The Portland daily press., 1883-06-15

FRIDAY MORNING. JUNE Is.
Repair of WAYS.

Hepalr OF avs.
The season for repairing the highways is
at hand, and while we have no new sugges
iions to offer, we feel that we should not let
the oppor unity pass without few words,
for II there is any subject that requires Slime
upon line and precept upon precept," 1t is
the subject of road-building and repairing
Vast sums of money are annually expended
10 this State for the repair of ways, and we
believe we do not exaggerate when We say
that more than half the amount is thrown
away. A sufficient amount of money has
been expended within the last quarter of a
century, ii 1t had been intelligenty laid out,
10 have rendered all our principal thorough
fares permanently good, but to-day good
roads are the exception and not the rule.
There is time during the dry season of
summer when they are fairly good, but dur
Ing large portion of the season OF bare
ground, they are not So and this fact points
plainly TO the defects In our general system
of repairing ouraways.
Thorough drainage lies at the foundation
of all good road-making, and a lack of it is
what is the matter with nearly all our pub
lie thoroughfares. In building piece of
new road where a certain stretch must be
opened TO the public by the expenditure OF
limited sum Of money, good drainage is
not always possible, but after the road is
OASS iCbOCiCu pdSsdulc, pCtuiNuCAt bNC-
ments and not patching up" should be the
unvarying rule. But the practice is quite
the reverse of this. If mud-holes occur as
they always will in an undrained road, in
stead of making good side drains to conduct
away the surface water, the practice is to
dump in dirt which may remedy the defect
for the time being, while in the end it only
makes matters worse because it furnishes
more material to be worked up into mud.
Water, when left free to move, always seeks
the lowest level, aud if good side drains are
made, a road will become dry and remain so
as natural result Where land through
which road passes, is springy, under drains
may become necessary, and we have known
the best results to follow small outlay in
this direction.
1t was number of years ago that the
occupation we then followed required us to
travel quite extensively over country roads,
and the wretched condition of those roads
for the most part, caused us to study the
question of their improvement. By little
"log rolling we got elected highway sur
veyor, this being the only town office we
ever sought after or cared for, and we were
easily reelected the two following years. In
the district was piece of new road mile
or more in length and leading through the
woods, which had ben simply s'grubbed OUT
and rendered passable; but in spring and
autumn it wass full of slough-holes and very
dangerous in the night time. This afforded
good opportunity for us to carry out our
ideas. Patching up the other roads within
the limits assigned us, SO they would an
sser, we laid out the bulk of the money
upon this new piece of road, and the whole
process may be expressed in the word
drainage" We dug out roots and rocks
on each side, and made food side drains, put
in culverts when necessary and made OPEN
ings into the side drains to conduct off the
surplus water. Where the ditching did not
furnish earth enough to raise the roadbed 10
proper height, we carted in. This was
nearly twenty-five years ago, and this piece
of road has required but little outlay since.
We have frequently travelled over it, the
last time within two years, and we have
never had occasion to be ashamed of this
our first and only experience at road-making.
We did not do it all in one year, but so far
as we went in each of the three years, we
built it thoroughly, and this we believe to
be the proper way.
The statute labor system of repairing
roads is thoroughly defective and should be
done away with. The only trouble we had
in our little experience at road-making was,
when we cut down the pay of those who did
not come to work but to loaf away the time,
as many do. There are always in every dis
trict some good workers, while there will be
others whose only interest in the business
is, to have their taxes crossed out. This
makes it very difficult for conscientious
road master to do his duty and in major
ty of cases it is not done. The labor system is,
TO great extent farce, and while it is kept
up. we can hardly hope for much improve
ment in our public ways. We should have
road commissioners in every town, as we al
ready have insome; assess the road money
as cash, and put it 10 the hands of the COM
missioners to expend. If any persons
should prefer to work out their taxes, give
them chance to do so, upon coudision that
they shall be allowed for their labor only
what they earn, This plan adopted and well
carried out would soon give us good roads,
contamination which will benefit no class
of people more than the farmer. II the
losses to the farmers of the State alone, in
the shape of wear and tear of wagons, carts,
harnesses and horse-fiesh, occasioned by
bad roads could be counted up, it would be
found to be enormous.-Maine Farmer.