The Portland daily press., 1869-05-22
Making and HIcnding Roads Once Nor

led by men who know better, and who must
be ashamed of what they are doing"
Making and Mcnding Roads Once More.
A German philosopher once said, "There
are two things that strike me dumb-the
starry armament (palpably infnite) and the
sense of right and wrong in man." If this
philosopher lived hAaA-A.A- -aA.z- and -alaanlu-
saw the immense amount of money and la
bor that have been expended by our farmers
during the last half century--to go no further
back-in making and repairing our public
highways, the thing would strike him dumb,
for It would be impossible for him or any 9TH
er sensible man to reconcile such an enor-
nous expenditure with good sense and judg-
ment which reasonable beings are supposed
to possess. On large portion of our roads
about the same amount of labor has to be
expended every year to keep them safe for
travellers and save the towns from such
heavy verdicts as our juries are now in the
habit of rendering against them, even for
very slight defects. And this vast amount OF
expenditure does not save our towns from
heavy verdicts and expensive lawsuits, as the
records of our court clearly show all over the
State, and in fact all over New England.
We read in the newspaper records of court
proceedings all over the country of such law
suits and verdicts. 1t has become almost inn
possible for town-to say nothing of other
corporations-to make a successful defence to
suit for damages when person or his horse
or carriage becomes injured through defect
in public highway, however slight that de-
feet may be. If .one is injured in his person
by reason of such defect he at once sees
chance to make some money, and applies to
his lawyer, who loves heavy verdicts for his
client and large fees for himself. And in
what cases can he so readily obtain them as
in cases against towns for defects in their
roads? When person injured commences
such lawsuit to recover damages, the inju-
ries he has received, however slight they may
have been at first, are hugely magnifed; his
arm is put into sling although not bone is
broken; he, walks lame, more so than when
his leg was first injured, if injured at all, and
he stoops over with lame back, and "acts
well his part"
The truth is, if this fnesse continues and
this mental epidemic among juries does not
cease, we do not see how towns can save
themselves from these heavy verdicts and
this expensive litigation unless they make
castiron roads with the iron so thick that a
hole cannot be made in them except by some
powerful instrument. We frankly confess
our decided opposition to many of these law
suits, but how can they be avoided if the
present system of making and repairing roads
is not changed and a revolution in public
opinion upon this subject does not take place?
If the present system still continues, holes
will be made in the roads, ruts win make
their appearance, gullies will be washed out,
and little stones will stick up few inches
above the surface at certain seasons of the
year.
Something must be done; a new leaf must
be turned over; new laws must be enacted;
new system adopted, otherwise the making
and repairing our highways must continue,
as it has too long continued, heavy draw
back upon the industry of the country. On
many of our roads-and we may safely say
on most of them-money and labor have
been expended in repairs from year to year
to make them now solid bed of gravel and
rock and place them in condition that would
defy floods, or any convulsion short of an
earthquake. Such condition would place
them beyond the reach of. lawyers and their
clients, and smashed up carriages, broken
limbs, lame backs, crooked spines, "fatty de-
generation" diseased liyers and even chronic
rheumatism might be less than they appear
to be at the present time.
The benefit of such public roads as the la
Dor already expended might have made would
be very great, even greater than we dream Of
Carriages would last longer, horses. would
wear longer and draw heavier loads. and n
vast deal of labor saved every way. The ex-
pense of taking care of such roads would be
be comparatively trifing; and enormous YER
diets against towns and expensive lawsuits
would only exist in the memory of those who
have suffered from them, or ON the records OF
our courts.
In Earope they manage these things vastly
better than we do. Gov, Clafn of Massa-
chusetts in his message to the Legislature
last January alluded to the unfavorable con-
trast that is made by travellers, between the
roads of his own State and those in European
countries, and suggested that the science Of
road making ought to have prominent place
in the course of study at the State agricultur-
al College. The suggestion is good one; for
it seems we are sadly deficient in such science,
else we should have had better roads long ago
There Is an abundance of materials for maks