Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-09-28
IOWA'S RURAL ROADS.

They Must be IN Pretty Hal Condi-
LONESOME Practical ssggestions
as 60 How 90 Improve Them. Never
theiers.
According to the Davenport Democrat
Gazette. the roads of Iowa have by no
means become accustomed TO the wheels
OF civilization yet. The wagon roads OF
Illinois are not so proverbislly bad as
those in Iowa yet there are some practi-
cal ideas advanced by the Iowa contem-
porary that are of interest. The Demo-
Graf. Gazette says;
About this season Of the year. some>
tin es earlier. sometimes later, the coun-
try road supervisor gets IN his work. aid
ed and sbetted by the farmers in his dis
trict. As rule the highway that he has
mended is a hard road TO travel At the
best IL is full of humps and hummocks
that make half hours drive the equiva-
lent OF seizure of chills n fever. When
the ground Is dry the places that have been
worked beat up into dust so fine and
dry and everlastiugly impafpsble that IL
would rather ily about on still day than
lie quiet. When il rains, a milk wagon
needs four horses TO pull through. On
the hills breastworks are thrown across
the track every fifty yards for the purpose
of turning the water so il won't gully. -"
People who have driven on a trot over
these monuments to the intelligence Of
the supervisor have been known to come
down clear outside the right way. Where
L. l. rn.Aal - .AnA, ~ ha
surface water of a small swsle or little
rsvine across the road 1t is built on stills
and 4 story pile Of dirt is hesped on
top of it. To strike one of these
obstructions with yOur horses on
trot feels much like encounter
ing the fiat of fate. Where the
ground is level and needs absolute
ly no working at all-is far better with
out it-this rural engineer has a patch
plowed and scrsped along both sides of
the proposed track, upon which he piles
the accumulated dirt. In this way the
causeway of varying elevation is formed
II takes n good driver to keep on top OF
it, and failure to do so often results IN
derailment and disaster. Two loads of
hay, for instance. that happen to meet
on one of these formations are fixed a
good deal like two trains with but a
single track. The hollows at the sides of
this embankment are rather ornamental
than useful. They get full Of water up
to the neck and stay full all summer.
Mud, frogs. and miasm are their portion
and woe unto them that fall therein The
young man from town who tries to pass
the slow mouoned farmer with his fly rig
and full intent to give him the dust can't
find room between the track and the
swamp to get by him Sometimes pro-
cessIon OF half a dozen vehicles can bt
found dragging their slow length along
one of these mountain passes, all anxious
TO trot along and get home but held bach
by span of mules with double decked
load ot lumber for new barn and a pace
rs slow as the mills Of the gods.
Roadmaking is not hap hazard bust
ness, but has been carried TO science.
Men who know all there is TO be known
OF il, now confess that 1t is far from per
lection. How much of waste of mon
ey then is perpetrated in every county
every year by hap.hszard work. and be-
cause OF the lack OF proper tools
1t would pay this county and every
other one in Iowa, To employ compe'
tent engineer 10 look after the highways
and bridges. Make him responsible for
them, and pay him enough salary to
command fair talent. Let him study the
highways and make plans and formulate
his ideas for their improvement. Give
him enough money 10 keep them in good
condition, and allow him tools and such
other facilities rs are demanded for good
work Don't turn him out OF Office ev.
cry year or two. but keep him long
enough to enRraft upon the county high,
ways some sort Of system in the work OF
their construction and their repair. &c
about the business Of road making as
though il was something worth doing
well, as ii most certainly is. ani stop
fooling away time and money in effort:
that may he well meant, hut which are
the result Of indiscriminate guess work.
rather than OF intelligent theory confirmed
and established by successful practice
When this thing is done OF something like
1t, lows's country roads will begin TO as,
sumo the character 81 highways that car
be traversed at nearly all seasons with
comfort, safety and some degree OF
speed.