The Portland daily press., 1871-01-11
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY IL, 1871.
Country Roads; their Construction, NJ ain

Oountry Roads; their Construction, pain-
fenance and Value.
We have received from Mr.. Chas. B. Stet-
son, of Lewiston, the author, On address de-
livered before the Maine Board of Agriculture
at Dover, in August last, wherein he proposes
and explains what, in this State, is new sys-
tenn for the construction and maintenance of
country roads. The subject is very important
and we ask for Mr.. Stetson's arguments a
careful perusal. That better method than
now prevails in regard to our roads is needed
is undeniable; and if Mr.. Stetson has given
us the outlines of plan that will develop an
improvement, he will prove himself public
benefactor.
Having glanced at what constitutes really
good, permanent road, let us next consider
now, without attempting radical revolution.
roads OF this character may be gradually sc.
cured in the differnet parts of the State.
1t IS clear that our present expenditures
ought to give us better roads; it is clear that
our roads ought to improve year by year, be-
coming cheaper and cheaper of maintenance:
but it is also clear that with the old feudal
policy OF personal service as now, with the
country divided into minute districts, and
with no general, intelligent supervision, very
little in the way of steady, durable improve
ment can be effected. What then should be
done? What reasonably attempted in the
line OF legislation?
In the first place, there is not district
whose roans are for the service and advant-
OF the district alone. They are for the service
OF all the adjacent neighbOrhoods, and often
times people living far away have direct and
constant interest in them. They should.
therefore. be built and cared for largely with
reference to the general service they are to
render-with reference to that system of
roads to which they belong, which mainly
tend to common centre the county town
perhaps. Again, the roads in different dis
tricts are subjected to very unequal service
How unreasonable, then, even if the wealth
were equally distributed, to expend upon the
roads OF each district in the town an equal
percentage of It's valuation. How yet more
unreasonable is this procedure, when, as now,
the wealth is so unequally distributed. or
two districts, the e1e wealthy, the other poor,
the former usually has the roads which are,
by nature, best. District A., for example, has
valuation of $4,000, district B. of $1,000:
the roads in A can be kept in good condition
with halt the labor required by the roads in
b; and yet the expenditure upon the former
is five time more than upon the latter. Yet
the people of A may have occasion to use the
roads in more than they use their own, the
poor district lying between The wealthy dis
trict and the general business centre. All
must have seen illustrations of this. Now, it
is clearly for the advantage of A to contrib
ute to the road in B but under the district
system it cannot do so. For this reason the
district should be at once supplanted by the
town, political unit which is now known,
from the study of language, to have existed
even in prehistoric times. Not only is the
town the most ancient, the most enduring of
political organizations, it is the most efficient
for the management of the greater part of
the public business. To this efficiency must,
perhaps, be attributed its abiding hold upon
the popular favor. With the district sup.
planted by the town, The labor expended on
the roads could be more largely expended
where it would render the greatest service to
locomotion.
In the second place, the building of roads
and the care of them demands larger politi-
cal unit than the ordinary district, because
they should be vigilantly watched at all times,
and the labor upon them should be continu-
GUS throughout the year. When they are
once built, the prime object should be to
keep up" the roads, not to repair them; that
is to say, roads should never be allowed to get
badly out of order in any season, as they oft
en- do when the labor upon them is spasmod-
ic, performed once or twice year, at the con-
venience of the laborer. OF nothing can it
be mere truly said than of the care of roads,
that "a stitch in time saves nine"-saves in
repairs and sometimes in damages assessed
by the jury. The town, bat not the district,
is large enough to own whatever is needful
tor building and maintaining good roads,
There would be needed horses and carts, a
stone crusher, worked by steam, and breaking
~ G ~ ovpt, IN NJ rdc Of cfDv,n
Few of6eff the BgQksn stone with
would cost some three thousand dollars, and
might be paid for by devoting portion of the
road-tax to this end for three or four years.
And, again, the town, but not the district, is
large enough to keep constantly at work a
number OF men sufficiently great for the
most advantageous performance of road labor
with labor-saving machinery. An efficient
roadmaster could, also be secured and kept in
office for years, that the public might profit by
his experience. There is always enough to
| do at any season of the year. Beside the
work which specially belongs to winter, stone
can be broken at that season and drawn to
the points where it will be required. In win
ter gravel can also be carted to the places
where it is needed and it should be well un-
derstood that gravel-if screened the better
can be Proftably transported long distance
| to mix with clay or ioam instead of the usual
scrapings from the side of the road.
This is the road policy pursued, with the
happiest results, by the town of Wal.ham
Mass. The town is quite populous and has
ABOUT sixty miles of road. For seven years
prior to 1865, the average annual expenditure
on her roads, under this policy was only $3,.
S57, embracing the expenditure for sidewalks
throughout large village. In 1868 it cost
the town $4,000 for repairs of roads an clear
| ing away the snow.
She keeps ten to fifteen men steadily en-
ployed, working with the requisite labor-sav-
ing machinery. As a result of this policy
her roads are the best to be found in any
country town of Massachusetts,, and are con.
tinually growing better. The principal ones
are macadamized. Nevertheless her road ex
pendtures are below the average. Little
wonder that other country towns of oul
mother State of Massachusetts have begun tc
initiate the example of Waltham. 1t would
be well for us to so and do likewise.
The county is organized with special refer.
ence to the business interest of the towns EN-.
braced within its limits. To the county the
town holds much the same territorial relation
that the district holds to the town. If the
whole care of the roads, therefore, is left to
the different towns, to say nothing of dis
tricts, then those interests of the country de.
pendent on locomotion must frequently suf.
| Livermore finds her principal market at Lew
iston and Auburn. Between Livermore and
her market lies Turner. Now, it is for the
interest of the people of Livermore that some
| OF the roads in Turner--the oues traversed
by themselves-should be of the best quality
Rather than these roads in Turner, it were faI
better for the people OF Livermore that some
of the roads in their own town were neglect.
ed. In other words, the people of Livermore
would help themselves decidedly by helping
to put some of the hills, boas and sandy
reaches of Turner in good plight for locomo-
ton. And it would only be just for them to
| do this. Hence, certain amount of money
could be justly.aud wisely expended in per-
manent improvements under the direction ol
the Countp Commissioners, who already have
more or less to do with roads. Each yeaI
they could designate the points where, in their
opinion, the general welfare would be best
subserved by the expenditure of the common
fund. This expenditure would keep in con.
slant service skillful engineer, with quota
of men sufficient for the execution of those
more costly improvements, which the indiyid
ual town cannot well undertake, which, in.
deed, may not be for the special advantage O
the town where they are made, but rather fol
the special advantage of towns lying beyonC
| and further from the common business centre
There would also be sufficient means for TIL,
purchase of the best machinery in order tt
economize labor. Again, while the count,
engineer should execute his own special work
hecould advise, when invited to do so,with tn,
road masters in the different towns or dis
tricts, as to the durable improvements to b.