Mr. Sutton has not included the Boyes Monorail in his report because he was asked to make an estimate for a single mile of Roadtown. For this length the auto service is the more economical. Mr. Sutton, however, finds no fault with the Monorail, as is seen from the following letter:
Mr. Edgar Chambless,
New York City.Dear Sir: In reference to the adoption of the Boyes Monorail system for Roadtown would say that I have carefully examined the drawings and general outline of the scheme designed by Mr. Boyes and believe it to be well adapted as a means of rapid and noiseless transportation, and further believe that the operating expenses of this system and the cost of construction will be extremely reasonable. The design of the system from a mechanical and electrical standpoint is entirely practical.
Very truly yours,
Frank L. Sutton.
The total cost for building and operating the Boyes monorail system between New York and Philadelphia or for ninety miles is estimated by Mr. Boyes as follows:
ESTIMATED COST OF BUILDING AND OPERATING ROADTOWN TRANSPORTATION.
As submitted by Wm. H. Boyes using the Boyes Monorail system.
| Line from New York to Philadelphia—90 miles. Cost of the double express and single local track, not including excavation, cement work, nor power plants which are figured in general cost of Roadtown, 270 miles at $15,000 per mile | $4,050,000 |
| 24 express trains at $28,000 | 672,000 |
| 18 local trains at $5,000 | 90,000 |
| Total cost of equipment | $4,812,000 |
| Interest and upkeep at 7½% | $360,900 |
| 126 motor men at $1,000 | 126,000 |
| 75 guards, ticket men, etc. | 60,000 |
| Total | $546,900 |
| Monthly cost per family $2. |
Economy Increases with Length.
The Roadtown becomes more efficient as it grows in length, but the argument that it cannot be started because it will be too tremendous an investment to build a house a hundred miles long is wholly without meaning, for a Roadtown of a hundred apartments would show an advantage over a box style apartment house of the same room capacity and this efficiency would increase with every added apartment. The first Roadtown bonds will be floated for a mile or half mile unit and will require funds well within the cost of one apartment house. To this beginning house units will be added as fast as needed and more utilities put in as the increasing length warrants it.
Suburban land owners will donate rights of way and garden strips, farmers will donate larger gardens, and ranchmen immense farms. Each will be governed somewhat by the bidding on proposed competing routes, but it is safe to predict that they will all recognize the enormous increase in land values that a strip of city will bring with it and bid accordingly. It is interesting to speculate on the size of their bids for such a wonderful advantage in view of their very liberal gifts to steam and trolley roads which have given them so little in comparison.
The location of the first Roadtown will be determined by the people who give the new form of civilization the warmest welcome. If you have any inducements or practical suggestions to offer, write, I’ll be glad to welcome and consider them. It may be in Long Island or in California or in Japan, but the locations of the subsequent Roadtowns will be more easily predicted: they will be wherever there is enough population to make coöperative house construction worth while and sufficient wealth and enterprise to execute such an undertaking.