Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-22
OUR MAIL POUCH.
How to Improve the Roads.
D the Editor of The I)fspatcn.

| To the Editor Of The Dispatcns
| have read your publications on the import
ant subject of public roads with much interest
| during several months past. / believe that
careful investigation of Shady avenue, East
End, from Fifth avenue to Forbes street, VIII
furnish solution of the difficulty that may be
of great value to the people Of the United
States.
Shady avenue is but little else than clay
road have used it 40 years, and have seen IL
in various conditions. Have used it when IL
was almost impossible to move load OF thirty
hundred with six fine horses; have seen them
pulling in mud up to their bodies, the axles
dragging and the mud running into the wheel
boxes. Some folk call that impossible. Have
also seen it with dust several inches
deep, which is also unpleasant. These
several conditions existed under alleged
Supervisors, and also under city Street
Commissioners of about the same ability.
These things exist no longer. The same
material (minus water) is there, but our present
street Commissioner understands his business
and attends to 1t properly. My careful observa-
ton assures me that he spends less time and
less money on it than the others did. For sew
eral years past it has almost invariably been in
fine condition, so much so that BELIEVE that
the wear of horses, harness and wagons saved
on three-quarters of mile OF 1t Is annually
worth all of my city taxes, as compared with
former condition. He keeps the water bitches
about two and q half or three feet lower than
the crest of the roadway. and smoothes it up
into neat arc or curve. Light rains some
times make it soft on top for a short time, but
heavy rains appear to wash it OF clean, and 1t
usually dries up in an hour or so after storm.
A few hours work with two road scrapers put
it in shape when the frost breaks it up in the
spring. A few touches short time afterward,
to finish it up nice, and there is the road for all
summer.
L believe that all clay roads can be main
tanned In good passable condition by the same
rules he works under. Our farmers have not
got the means to macadamize or pave the thou
sands of miles of country roads, but they have
horses and time. Thus with plows to cut the
bitches down. and road scrapers to move the
material up on the middle of the road and to
trim it ND again after wagon travel has rolled
1t down, they can make the best roadway
possible-a roadway which regard as better
average for either hard pulling or nice driving.
summer and winter than Forbes or Highland
vulcanite pavements, which are slippery and
treacherous in ram or winter and very difficult
to haul heavy load on In a hot day. i believe
that II Commissioner p. were appointed
chief State officer of highways for three years.
county. that even II he had but little funds in
addition to the general road tax, he would
In that time put every clay road iI the State in
as good condition as there is any necessity for,
and farmers and others interested would find
life worth living.
The important facts seem to be that a road
way with three feet of drainage on each side
keeps dry as a natural result: that a proper
curve allows the rain to run off Immediately;
that such body of clay has Just about the
proper amount of moisture to become more
and more compact under travel, and that as
result it sheds the water and that all things
work together to produce the desired result,
This at least seems to be the case on Shady
avenue, East End.
Very truly.
JOHN NJ. BRUCE.
PITTsBgRG, September 2l.