illumination that will reveal clearly the presence and nature of a

danger, and also that low illumination intensities used in silhouette

effect may serve for safety at a greatly reduced expense. Much of

street lighting is of the silhouette type, depending on the relative

positions of the observer, the illuminant, and the object to be seen.

As we approach a post or sand pile on the street it appears first as

a black object in silhouette, as we come nearer the reflected light

becomes more intense and the object is seen in detail. There seems

to be a sort of twilight zone between these two conditions where the

visibility is least. The silhouette vision appears to be best when

the intensity of the reflected light is least, and _vice versa_ for

the detail or direct vision. The indeterminate place between the two

where visibility is least is, of course, where the light behind is

equal in intensity to the reflected light in front. One object of the

illuminating engineer is so to arrange the lights as to avoid as far as

possible points of low visibility. This he does by the size and spacing

of the light units, their height of suspension and the shape and

setting of the reflectors. These same elements enter into the avoidance

of glare.

In city and street lighting it is nearly always desirable to illuminate

the buildings as well as the road surface, so that the type of lamp

used is entirely different from that desirable on country roads where

only the surface of the roadway needs to be lighted. Ornamental lights

of the luminous arc and the incandescent types are used. The former

where a large amount of intense light is wanted, and the latter where

smaller units will answer the purpose.

The latest road lighting is, perhaps, that developed for the “Ideal

Section” mentioned heretofore.[235] Here it was important to

concentrate the light on the roadway instead of diffusing it upward

and over the adjoining fields, to have a flexibility of arrangement

that would keep the light in line with the surface of the roadway, and

that the cost should be reasonable. The scheme developed contemplates

placing the lighting units on adjustable brackets 35 feet above the

surface of the road, spaced 250 feet, staggered. They can be set for

varying grades, for curves, or for the lighting of a portion of the

roadside if thought necessary. The unit consists of a nest of three

reflectors, one within another, and with an opening in each one side of

the lamp. These collect and reflect the light to the surface as shown

in the figure. The detailed article should be consulted by those who

are further interested.

=City Traffic.=--Projectors suspended above a traffic officer

illuminates him and his semaphore much as spot lights are used in

theaters and flood lights to illuminate statuary and buildings.

Many of the busy cities are installing color lenses in the towers

(crow’s-nests) to regulate the traffic. The colors which are used both

day and night are standardized as follows: Red, to indicate “Stop”;

amber, to indicate “Change of traffic”; and green, to indicate “Go.”

=Touring.=--Stand for a few minutes on any one of the transcontinental

highways and note the tourists who have their bedding and baggage piled

in and tied to the sides of their cars. Note the brown and healthy

faces of the brown-clad travelers. Dust has no horrors to them; they

expect it; they are prepared for it. Their khaki clothing cost little

when purchased and wears well, and even if thrown away at the end of

the journey has more than paid its way. The author of “Let me live by

the side of the road and be a friend to man” could certainly enjoy

himself during these mid-summer gypsying days. For one has the world

brought to his own dooryard. Wait and there will come to you Maine,

and California, and Texas, and Oregon, Michigan, Canada, Mexico. A man

drove on my driveway a few days ago and used my hose to wash Texas soil

from his fenders, and now that yellow dirt is nourishing a spirea bush

in Nebraska.

Come around in the evening just after the supper, not dinner, utensils

have been cleared away, and from these roadside campers in the course

of the summer you may hear the Vermonter drop the “r” from “qua’teh”

and put it into “idear,” the Georgian with his delightful Southern

drawl, a Minnesotan with high-pitched voice and Scandanavian accent, or

a musically soft Spanish from the Rio Grande regions. All the world’s

make of automobiles may be inspected, their good and bad features

discussed. Outing outfits of all characters and descriptions from the

small compact bundle scarcely big enough for a flea, to the cumbersome

behemoth mountain of canvas, boxes, and poles. There is the man who

believes Detroit is destined to be the largest city in the world, and

the man who is certain nothing can compare with Los Angeles. Truly the

man who lives beside the road may have, if he is endowed with gumption,

a joyful time as the perennial reel runs on.

But if such things come to the man who sits in his house beside the

road and watches the race of men go by, what must be the feelings of

the man of gypsying instinct as he climbs into his car, caring not for

time or place, who has not painstakingly scheduled his route and must

perforce make a certain hotel every night, who is no “speed lizard” but

expects to take in as he journeys along all the scenic beauties and

interesting features along the way. His only care is to head-about at

the proper time to bring him home again at the end of his vacation.

It is estimated that more than a million persons are following

some such nomadic life each year in the United States. The term

“motor-gypsy,” has been quite definitely applied by the people to

those who tour leisurely and camp more or less as they go. A part of

the people set aside six months or a year to a long tour, seeking the

north, south, coast or mountain as fancy, heat and cold dictate, a

greater number travel from two to four months, going one year to the

Michigan forests, another to the lakes of Wisconsin and Minnesota,

passing through the great granaries of the world to the cooling breezes

of Colorado, ambling along the coast to Georgia and Florida, following

the windings of the Mississippi to the old Creole districts of

Louisiana, up the Platte or through the Black Hills, to trout fishing

in Wyoming, or stopping at the borders for walking trips over the

wildernesses in the Yellowstone and Glacier National parks. The entire

expanse of a most wonderful nation is open to the motor-gypsy.

=Camping Grounds.=--So important has this sort of travel become that

it is estimated that about 3000 cities and towns over the country,

beginning in the Middle West and now spread to both coasts, have

public automobile camping grounds for the traveling visitors. These

are provided and kept up by the cities themselves or by chambers of

commerce or automobile clubs; sometimes by combinations of these

organizations.

The question often arises, “Does it pay?” From a financial standpoint

it probably pays the community as a whole even if every individual

who subscribes does not receive reimbursement. In the first place

the tourist’s impression of a city is influenced by the treatment

he receives. If an effort is made to furnish him with a safe and

comfortable camping site and with facilities for cooking and cleaning

he returns home with praises for that city. He tells other tourists

that he meets on the way, he tells his neighbors after he gets home,

and other and still other tourists come. On the contrary if no

provision is made for the tourist, if he is not met with a glad hand

he naturally warns others to keep away or plan to pass through in

the daytime, spending what spare time they have farther on in more

hospitable centers.

Secondly, tourists always spend some money for food and supplies, for

gasoline, tires, accessories, repairs, and with increasing frequency

for hotels. Clothing and dry-goods stores profit to some extent. Since

thousands of dollars are brought to those towns lying on the main

thoroughfares having good camping facilities, and since this money will

be respent by those receiving it directly, the entire community in the

long run benefits by the touring traffic. Denver possibly averages 400

to 500 campers per day during the summer season. Omaha, Kansas City,

Lincoln, Deadwood and all the smaller places to the Rocky Mountains

entertain from 25 to 100 per day. The actual tourists are many more,

for not nearly all camp along the way. The Omaha Auto Club registered

cars in 1921 carrying over 40,000 tourists. Other gateways passed fully

as many, and not nearly all took the trouble to look up the club office

to register. During the winter season the gypsying traffic turns south

and Georgia, Florida, and on west to California, benefit by it.

A traffic census made simultaneously on eighteen Nebraska roads,

distributed widely over the state, of vehicles passing in one week

(August 20-26, 1922), showed a total of 88,958 divided as follows:

----------------------+------+------+------+------+--------------

| | | | | Percentage

| |Inter-|Inter-| +---+----+-----

|County|County|State |Total |Co.|I-C.|I-S.

----------------------+------+------+------+------+---+----+-----

Automobile |40,598|25,595|13,560|79,753| 51| 32 | 17

Light Truck | 2,465| 886| 242| 3,593| 68| 25 | 7

Heavy Truck | 1,547| 556| 140| 2,243| 69| 25 | 6

Horse-drawn, passenger| 1,303| | | 1,303| | |

Horse-drawn, freight | 2,066| | | 2,066| | |

+------+------+------+------+ | |

Total |47,979|27,037|13,942|88,958| | |

----------------------+------+------+------+------+---+----+-----

What is especially interesting in this connection is that nearly

one-sixth of all the automobiles or one automobile in six, comes

from without the state, and one in three from without the county.

Connecticut censuses, Connecticut being a small state between thickly

populated states, shows a much higher ratio, 47 per cent without the

state.

All sorts of cars from the most expensive to the cheapest are found and

they seem to be harmonious when on the camping ground; the Pierce-Arrow

and the Rolls-Royce do not look disdainfully at the Ford and the

Chevrolet, neither do the latter pretend an importance greater than

their due.

Democracy of cars and democracy of people ought to lead to a better

understanding all around. Some very excellent and well-to-do ladies

of a western city went to a hotel in one of the national parks for

luncheon. They were clad in khaki trousers and blouses which had seen

considerable wear. The dining room was full and they were placed at

a table where some distinguished looking and well-dressed men were

talking stocks and bonds. The ladies in such garb were nonplused, they

were embarrassed to the limit; but the men, being also gentlemen, gave

their names and became acquainted. So pleasant proved this little

dinner participated in by the khaki-clothed ladies and stylishly

attired men that at its conclusion they shook hands heartily and bade

each other Godspeed for the remaining journey and hoped that, not like

ships that pass each other in the night, they would again meet to renew

an acquaintance so happily begun. Such is the democracy of touring.

On the contrary an editorial writer in the _Saturday Evening Post_,

November 18, 1922, expresses incredulity of the offhand opinion “that

travel of any kind must rub off the sharp edges of provincialism.”

He says the “American tourist in Europe has long been the subject

of ridicule,” and that travel in many cases “appears to accentuate

narrow-mindedness.” It is further argued that “too much travel means

practical disfranchisement and a total lack of interest in local

affairs.” There is no doubt but that anything, even touring, can be

carried to extremes. The editorial concludes with the statement,

however, that travel “can teach no lesson of more value than the

knowledge that everywhere, whether the climate be hot or cold, the

towns large or small, men of upstanding character are spending their

lives to make those communities better places in which to live.” It

must be acknowledged that the fact that only about one-half of the

persons eligible to the franchise exercise the right of voting at

the general elections indicates that not enough interest is taken in

affairs of government. Anything which tends to decrease the interest

is, therefore, bad. But moderate touring in our own country ought to

give a person a wider view, a stronger love of country, and a deeper

sense of the importance and benefits of citizenship therein.

A majority of the cars are of the type that would cost less than

$1500, because there are more cars of that type in use. One of the

most elaborate caravans seen on the D. L. D. highway this summer is

a Winton six, with a lengthened frame on which is built a square

van-like structure, with doors and windows and a rear observation

platform. The driver’s seat is completely enclosed. By its side is a

door which gives entrance to the interior of the car. Its size may be

judged from the fact that the wheel base is 202 inches. In the front

part of the car are rattan arm chairs deeply upholstered for all the

members of the party. There is an ample aisle. In the rear of the

car is a kitchenette, a lavatory, storerooms, cloak rooms and many

miscellaneous conveniences. At night the car is run to a convenient

place by the side of the road or in a special camping place. The end

of the observation platform is let down, a tent is hooked over the

rear hood, and there is room in a jiffy for cots for three people. Two

double beds are made up in the aisle of the main car, giving plenty of

room for seven.

In the morning it takes but little time to prepare breakfast in the

kitchenette. The car has running water from a tank holding about thirty

gallons. It is lighted by electricity and has every convenience that

one can think of. This is the fourth car designed by its owner, Dr. E.

J. Fithian of Grove City, Pennsylvania. It cost him a little less than

$10,000. He believes it possible to plan a shorter car that will serve

every purpose for a little more than $5000. The car makes from 150 to

200 miles a day over ordinary roads. It weighs 8200 pounds fully loaded

with gas, water, and supplies. It is said to ride as easily as an

ordinary automobile. The passengers sit in their chairs and watch the

scenery glide by very much as from the window of a Pullman, but with

this difference, that they are free to go and pause at will, and can

see interesting sights, if they desire, off the main lines of travel.

Another caravan built on a Ford car passed through Lincoln last summer.

It carried Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Hays of Great Falls, Montana, who have

lived in it for two years, winter and summer. Failing health induced

Mr. Hays to take to the simple life, and a stroke of paralysis made it

impossible for Mrs. Hays to walk. Two years’ outdoor life and roughing

it have restored health to both, besides during that time they have

saved much on house rent.

In their caravan, the windows along the sides could be pushed out like

an awning and an oil cloth curtain dropped down. On one side of the

car a long cushion served as a seat during the day and by adding other

cushions it made a bed at night. A large flat box did duty as a linen

closet while fastened around the sides were numerous bags or pockets

for taking care of articles which at home are kept in bureau drawers.

In one corner was a small oil stove with a tiny oven upon which was

cooked wholesome meals well relished by the outdoor wanderers.

When dinner was ready, the door of the china cupboard swung down on its

hinges and a table large enough for two was soon dispensing nourishment

for the hungry nomads. They dine, too, in the restful atmosphere of

delightful music. No, not a phonograph. From the beamed ceiling of this

unique house swings a yellow canary in his gilded cage. Can you imagine

any music more alluring to perfect joy and rest or more alarming to the

dread monster indigestion?

Even the crumbs are not wasted, for they are relished by the pug, who

likes to sleep curled up on his bed on top of the fender.

At the side of the car Mr. Hays has apparently solved the hand signal

problem for closed cars. A stuffed glove attached to a broad arm may

be raised partially for a left-hand turn, fully for a right-hand turn,

straight out to stop, and dropped to the side of the car when not in

use. A white enamel water cooler was an attractive accessory to the

dining room. A wash-board and a small tub told the story of how wearing

apparel was laundered. Mrs. Hays wants a sewing machine, and although

space is very much limited she says she will find the room.

Is there any wonder that health and youth return with this sort of

“play” housekeeping. “Can you beat it?”

=Something More Moderate.=--While there are many persons of means, the

owners of expensive cars, pitching their tents in shady nooks, enjoying

the sociability of glowing camp fires, and sleeping to the music of

gurgling trout streams, there are also those who drive cheaper cars

who are enjoying the same starry nights, the hum of bees and the flash

of birds, who take the gamy trout to help out their daily rations,

who stop to regale themselves with wild berries and chokecherries,

who relish the chuck-chuck of the red squirrel, and the flirt of the

saucy chipmunk’s tail as he scurries to a hiding place. Wealth has no

monopoly on the enjoyment of nature, and most any one who is able to

own a car of any kind is able to take a more or less lengthy gypsying

tour.

Mr. Elon Jessup[236] says “Motor camping is the only way in which many

people can afford to travel at all.” He tells of meeting in Banff,

Canada, a farmer, his wife and five children, who were enjoying the

wondrous sights in that region, and while their car was somewhat

rickety, nevertheless it had drawn them there. The farmer’s explanation

was to the effect that he had wanted for years to take his family to

that country but had never been able to stand the expense until he got

the flivver. Then going did not cost much more than staying at home.

There will be all sorts of conveyances ranging from the simple

touring car with no modifications whatsoever to the elaborate

caravan described. There are also on the market all sorts of special

accessories. A pantograph luggage-holder clamps on the running board.

Tents that cover the car at night and extend out sidewise, or endwise,

to shelter cots, beds, or cooking and eating equipment. Beds that

attach to the running board and fold up during the day; beds that fit

on top of the seats. Sets of dishes and cooking utensils are now made

to nest into each other in such a manner as to take up very little

space.

Mr. Jessup in “The Motor Camping Book,” already referred to, elaborates

considerably on equipping the camping outfit but intimates that it

is a matter for individual judgment. No two persons can agree. This

is right, as it gives flexibility and zest. Summed up there are two

fundamentals: Only necessities should be taken and these should be

selected for compactness. But what are necessities? blankets to roll up

in on the ground? or should a cot or bed be included? Would a folding

table and a chair help to make one more comfortable. It is a compromise

between what one would like and what one has room for.

Mrs. Nina Wilcox Putnam[237] thinks that for a transcontinental

trip a touring car of medium size with good under clearance to avoid

hitting the high centers in some of the western roads is best. As she

patronized hotels exclusively no camping equipage was necessary. For

clothing for women she says that east of the Mississippi she and her

husband found it practical to wear just such motor clothes as one

would wear at home, but they should be “dirt-colored.” West of the

Mississippi “khaki for all hands becomes positively _de rigueur_.”

West of Kansas City, both men and women wear trousers. She assures

ladies they can “walk into the best hotels through the Far West in the

aforesaid garments without the slightest embarrassment.” A complete

list of the clothing carried by Mr. and Mrs. Putnam is given in the

article above referred to and those who expect to take the trip might

do well to look it up.

Heavy as well as light clothing will be needed when traveling through

the Rocky Mountain region. The nights and mornings are always cool, but

under the direct action of the sun the valleys often become extremely

hot. The only rule is, carry as little as you can and still be

comfortable.

=Camp Sites.=--A gentleman, who with his wife and a Chevrolet coupé,

the rear of which was modified into a large box about 5 feet square

and 2 feet deep, who has “gypsied” across the United States several

times from east to west and from north to south, says the problem

of a camping ground for an average town is simple. Only a small

tract is needed, and if it is properly looked after he thinks the

tourists will not complain of a modest charge that will make it self

sustaining. The average tourist would prefer the small charge and clean

surroundings.[238] “A block is enough space, if the affair is in the

hands of a competent caretaker, who will see that cars and tents are

properly placed and guarded. People who tour in ordinary cars like

to be close together. They are not aristocrats. They are folks. They

like to visit around and talk roads, and examine outfits and discuss

their plans. The best camps are divided into small plots by wooden

palings on three sides. The caretaker shows you your place and it is

your home for 25 cents a day. This money pays the caretaker and gives

you the use of shower baths and lavatory. The best camps have city gas

for cooking, bought through a slot meter. Some of them have ovens, but

gas is better. The stoves are in a shed, which becomes the club house

of the women. They meet there and cook and wash and complain about

the reckless driving of their husbands, and tell where their married

children live and have a glorious time.

[Illustration: CAMPING GROUND AND CARAVAN]

[Illustration: A GIPSYING TOURING CARAVAN]

“The men spend their spare hours buying supplies and talking and

smoking, chewing, and pitching horseshoes. They also have the best time

in the world. If the auto camp is next door to a good garage so much

the better. Between here and the coast the common thing is the private

auto park.”

Camps, in Mr. Harrison’s opinion, should not only be near a garage, for

convenience and information, but also as near the business center as

possible “because the tourists like to go up town to get a restaurant

meal, buy soda water and postal cards, and take a squint at the

movies.” As the car is usually a part of the tent and usually more or

less cluttered up with baggage the camp site should preferably be in

walking distance of the center of town. Too many towns have the camp

sites away out where more land is obtainable, and possible natural

shade. They should be near the main lines of travel and as stated the

nearer a garage and grocery store the better.

The time will no doubt come when garage men with business acumen will

establish camping facilities, though the space be small, in connection

with their garages and charge a small fee the same as they do now for

stabling the car overnight.

Possibly the Denver public camp ground is the most liberally patronized

of any in the United States. El Paso, Texas, has a small park not more

than 200 feet square that tourists claim to be the best cared for of

any in the west. Olympia, Washington, is praised by tourists for her

camping facilities. Only very recently has the camp idea reached the

eastern coast, but the newspaper accounts indicate that it is taking

hold.

=Hotels.=--For those persons who do not care to camp there are always

hotels. During the busy season, however, those in the larger towns

which have gained a reputation with the traveling public are usually

full to overflowing. Many tourists telegraph ahead, from one to two

days, for accommodations. Rooms can be obtained in all the towns but

not always bath in connection, or even running water. Throughout the

well-settled communities meals and luncheons may be obtained at most

any hour. In the sparsely settled regions lunches are put up by the

hotels which can be carried in the car for the noonday refreshment,

care being taken to reach the next settlement for dinner in the evening.

The evening scene in a popular tourist hotel reminds one of the old

wayside inns. There the tourists, usually spruced up for the evening,

with the travelers’ camaraderie, are talking, smoking, and enjoying

each others’ company.

=Parks.=--The great National parks are being used more each year by

automobile tourists. Good hotel and camping facilities are available.

These parks are set aside by the Government for the preservation of

marvelous natural beauty and grandeur, and the government desires

that they be used to the utmost by the citizenry. Perhaps 100,000

people will visit the Yellowstone National Park this (1922) season,

of which 75 per cent will come by private automobile. Naturally the

larger number come from the nearby states, but last year practically

all states were represented. Montana sending 2892 and Maine 1. The

patronage is likely to continue and grow. Other National parks and the

United States Forest Reserves will also receive their share.

Several states are beginning to recognize the need for play and

recreational grounds. New York has built a magnificent automobile

road up the Bronx River Parkway Drive and through the Adirondacks,

and the State Conservation Commission has built along these highways

many stone fireplaces for the special use of motorists. Colorado is

building an automobile road up Mount Evans, thus heading off private

parties who wished Government permission to build a toll road. Michigan

will develop tourist roads to attract the summer traveler. The field

secretary of the State Good Roads Association maintains that such roads

will bring an annual revenue to Michigan of $75,000,000 to $100,000,000

annually through the resort trade. Scarcely a state but has some

attraction to the tourist; it would be well to make its advantages

known to the public that they might be enjoyed to their fullest extent.

=Information.=--The last sentence brings us to an important topic. The

tourist at the present time inquires at the nearest garage or hotel

for information relative to routes and condition of roads, detours,

accommodations, etc. This is well, but all these people do not have at

hand a knowledge of the information sought, so the traveler must pass

on and trust to luck that he may get through. Chambers of Commerce and

automobile clubs have endeavored to fill the want, and in the Middle

West these places are sought by hundreds of people daily. Some of

the large newspapers have drawn on their advantageous news-gathering

facilities and publish each morning a statement of road conditions and

detours.

The _Minneapolis Journal_ says that when it established its bureau of

travel and resort information, “the new agency was overwhelmed from the

start with eager inquirers for facts and advice.” Information is the

one thing that a tourist fairly yearns for, even more than for food,

gas, and oil; he knows where to go to satisfy these wants. The manager

of the _Journal_, Perry S. Williams, who is also vice-president of

the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World, has in mind a plan for

“dotting the whole countryside with little information bureaus, where

the traveler can learn what’s what and feel easy in relying on what he

learns. Every community under this plan is to have its own bureau and

to make it easily accessible to the wanderer.”

But the state of Wisconsin which has long been among the foremost in

the development of new road ideas, has beaten them to it, for already

the Commission conducts a department of “Highway Information Service.”

A blueprint map of the state trunk highway system is furnished weekly

to all subscribers. The map shows the type of road on every mile of the

system, the location of all construction jobs and of all detours and

the condition of the detours. The map is revised weekly. Information up

to Tuesday is mapped and in the hands of subscribers by Thursday, in

time to supply information for week-end motor trips. This information

is sold by the state to hotels, commercial associations, automobile

clubs, garages, and other places where touring information is sought.

The map is 54 by 60 inches in size and mounted on a frame or bulletin

board to be placed in a conspicuous place. A charge of ten dollars is

made for this service for the season from June 1 to September 15. The

charge barely covers the cost of blueprinting.

While it may be the duty of the state to furnish the roads and do all

possible to promote transportation, local bureaus will be able to

supplement the State’s information in a very acceptable manner.

SELECTED REFERENCES

BELL, H. H., “Improved Lighting System to be Installed on the Lincoln

Highway,” _Electrical World_, Vol. LXXIX, pp. 731-732.

BLANCHARD, HAROLD F., “A Comparison of Ramp and Elevator Types of

Garages,” _Bus Transportation_, June, 1922.

BROOK, MARK, “Highway Signs,” American Highway Engineers’ Handbook,

pp. 1390-1394.

CAPPER, ARTHUR, “The Midwest Farm Market for Motor Trucks,” National

Automobile Chamber of Commerce, New York.

ENO, WILLIAM PHELPS, “Science of Highway Traffic,” Published by

himself and distributed by Brentano’s, New York.

EVANS, P. AND BATCHELDER, A. G., “Direction and Distance Signs,”

_Engineering and Contracting_, July 30, 1913.

FERGUSON, O. J., “Electric Lighting,” Chap. XXI, McGraw-Hill Book

Company, New York.

Firestone Ship by Truck Bureau, Akron, Bulletin No. 7, “The Motor

Truck Terminal.”

HARRISON, J. L., “Color Schemes for Highway Signs,” _Engineering and

Contracting_, Oct. 13, 1915, p. 280.

ISABELLA, N. M., “The Wisconsin Idea as Applied to Detours a Source

of Satisfaction to Motorists,” _Concrete Highway Magazine_, April,

1922, Chicago.

JENKINS, ALFRED, “A Motorized City,” National Automobile Chamber of

Commerce.

JESSUP, ELON, “The Motor Camping Book,” G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York.

LEWIS, NELSON P., “The Planning of the Modern City,” pp. 240-246,

John Wiley & Sons.

“Omaha Union Stage Depot,” _Bus Transportation_, Vol. 1, p. 45.

PUTNAM, NINA WILCOX, “A Jitney Guide to the Santa Fé Trail,”

_Saturday Evening Post_, June 10, 1922.

HALVORSON, C. A. B., JR. AND HUSSEY, R. B., “Illumination of

Highways,” _Engineering and Contracting_, Vol. LVI, pp. 535-536.

UNDERWOOD, W. E., “The Trend of Modern Practice in Street Lighting,”

_Engineering World_, Vol. XVII, pp. 348-351.

WILLIAR, HARRY D., JR., Articles on Road Signs, _Public Roads_,

August, 1921, and _Engineering and Contracting_, October 5, 1921.

FOOTNOTES

[222] Senator Arthur Capper in an address delivered before the

Highway Transport Conference, New York, 1920, said: “A recent

investigation showed over 75 per cent of the Middle Western farmers

bought their cars not for pleasure, but for business.” But he did

not say how they use them. He did, in the same address, say, “A good

road, plus a good motor truck, begets almost six motor trucks in

any community and in any locality.” Emulation and rivalry are great

selling agents.

[223] After the above was written there appeared in the _New York

Herald_ this statement: “This country consumed in May (1922), more

than 13,000,000 barrels of gasoline. This is a matter of some

700,000,000 gallons.” The article goes on to calculate that in the

use of this gasoline there was a travel of 10,000,000,000 car miles,

and “at an average of four persons to the car, 1,600,000 individual

motor trips around the world (in distance) in May.” The United States

Bureau of Mines gives the domestic consumption of gasoline in the

United States for 1921 as 4,516,012,979 gallons, an average of only

about 7,000,000 barrels per month.

[224] See also “Science of Highway Traffic,” by William Phelps Eno.

Published by himself and distributed by Brentano’s, New York City. A

very valuable contribution to the literature of road regulation.

[225] Eno, op. cit.

[226] See Eno, op. cit., p. 53.

[227] “A Comparison of Ramp and Elevator Type Garages,” by Harold F.

Blanchard, _Bus Transportation_, June, 1922.

[228] “A Motorized City,” by Alfred Jenkins, Secretary of, and

published by, the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, 7 East 42d

Street, New York.

[229] “Direction and Distance Signs,” by P. Evans and A. G.

Batchelder, _Engineering and Contracting_, July 30, 1913.

[230] Op. cit., p. 11.

[231] The information about Maryland’s signs is taken from articles

by Harry D. Williar, Jr., Assistant Chief Engineer of the Maryland

State Highway Road Commission, in _Public Roads_, August, 1921, and

_Engineering and Contracting_, October 5, 1921.

[232] “The ‘Wisconsin Idea,’ as Applied to Detours a Source of

Satisfaction to Motorists,” by N. M. Isabella, Assistant Maintenance

Engineer, in _Concrete Highway Magazine_, April, 1922.

[233] An article entitled “Prevent the Proposed Permanent Traffic

Towers on Fifth Avenue,” by Wm. P. Eno.

[234] “Electric Lighting,” by O. J. Ferguson; McGraw-Hill Book

Company, New York.

[235] “Improved Lighting System to be Installed on the Lincoln

Highway,” by H. H. Bell, _Electrical World_, April 15, 1922.

[236] “The Motor Camping Book,” G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York.

[237] “A Jitney Guide to the Santa Fé Trail,” by Nina Wilcox Putnam,

in _Saturday Evening Post_, June 10, 1922.

[238] Interview with Frank A. Harrison in _Nebraska State Journal_,

July 12, 1921.

INDEX

Accidents, highway, and their mitigation, 351-380

Agriculture, stage of, in development of civilization, 4-6. _See_

Farms

Amos log loader, working of, 299

Anderson, A. P., tables from “Modern Road Building and Maintenance”

by, 269

Appian Way, famous highway, 23-24

Ashley, Wm. H., founder of Rocky Mountain Fur Company, 54

Asia, early highways in western, 19-21

Asphalt and asphalt block roads, good qualities of, 265-266

Assessments for highway improvement, 311-321

Astor, John Jacob, exploring expedition organized by, 55

Automobiles, railway passenger earnings affected by, 163; effects

of, on street-car lines, 164-166; great use of, for pleasure

passenger traffic, 187-189; estimate of cost per mile of riding in,

189 n.; changes in society produced by, 203-208; effects on health,

211-213; and crime, 213-214; percentage of accidents due to, 351-352;

responsibility of the driver for accidents and their avoidance,

352-355; horns for, 356-357; stopping on grades, backing, etc.,

357-358; miscellaneous causes of accidents, 358 ff.; ranking and

parking of, 420-425; ramp and elevator garages for, 427-429; gas,

air, and water stations, 433-434

Automotive transportation, analysis and discussion of, 181-218

Auto trucks, effects of, on railroads, 163-164. _See_ Trucking by

motor

Babson, Roger W., quoted on relations between railways and auto

trucks, 163-164

Backing of cars, accidents due to, 357-358

Baldwin Locomotive Works, origins of, 102

Beautification of roads, discussion of, 382-416

Bible, references in, to highways, 19-20

Bicycles, influence of, on roads, 127-136; highway accidents due to,

378

Bodies, removable, a device for loading and unloading freight, 191-192

Bonds, issuing of, for highway financing, 322-323; kinds of, 323-327;

total cost of a loan, by the three kinds, 327-328; the term of,

328-331

Boone, Daniel, “Autobiography” quoted, 40-42

Boone’s Trace, account of, 39-43

Boston, early railroads centering at, 105

Brakes, parts played by, in automobile accidents, 359-360

Brick roads, good qualities of, 264

Bridger Pass, discovery of, 54

Bridges, road accidents caused by, 368

Buses. _See_ Motor-buses

Cabot, Philip, article by, on New England railways, cited, 162;

calculations and figures by, 171-172

Calk, William, “Diary” of, quoted, 43-46

Camden & Amboy R.R., chartering of, 104

Camping grounds for motor tourists, 451-456

Canals, era of, in England, 14-15; in America, 70-75; passenger

traffic on, 75-76; inability of, to compete with railways, and

results, 76-77; ship, 77; Sault Ste. Marie, Welland, and Cape Cod,

77; Panama Canal, 77-88

Canoes, travel and transportation by, 34-35

Cape Cod, ship canal across, 77

Cattle. _See_ Stock raising

Census. _See_ Traffic census

Central Pacific Ry., building of, 112

Charleston & Hamburg R.R., building of, 103

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, building of, 73

Civilization, transportation a measure of, 1 ff.; five stages

in, 1-2; stage of Direct Appropriation, 2-4; Pastoral Stage, 4;

Agricultural Stage, 4-5; Handicraft Stage, 6-12; Industrial Stage,

14-18

Clark, William. _See_ Lewis and Clark

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, terms of, 83

_Clermont_, Robert Fulton’s steamboat, 89

Clinton, De Witt, efforts of, in behalf of canal-building, 71

Coaches. _See_ Stagecoaches

Colonial days, transportation in, 34-46

Concrete roads, good and poor qualities of, 264

Consolidated Rural Schools, importance of motor transportation to,

208-210

Container, the demountable, 176, 192-193

Cooper, Peter, locomotive built and operated by, 100-101

Coöperative marketing, advantages of, 277-282

Corporations, financing of highway transportation by, 345

Crédit Mobilier, notorious railway-construction scandal, 115-116

Crime, the automobile and, 213-214

“Cross Crossings Cautiously” campaign, 380

Culverts, road accidents caused by, 368

Cumberland Road, building of, 62-64; extension of, 64-66

Curves, dangers of, 367

Dairying, use of motor truck in, 293-294

De Lesseps, Ferdinand, and Panama Canal, 80-84

Des Moines, Iowa, good roads, movement at, 132-133

Destruction of highways, factors in, 245-248

Detour signs, 442-443; location of, 443

Distance and direction signs for motorists, 436-437

Driver, responsibility of the, for automobile accidents, 352-355

Dunlop, J. B., inventor of pneumatic tire, 128

Du Pont Road, example of private financing of highway, 307-308

Durability, an important factor in road building, 254

Earth roads, good and poor qualities of, 263

Efficiency outline of motor transport, 225-227

Electric-light poles along highways, 412-413

Electric traction, operation of street cars by, 122-124

Elevator garages, 427-428

Engine. _See_ Steam engine

Eno, William Phelps, development of traffic regulation due to efforts

of, 378-379; cited on width of parking spaces, 423; cited on opera

house traffic, 426, 427

Eno Foundation for Highway Traffic Regulation, Inc., 379-380

Erie Canal, building of, 70-72; small profit from, 75

Esthetics, highway, 382-416

Express rates, reduction of, due to short-haul motor trucking, 174-175

Express terminal stations, 429-433

Factory products, transportation of, by motor truck, 301-303

Farms, meaning of the automobile to, 177; motor trucking to and from,

196-201; Rural Mail Delivery one of many modern advantages, 210-211

Federal aid, financing of highways and transportation lines by,

332-334; present state of, 334-335; plan of local matching of Federal

Aid dollars, 335-342

Federal Aid Road Act, passage of, 152-153; provisions of, 153-154;

rules and regulations for carrying out, 154-156; marked success of,

156

Feudal system, government under the, 5-6

Financing, highway, 343-349

Forestry, use of motor truck in, 295-298

France, traffic censuses in, 236-237, 240-242

Garages, public, 427-429

Gardening, road, 382-387

Gasoline, stations for selling, 433

Gila Trail, 55; route of, 58

“Good roads” movement, growth of, 128-129

Government, U. S., attitude toward river improvement, 94-97;

ownership of railways by, 112; aid of state and Federal, for better

roads, 147-156

Grain exchanges, account of, 275-277

Gravel roads, good and poor qualities of, 263-264

Greece, effects on ancient, of lack of roads, 21-22

Greeley, Horace, quoted on canals, 76

Guides, highway, for motorists, 435-445

Guilds, medieval, 6-8; destruction or lapsing of, 9-10; functions

taken over by government, 10

Handicrafts, stage of, in growth of civilization, 6-12

Harding, President, discussion of transportation problem by, 217-218

Harriman interests, railway lines held by, 117

Haulage. _See_ Trucking by motor

Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, terms of, 84

Health, the automobile and, 211-213

Henderson, James, early American pioneer, 39-43

Highway, distinction between road and, 222

Highways, important early, 19-22; of ancient Rome, 22-27;

classification of, 222; planning systems of, 222 ff.; units of

systems, 227-229; principles of esthetic construction applied to,

382-416. _See also_ Roads

Hogs. _See_ Stock raising

Hoover, Secretary, quoted on farm motor trucks, 197

Horine, M. C., “Economics of Motor Transport” by, quoted, 225-227

Horns for automobiles, 356-357

Hotels, accommodations for tourists in, 460

Humboldt River route, discovery of, 54

Husband, Joseph, “Story of the Pullman Car” by, 120-121

Individual financing of highway transportation, 343-344

Information, supplying of, to automobile tourists, 461-462

Interurban railways, effects of motor competition on, 164

Intra-city traffic, calculations concerning, 170

Inventions, industrial stage of civilization brought about by, 14-15

Iron, invention of new methods of smelting, 15

Italy, traffic censuses in, 242

Jay walking, as a cause of accidents, 377

Jefferson, Thomas, Louisiana Purchase arranged by, 48

Jerusalem, effects upon, of strategic position, 20

Jitneys, earnings of street-car lines diminished by, 165; importance

of business done by, 183

_John Bull_, locomotive, 102

Joliet, Louis, early explorer, 46

Kay, John, inventor of fly shuttle, 16

Kentucky, Boone’s path into, 42; early railroads in, 106

Knight, Jonathan, coning of engine wheels invented by, 101 n.

Lancaster turnpike, building of, 60-61

Land, grants of, to railways, 110; grants to Pacific roads, 111-114

Later California Trail, route of, 57

Lauck, W. J., quoted on avoidable railway wastes, 175 n.

League of American Wheelmen, organization of, 128; good roads

movement sponsored by, 129-136

Lewis and Clark Expedition, account of, 48-53

Lighting of roads and streets, 447-449

Lights, on cars, as sources of danger, 361-362; for non-motorized

traffic, 378

Loading and unloading freight, devices for, 191-194

Locomotive, invention and early development of, 18; the first,

99-103; progress in mechanical development of, 119-120

Louisiana Territory, purchase of, 48

Lumbering, improved methods in, due to motor truck, 295-300

Macadam, J. L., road construction by, 60

Macadam roads, good and poor qualities of, 264

MacDonald, T. H., classification of highways by, 222

Manse, W. H., cited on waste by railways, 176

Map signs, sizes of, 439-441

Marketing, effect of ease and cost of transportation on production

and, 273-304

Marks, highway, for motorists, 435-445

Marquette, Jacques, explorations of, 46-48

Massachusetts, state aid for highways in, 150-151

Merger, railway consolidation by, 117

Michigan Central R.R., beginnings of, 106

Mining, use of motor trucks in connection with, 300-301

Mississippi River, steamboat transportation on, 90-91

Mohawk & Hudson Company, chartering of, 103

Moore, W. H., “good roads booster,” 139

Morgan interests, railway lines held by, 117

Motor-buses, relations between street-car lines and, 165-166;

character of business done by, 184-187; extent of suburban and

interurban, 196; terminal stations for, 429-433

Motor transport efficiency outline, 225-227

National Good Roads Association, activities of, 139

National Road. _See_ Cumberland Road

National system of highways, arguments for, 227-229

_Nebraska State Journal_, editorial from, 204-205

New England, early railways in, 105

New Orleans, importance of, due to river traffic, 90-91

New York Central & Hudson River R.R., beginnings of, 103-104

New York City, Governor Clinton’s prophecy concerning, 71-72

New York State, canal-building in, 70-74; automobile roads in, 460-461

Nicaragua, canal route across, 84

“No Accident” campaigns, 380

_Novelty_, Ericsson’s locomotive, 100 n.

Nye, Bill, quoted on roads, 130-131

Office of Public Roads Inquiry, instituted, 136-137; duties and scope

of, widened, 143-144

O’Hanlon, J., “Irish Emigrant’s Guide to United States,” quoted, 93

Ohio, first railway in, 105-106

Ohio Valley, early lines of travel to, 37-38

_Old Ironsides_, first Baldwin locomotive, 102

Opera house traffic, special arrangement for, 426-427

Oregon Trail, traffic over, 54-55; origin of the, 55-57; final route

of, 57

Pacific railways, building of and land grants to, 111-114

Packing of goods on turnpikes, 58-60

Page, L. W., worker for good roads, 142, 144

Palestine, roads and highways of, 19-20

Panama Canal, history of, 77-88

Parking of automobiles, 421-422; spaces for, a convenience to

motorists, 422-425

Parks, National, visited by automobile tourists, 460-461

Partnership, financing of highway transportation by, 344-345

Pedestrians, contributory negligence of, toward accidents, 376-377;

rule for, on country roads, 377-378

Pennsylvania, turnpikes in, 61

Pennsylvania R.R., railways held by same interests, 118

Peru, roads in ancient, 27-31

_Pioneer_, Illinois Central locomotive, 108

Pittsburgh, Pa., growth of, 72

Plants, climbing, for use in road gardening, 411-412

Pleasure passenger traffic, use of automobiles for, 187-189

Poles, telephone and other, along highways, 412-415

Pope, Albert A., worker for good roads, 133, 136

Portages, importance of, in early American period, 36-37

Potter, I. B., good roads advocate, 129

Poughkeepsie, Bus Terminal Station at, 431-433

Poultry business, efficiency of motor truck in, 294-295

Prescott, W. H., “Conquest of Peru,” quoted, 28-31

Production and marketing, relation between ease and cost of

transportation and, 273 ff.

Public ownership, as a method of financing transportation lines,

347-349

Pullman cars, development of, 120-122

Railway crossings, accidents at, 368-370; increase in accidents due

to automobiles, 370-372; means of diminishing fatalities, 372-376

Railways, early development of, in England, 17-18; effects of,

on canals, 76-77; account of growth and development of, 99-116;

consolidation of, 116-118; mechanical development of, 119-120;

street, 122; relation between transportation on, and on highways,

159-168

Ramp and elevator type garages, 427-429

Ranking of cars, 421-425

Regulations, road and traffic, 378-380

Resistance of road surfaces, 255-257; due to grade, 257-261

Richmond, Va., first electric railway operated for profit in, 123

River and Harbor Improvement Bills, 96-97

Rivers, government’s attitude toward improvement of, 94-97

Road, distinction between highway and, 222

Roads, prehistoric American, 27-31; early, in North America, 35-36;

evolution of modern wagon, 126 ff.; influence of bicycle on, 127-136;

building of object-lesson, 142-144; state and Federal aid for,

147-156; good, as agencies for health, 212-213; selection of suitable

type, 252-254; types of, and their qualities, 263; comparison of

types of, 266-270; bad, as causes of accidents, 363-364; naming and

numbering of, 434-435. _See also_ Highways

Robbery, automobiles used in, 213-214

_Rocket_, George Stephenson’s locomotive, 100 n.

Rome, roads of ancient, 22-27

Roosevelt, Theodore, and the Panama Canal, 85-86

Rotary scheme for traffic, 424-426

Rural Free Delivery, an agency for better roads, 144-147; effects of,

on farmer’s life, 210-211

“Safety First” campaign, 380

St. Louis, Mo., as a fur center, 53-54

Salt Lake Trail, route of, 57

Sand-clay roads, good and poor qualities of, 263

San Francisco, cable cars in, 122

Sanitariness of roads, 262

Santa Fé Trail, traffic over, 54-55; route of, 58

_Saturday Evening Post_, quoted on vandalism, 215

Sault Ste. Marie, ship canal and locks at, 77

Schools, motor transportation and the consolidation of, 208-210

Semaphores, use of, by traffic officers, 445-446

Service stations for automobiles, 433-434

Shrubs, for planting along roads, 403-411

Signal lights and colors, 446-447

Signs, highway, for motorists, 435-445

Skidding, accidents due to, 359

Sleeping car, evolution of the, 120-122

Slipperiness of road surfaces, 261-262

Smith, Jedediah, discoveries of, 54

South Pass, discovery of, 54

Spanish Trail, traffic over, 54-55; route of, 58

Speedometer, as an essential, 363

Speed signs for motorists, 444

Spooning in automobiles, 215

Stagecoaches, era of, in England, 11-12; on Cumberland Road, 64-65

State aid, 147-152; financing highways and transportation lines by,

334

State system of highways, arguments for, 229-230

Steamboats, the first, 89-90; on Mississippi River, 90-91; increasing

luxuriance of, 91-93; dangers connected with early, 93; fares on, 94

Steam engine, Watt’s improvements on early, 15-16; attempts to use,

in locomotives, 99-100

Stephenson, George, improvement of locomotive by, 18; first

locomotive put out by, 100

Stevens, John, called father of American railroads, 100

Stock raising, effect of marketing facilities and road transportation

on, 284-293

Stock subscriptions for highway financing, 331

Stockton & Darlington R.R., completion of, 101

Stock watering, meaning of, 116

Stopping cars on grades, streets, etc., 357

Street-car service, progress in, 122; effect of motor transportation

on, 164; effects of taxicabs, jitneys, and buses, 165-167;

competition between motor-buses and, 185-186

Superelevation of outer side of curved roadway, 364-366

Systems of highways, planning of, 222-270

Taxes for road construction, 309-321

Taxicabs, character and importance of business done by, 183-184

Telephone poles, highways disfigured by, 412-413; location of, 414-415

Telford, Thomas, road construction by, 60

Terminals, waste at railway, 176; transferring between, by motor-bus,

187; improvement of facilities at, caused by motor transportation,

201-203; for buses and express service, 429-433

_Tom Thumb_, Peter Cooper’s locomotive, 101

Touring by motor, amount of, 450-451; camping grounds for use in,

451-456; camp sites, 458-460

Towns, truck and bus lines between, 194-196

Traffic, one way and rotary, 425-426; taking care of opera house,

426-427; guides for, in cities, 444-445

Traffic census, taking a, for planning of highway, 234-236; methods

of taking, 236-238; classification of traffic in, 239-245

Transcontinental railway lines, land grants to and construction of,

111-115

Transportation, a measure of civilization, 1-32; classified as

primary and secondary, 159; interrelation between highway and other

kinds of, 159 ff.; legitimate fields of agencies of, 168-170;

analysis and discussion of automotive, 181-202; social aspect of

motor, 203-208; effect of ease and cost of, on production and

marketing, 273-304; financing of lines of, 306-343; financing

highway, 343-349

Transylvania Republic, early settlement called, 43

Trees, for planting along roads, 385-403

Tresaguet, French highway engineer, 60

Trucking by motor, effects of, on railway earnings, 163-164; length

of haul for economical, 170-174; reduction of express rates due to

short-haul, 174-175; freight traffic cost under system of, 190-194;

traffic between towns, 194-196; general effect of ease and cost of,

on production and marketing, 273-304

Turnpikes, era of, in America, 58-60; construction of, 60-61; effects

of railways on, 61-62

Types of roadway, comparison of, 266-270

Uniformity in distance and direction signs for motorists, 437-438

Union Pacific Ry., building of, 112-114

United States, transportation development in, 34-67

Units, of highway systems, 227-229; of traffic, 240-242

Vandalism by visitors to country, 215

Vanderbilt interests, railway lines held by, 117

Vehicles, unlighted, as sources of danger, 362-363

Vincent, C., “Letters on Grain Marketing Problems,” quoted, 276-277,

280

Virginia, transportation improvements in early, 61; first railroads

in, 107

Vision, clear, as a means of safety, 366-367; obstacles that obscure,

a cause of accidents to pedestrians, 377

Wagon road, the modern, 126-156

Walker, American filibuster in Nicaragua, 80

Warning signs for motorists, 439

Washington Turnpike Company bill, 67

Waste, methods of avoiding, by railways, 175-177

Waterways, settlement near, in early American period, 36-37. _See_

Canals _and_ Rivers

Watkins, Albert, quoted on Oregon Trail, 56-57

Welland Canal, traffic through, 77

Wilderness Road, the, 39-43

Williams, Perry S., plan of, for information bureaus for travelers,

461

Wood block roads, qualities of, 265

Text of Chart of the Organization of the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads

and Rural Engineering, 1917

DIRECTOR

MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS

Chief of Management

MANAGEMENT

Correspondence and Files

Cooperation with Solicitor

Accounts

Editorial & Library

Quarters & Stock

ENGINEERING ECONOMICS

Economic Investigations and Advice

Statistical Investigations

Legislative Investigations and Advice

Lectures & Exhibits

Illustrations and Models

GENERAL INSPECTION

General Inspectors

ENGINEERING

Chief Engineer

ROAD MATERIALS TESTS AND RESEARCH

Chemical and Physical Tests

Microscopic Examination and Classification of Rocks

Standardization of Methods of Testing

Investigations of Non-Bituminous Materials

Research on Dust Preventives and Road Binders

Concrete Investigations

Field Experiments

Inspection & Advice

HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE

Post Road Construction

Forest Road Construction and Maintenance

Object Lesson Roads

Cooperative and Experimental Maintenance

Bridges & Culverts

Inspection & Advice

1st. District

Wash.

Ore., Idaho

2nd District

Berkely, Cal.

Cal., Nev.

Ariz., N. M.

3rd. District

Denver, Colo.

Mont., Wyo.

Utah, Colo.

4th. District

N.D., S.D.

Minn., Wis.

5th. District

Nebr., Iowa

Kan., Mo.

6th. District

Texas., Okla.

Ark., La.

7th. District

So. Chicago, Ill.

Mich., Ill.

Ind., Ky.

8th. District

Tenn.

Miss., Ala.

Ga., S.C., Fla.

9th. District

Me., N.H., Vt., N.Y.

Mass., Conn., R.I.

N.J., Del.

10th. District

Washington, D.C.

Ohio., Penn., Md.

W.Va., Va., N.C.

IRRIGATION

Utilization of Water Power and Appliance Equipment

Flow of Water in Ditches, Pipes, etc.

Duty, Apportionment and Measurement of Water

Customs, Regulations and Laws

Drainage of Irrigated Lands

Inspection & Advice

DRAINAGE

Farm Drainage

Drainage of Swamps and Wet Lands

Removal of Surplus Water

Field Experiments

Investigating and Developing Equipment

Inspection & Advice

RURAL ENGINEERING

Farm Water Supply

Drainage Disposal

Construction of Farm Buildings

Rural Engineering Problems Involving Mechanical Principles

Traction Tests

Instrument Making and Repairing

Inspection & Advice

Transcriber’s Notes

Archaic, unusual, erroneous and inconsistent spelling,

capitalisation, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained,

except as mentioned below. Accents on non-English words have not been

added or corrected, except as mentioned below. Quoted and possibly

deliberately misspelled words and phrases have been kept unaltered.

Depending on the hard- and software used to read this text, not

all elements may display as intended.

Page 19: “leather from Cordavan”: possibly an error for “leather from

Cordova”.

Page 245, Suggested Form: the row 11 a. m. to 12 noon is not present

in the source document.

Page 280, paragraph starting “When grain or other food commodities

have been stored”: either the final closing quote mark is erroneous,

or the starting quote mark is missing.

Page 320, table: The entire table was printed in hand-written

italics; the italics mark-up has been removed for better readability.

Page 387 ff.: the (almost) alphabetical order of description of trees

and shrubs has not been corrected.

Changes made:

Footnotes have been moved to the end of each chapter, illustrations

and tables have been moved out of text paragraphs.

Some of the larger tables, forms, etc. have been split or otherwise

re-arranged.

The text version of the organisational chart has been created for

this text and is placed in the public domain.

In the source document, the List of Inserts in several cases

contains more detailed descriptions than the captions with the

actual illustrations. Where relevant, these descriptions, as well as

text from the illustrations, have been transcribed underneath the

illustrations.

Some obvious minor typographical and punctuation errors have been

corrected silently.

Page xvii: Insert numbers have been added.

Page xx: opening quote marks inserted before In November, 1903, ....

Page 8: “the workmen performs” changed to “the workman performs”.

Page 64: closing quote mark inserted after ... trade along its

highway.

Page 97: “enchanced his chances” changed to “enhanced his chances”.

Page 117-118 (table): minor (cosmetic) adjustments made for

consistency.

Page 134: “O. H. Platte” changed to “O. H. Platt”.

Page 170: “J. C. Thirwall” changed to “J. C. Thirlwall”.

Page 175: closing quote mark inserted after ... and low first cost,

Page 208, “shown forth” changed to “shone forth”.

Page 262 (illustration caption): “TRACTOR DRAWN GRADES” changed to

“TRACTOR DRAWN GRADER”.

Page 276: “(of their agents the commission men.)” changed to “(or

their agents the commission men.)”.

Page 332: “surveys, plants, specifications and estimates” changed to

“surveys, plans, specifications and estimates”.

Page 368: clsoing quote mark added after ... which cannot be

immediately available.

Page 388: “the genus (_Flagus_)” changed to “the genus (_Fagus_)”.

Page 393: “Tsuga conadensis” changed to “Tsuga canadensis”.

Page 398: “Q. bicolar” changed to “Q. bicolor”.

Page 399: “Liriodendron tulipitera” changed to “Liriodendron

tulipifera”.

Page 404: “Barberis thunbergii” changed to “Berberis thunbergii”;

“Louicera tartarica” changed to “Lonicera tartarica”.

Page 406: “D. mezerum” changed to “D. mezereum”; “Sambacus

canadensis” changed to “Sambucus canadensis”.

Page 444: “Department of Streets and Allies” changed to “Department

of Streets and Alleys”.