The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-12-28
THE MAKING OF ROADS.
France Leads All Other Countries of Il
World in Excellence.

France Leads All Other Countries of the
World in Excellence.
Joseph Pennell, the artist has a re-
About Roads" lie says some of the
vilest roads he has ever ridden on are
in England. This will be news to many
people VINO have looked on English
roads, especially in comparison with the
highways of America, as being well nigh
perfect. He says there is not one
hundred-mile stretch of road in England
that is in good condition, and not foot
of it anywhere that is as well kept as Vt
ought to be.
AS the adage says: ''They do these
things better in France" and Mr.. Pen
nell tells us how it is done in France.
Every mile or two along the French
road you will find man breaking stone
into pieces about two and half inches
square. Those piles of broken stones
are arranged symmetrically with a
-oof on each pile. These men work
at stone-brealling in spring, sum-
mer and autumn, and all the while
o.her men are sweeping the road
with great long brooms and piling
up the dust for future use or for sale. A
loose stone or lump of dirt on French
road is absolutely unknown. In 0cto-
Der these broken stones are laid evenly
on the road and the interstices are filled
up with smaller debris from the pile and
then clay or chalky earth is spread over
it, The whole is thoroughly saturated
by water thrown from the hose of an en-
gine, which runs the steam roller. and
up and down over this mass the heavy
steam roller passes, pressing it into the
most perfect road bed that is known.
The roadway in France is wide enough
for two or three teams to pass. There
are rarely any fences by the French
farms, but on each side of the road is
small dyke built up to prevent the
water from running from the farms on
to the roads. Near the dyke is deep
ditch and between that and the road
grass plot that is kept in perfect order.
Every one hundred feet or SO there is a
trench cut in the grass pot that
allows the water to run to the road
into the deep trench and so the roads
are kept perfectly drained, All the dis
tances are marked off by stones about
two and half feet high. On one side of
the stone you see the name of the next
important town, with its distance in kill
ometers, and on the other side the name
of the important town you have left. On
its face you read grand route No. so-and-
so, and below the name of the great city
from which it starts and great city to
which it goes, and the distance to each
by road. Every hundred meters you win
see white stone with tho number in
scribed on it.
If every county in America were to
appoint an efficient road engineer who
knew something about the theory and
practice of road-making, and tho whole
statute labor or road-taX labor were in
telligently employed, even under the
present system, something might be
done to make the roads OF Ameri ca other
than reproach to the country. 1t is an
important question and has much to do
with the welfare of every community.
Nothing is more necessary than perfect
roads throughout the country, and IL
Mr.. Pennell's article has called atten-
tion to the reckless system which is in
vogue in America in building roads, it
win do very great deal OF good.-De
hoit Free Press