New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-07-13

THEIR ORIGIN AND HISTORY

bility Of Macadamized Roads to New
Orleans, Etc.
.0ad and revolution do not seem to
have much in common, yet thec are more
nearly connected than might at first be sup
posed, and thirty years ago change in the
mode of road making, adopted almost by
accident, checked revolution and aided
largely in giving peace 10 the most turbu-
lent city in Europe. The incident forms
part of the unwritten history Of the late
Emperor Napoleon.
In lS39-ls4O Louis Napoleon was in Lon
don, living in modest lodgings in Duke
street, Pail Mall, but close to the most
fashionable quarter of the city, amusing
himself after the ordinary fashion OF Eng
lish gentlemen, hunting and shooting, but
spending much Of his time lounging at
Poole, the tailors, in Saville row. POole's
is peculiarly British institution. Where
else but in England would you find man
who drives to the city in stylish carriage,
attended by liveried servants, and when he
gets there is ready to measure you for
coat or take an order for pair Of panta-
looms; who will lend $4,000 or $4,000 at
once to young titled scapegrace, with no
other security than scratch OF the pen,
and will not take even cash order from
man he does not know, or who does not
come aristocratically introduced to him.
man who acts as banker aud money lender
to half the young bloods of the English aris-
tocracy, who regales them with the costliest
of wines and the choicest of delicacies at his
inimitable luncheons, who shares largely
their confidence, enters into all their sports,
has as much money as even the richest OF
them and yet in all his intercourse with
them never once steps outside the respect
full Difference of the average English trades
man to his customers. At POOles Louie
Napoleon spent many of his mornings dur
ing the years spoken of. His manner was
thoughtful but not morose, or unusually re-
served. He was we'll liked by the gay
young fellows he met there: he seemed to
take as much interest as they in the amuse-
ments which formed their daily life, and,
certainly, none supposed him to be dream
ing OF future empire and planning how to
secure and maintain it.
To get to Poole's from his lodgings Napo-
leon had to pass along part of Regent
street, known as the Quad rant, then being
paved with what has since become univer-
sally known as the macadamized pavement.
OF its history someth ing will be said here
after. The future EN- peror watched the
process closely, and day after day stood
over the work and appea red to take the
deepest interest in il. Sir John MacAdam
wondered why the nephew Of an Emperor
should take SO much intere st in roadmak-
ing, and frequently expressed his surprise
at the practical knowledge of engineering
which this short-legged, paunchy, hand
some-headed dreamer manifested, and par
ticularly of his knowledge of rOad-making.
"Most people think" he would say, that
road-making is simply throwing down
broken stone so many inches deep, and
that's road; but this man he understands
that it requires an engineer to build a
good, substantial, level road. But what
the devil does he inquire so closely into our
process for! He can't be going into road
makingr The explanation came at last.
Time passed on, the little paunchy
dreamer became Prince President of France,
and then MacAdam was sent for to Paris.
met him there-we were closely connected
by marriage-and asked the cause Of his
unexpected visit.
prince Napoleon has sen. for me- he
said.
What forl'
IL do not know: tomorrow am TO have
an interview with him.
Next morning MacAdam came into the
breakfast room of Meurice's Hotel, and
ead: "You were curious to know what
brought me here; l will tell you. am to
nacadamize Paris !"
And so it was. The listless lounger at
Poole's had thought out the idea that with
out paving stones for barricades there
would be much fewer attempts at revolu-
ton in Paris, and commencing with the
Rue de Rivoli, which to this day remains
the best macadamized road in the world, he
had the dangerous barricade-suggesting
pavements of Paris torn up, and miles upon
miles of macadamized pavement substi-
tuted in their place. With what success.
till his last fatal collapse, We all know.
The system Of road making with gravel
or broken stone, now called macademizing,
was first successfully used in Scotland
about sixty years ago by Mr.. John Mac
Adam. who afterward introduced it into
England, where it became very popular.
In 1920 he published Treatise on Road
Making" proving his system superior
to any other. The British Parliament
awarded him . grant Of S5O,OOO for his
services, His son followed in his footsteps,
and having been educated as an engineer,
carried the system to still greater success
and finally was knighted by the Queen as
nuh,ic benefactor, becoming thenceforth Sir
John MacAdam. MacAdam, Sr., died in 1886;
his son. Sir John, still lives. Many points
have 70 be well considered in making
road. There must be good levels. and not
TOO much drainage. The nature OF the SOIL
must be taken into consideration ana the
prepared accordingly. 60 that
the pressure may be diminished oy an even
surface. which surface must be hard crust
Tho external wear of road will depend
frs. upou a surface smoothness; the immo-
h;l;tv of the stones and their sclidity Will
nreyent a too severe internal friction. Inc
must be Of larger sized stones
than the surface of the crust. All applica-
. lions of sand, however clean, are falla-
ciou.. Clay must be avoided for IN wet
weather it will cling to and follow wheels,
tho roads packv and causing mud