The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-09-28

: New York, and in some parts Of the Wes
/ plank roads were at one time constructed
: but their lack of durability caused thi
r system to be soon abandoned.
e MAINTENANCE.
The condition of a road depends no
only upon the manner in which it is con
5 structed, but upon the manner in which
is maintained The best roads are bein!
constantly worn by traffic, and if they ar
e not quickly repaired whenever any defect
appear, they are soon destroyed. Maeadam
= reputation was made not in building ney
2 roads, but in repairing old roads and keep
, ing them al,cays IL good order. In orde
, to accomplish this result incesSant atteu
ton is necessary, so as to fill up any rut
or holes the moment they appear, anC
! prevent them from being enlarged by
travel and rain The road thus gradually
wears down, but always presents uniform
: aud smooth surface; and when its thickness
is reduced TO about five inches it is neees
sary to make general repairs by covering
it with new coating of stone. The
amount of wear is proportioned to the vol
umc of traffic On some of the heavily
Travelled macadam streets Of London aud
Paris it has been as much as four inches
in wear. but on high-roads between cities
it is often as low as one-half inch in q
year.
Nowhere is the art of road,making and
maintenance carried to such perfection as
in France. where the necessity of constant
supervision and prompt repairs Is fully
appreciated. Her roads have a length OF
about POO 600 miles, of which more than
l20, 000 miles are macadamized. They
have cost nearly 5000 100000 for con
struetion, and the sum Of SIS, 600 900, lor
about three per cent. Of first cost Is annu-
ally spent for their maintenance. Until
we are prepared to expend the necessary
sums for solid construction and incesSant
maintenance. we cannot have good roads.
With an area Of POI 600 square miles. and
a population of 3, 600 600 inhabitants.
. France has about one mile of road 90 every
square mile Of territory, and to every 1870
inhabitants; its roads have cost about s., ,000
for each square mile, aud about SIS for
each iuhabitant, their maintenance costs
annually 500 for each square mile, aud IS
cents for each inhabitaut.
The State Of New York has an area Of
I 47 ,000 square miles and population Of
I about i 500 600, the number Of inhabitants
per square mile being about three -fourths
1 the number in France On the basis Of
area, in order that its roads should be
equal 20 .f.,,ss of France, their length
Z should be %. 900 miles, the first cost would
Z BE- Sl3S .00O. 900. and the annual cost Of
maintenance would be Si,lI0,000, or 81
( cents for each inhabitant The railroads
/ of this State have cost nesrly $500 ,000, 900,
aud the annual expense Of maintaining
their road beds Is fully q per cent. Of their
/ irst cost Ii Is evident THAT 1t would not
b, an impossible task 70 create a system oi
roads corresponding in excellence 10 the
railroad whenever the necessity for them
i fully recognized and It would not be
Difficult, To prove that the benefits derived
in cheapening the cast Of transportation to
the railroads OF which the roads would act
ss feeders, would be more than an e,lgiva-
lent for the expense Nor would the euss
in reality be anything ike the large sums
above named. for many Of the existing
roads coatain an abundance Of stone, which
could be taken up, broken, and relaid. after
the manner in which Macadam rebails the
Fuals ii England, the ceSt Of which Is
stated in his memoir to have been As low
as 5000 per mile, Owing 20 the Increase
10 the crs,i of labor since MaeAdam time,
she curt would now be..about s2,500 per
mile.
II Is worth while 10 note the manner 10
which France maintains these splendid
roads. iae data is all available in the
ninth volume Of Drbasre's MaHuai - he
Esgiasers Of he Paats e C6Gsasssos
While We have no such large body Of
trained engineers in the public service,
and while our political organization does
no; permi, the adoption Of the system As a
whole. yet there are many Of its features
which are not only applicable 10 Us, but
are essential 70 any satisfactory method OF
road maintenance.
The roads in each department in France
are under the general supervisor of the pre-
feet OF the department, and their oonstruc-
ton aud repairs are entrusted TO the eugi-
neers of the points ct ehaussees. The ne
Cessary funds for this purpose are allotted
90 each department BY the Minister Of
Public Works The high-roads are divided
into tive elasses-naiional roads, running
through two or more departments and
connecting the chief cities, and department
tal roads, connecting the principal cities
within a single department The local
roads are divided into three elasses-the
important local roads, the ordinary local
roads, and the by-roads Each road is thus
classified according To It's use aud the traffic
upon it, as determined by actual count at
stated periods The construction and the
maintenance are varied according to the
use and the volume of traffic Some of the
national roads are paved with stone blocks,
like city streets, for long distances; others
are macadamized; and the local roads are
of gravel The engineer-in-chiefh has charge
of all the roads in the department; under
him are engineers having charge of certain
districts, and under each of these are su-
per:ntendents and overseers, each in charge
of a certain force of laborers and the neces-
sary materials for keeping the roads always
in good order. 1t is, in short, the same
system ofconstant inspection, maintenance,
and repair which is in use ON every one of
our principal railroads, but which is never
applied to our roads.
The fundamental principles of mainte-
nance. as laid down in the Manual Of n
s,ruction, are only two in number, viz
The removal of the daily wear of the road,
whether in the form of mud or dust =
The prompt replacement of this wear by
new material.
Each road is divided into sections called
caatoRs; on heavily travelled roads canton
may be only 100 yards long on light roads
1 it may be a mile, and to each canton there
is workman known as eaHtoaRier, who
| is responsible for the condition of the road in
his canton. He lives in the immediate
vicinity, aud is obliged to be on the road
/ from 5 A. NJ. to I p. NJ. in summer, and
/ from sunrise to sunset in winter; he can
rest two hours for his noon-day meal, but
with this exception he must be always at
work between the hours above stated. He
has the following tools, viz, wheelbarrow,
iron shovel wooden shovel, pick, iron
scraper, wooden scraper, broom, iron rake,
crowbar hammer, and tape-line. His du