The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-12-23
Country It0ad-inaking'

II is q matter ofunivcrsal comment
with travellers that country road
making in the United States Is either
u lost art or II to-be-acqnired science.
The average sclectman or road agent
of country town is usually deplor.
ably ignorant OF the the first princi.
pals Of making good road. Nothing
will SO surely advance the growth
and well being of town ~ well made
and we'll kept roads. No part of its
domestic economy will more certain.
ly repay the outlay. Nothing more
bespeaks the intelligence and charac.
ter Of the public spirit OF It's citizens.
In England and most OF its Deepen.
denotes the roads are made directly
by the State VI under Its supervision.
As result, the contrast between En-
glish roads and those Of this country
Is much In favor of the former. A
common and natural mistake OF most
towns in this country Is that an in.
telligent farmer must necessarily
know how to make good road, but
the reverse ~ the fact. R0ad.making
Is u subject requiring study and II
knowledge of the nature of soils, not
often considered by any but engineers
or those to whom such knowledge is
q necessary adjunct to their business
In life. 4 we'll made road even In
our climate and with the wide differ.
ence in soil ingredients, will last for
years. whereas ordinarily the items
of repairs on our roads means entire
ly changed thoroughfare; the pitch,
watersheds and general character be-
ing more in the way of experiment
than scientific and practical renova.
ton. The country road maker com
menccs by throwing out the "big
stones on to the side Of the road,
retaining the smaller ones, when by
thoroughly bedding" the big stones
the best possible foundation Is had,
and, with covering of smaller stones
mixed with gravel, OF even with good
loan carefully narrowed and scraped,
q road bed is formed which will defy
both rain and heavy teams. Gener.
ally the tyro devotcs his time To heap
ing up the material in the cantcr with
such slope as often To interfere
with locOmotion, and which heap the
first heavy team resolves into deep
ruts. vitiating its usefulness for any
but a similarly heavy team, and for
only with constantly increasing strain
on the horses. Yankee ingenuity
has invented capitol road making
tools, which need but intelligent ap.
plication to developing such thorough
fares as would make them admired,
in place of being areproach and shame
Our country is rich enough 10 place
the roads in the hands of such govern.
ment as will insure their perfection,
instead of leaving them to town off.
Gals with the education or experience
necessary to an accomplishment of the
object. Most of the roads east ut
the Connecticut river are sandy, and
this fact. together with the inditfer-
ence or the ignorance of those In
charge toward improving their char
acter, necessarily impedes and retards
the natural and growing tendency OF
city people for building and living in
the country.
Mr.. George W. Childs, of Philadel.
phia. il one OF the wealthiest and one
of the most liberal men in the world.
He has IN income Of several hun
dred thousand dollars year, and
spends the whole in doing good.
Every Christmas he makes each man
i'm his employ and he has hundred
or more--a gift in money, generally
$l00 each, through the entire estab.
lishment Of thesPhiladelphia Ledser.
from the edtor.in-chief To the stoker
who sh0vels coal In the engine room.
II is also Mr.. Child's custom To re-
tain upon half pay men who are dis.
abled, or become 10 old To perform
their duties. He has seven such now
on his pension roll. Mr.. Childs liber.
ality is sometimes expended In noval
ways. One Christmas he gave every
street.car driver In Philadelphia u
new overcoat; at another time he sent
every newshoy or carrier who sold
his paper To a clothing house, and
had each one fitted with new snit Of
clothes. One Thanksgiving day he
sent a turkey TO the house OF every
policeman and fireman In his city.
In these methods Mr.. Childs finds the
pleasure Of spending his ample In.
come, until his name has become a
household word among the poor. Mr..
Childs' latest freak of generosity is
more than usually peculiar He has
expended $4,000 In identifying a
road which leads To his country resi-.
dence so that he and his neighhors
my enjoy 1t in their daily drives To
and fro.