New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-08-31

square yard and Eve years of additional
wear can be saved by using cobble-stones'
is that good reason why we should jolt
ourselves to death, or wear out ten times
the amount saved in the matter OF vehicles
and animals? Or, if square block Will
last three times as long as wood or con-
crete, is that good reason why we should
waste ten times the cost of the road III
paying for the increased resistance when
it offers to the movement OF freight! Ii
a better pavement is at hand, or II we
have any paving to do, let us at least act
sensibly and discuss the article which 1t
is proposed to buy, before we submit TO
follow the footprints of the past, or
allow ourselves to be trapped by sharps
into buying goods that will not wash.
1t is not necessary to go among con-
tractors to hold our congress OF inquiry,
but let us rather enter the halls of science,
where men weigh propositions in the
scales of reason and experience. They
have no axes to grind, nor jobs to put
upon us, but, standing with uncovered
heads in the light of that knowledge
which only knows Of moneyby the bench
cent use to which it may be put, they de-
vote themselves to truth, and lay out their
labor in earnest endeavor to develop 1t.
Whether holding the lightnings, or sub
jecting the sun to inspection; whether
marking a siderial wonder, or exploring
the silurean strata; whether counting the
stars that adorn the belt of orion, or estl-
mating the conclusions upon boulder
pavement, they are always striving after
the positive and certain, in order that the
fixed laws which govern matter may be
made useful and beneficial to human pro-
eress. And while we may not compre-
bend all the ends at which they aim, let
us at least keep record of what they tell us
for our own immediate good.
At meeting of large number of scien-
tifc gentlemen in the city of Troy, New
York, among all the questions which
came before them was that of roads and
payements Professor S. D. Tillman pre-
scented and read a paper on the above
subject, which was listened to with great
attention and was ordered to be printed.
It was couched in general terms, and
treated historically and philosophically OF
the relative merits of wood and stone, but
as we do not propose to follow the subject
through this branch, let us come down to
the matter of resistance, which was Illus
trated in the essay. The Professor
adapted his illustrations to New York. but
it is more convenient for US to adapt them
to New Orleans, thus: On Magazine
street, where the square block is in use, a
pair of horses, attached to an omnibus,
will draw less than one-fourth the load
drawn by the horses on street railway
car. The omnibus, in passing along one
mile of Magazine or Tchoupitoulas
streets, experiences $4,000 conclusions,
and in thirty miles of travel 1,S00, 900 con-
clssions. The force of friction for one
ton on a gravel road is l47 pounds,
\ on broken stone surface laid
in old flint roads sixty-fiye pounds, on
broken stone road covering rough stone
forty-six pounds, good stone pavement
forty-six pounds, on a railway eight
pounds, smooth turnpike seventy-three
pounds. He advocated iron tramways OF
road for vehicles, filing in the space be-
tween them with composition. Travelling
would be pleasanter and easier, and horses
would not be so often slain. Double OF
triple lines of rails were necessary ovel
wide thoroughfares.
It is unnecessary for US to add anything
to these conclusions, except to recon-
mend to property holders and to the city
government the propriety of considering
this matter of street pavements with ;
view to making improvements hereafter
with reference not only to having roads
but to having such roads as will save
power and lessen the damage to vehicles
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