Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-12
Guseppi's tribe 1t was extremely mortify-

Guseppi's tribe. 1t was extremely mortify-
ing.
We have been asked in backwoods settle
ments, "What are you selling?" Or in
some pleasant little hamlet Inquisitive land
lords have frequently questioned, "What is
your show? Who does the heavy villain
work, ana which of you is the comedian"
Dash Past the Camp.
But it remained for Belsano, Cambria
county, Pa, TO witness our complete subju-
CATION. All eyes looked toward the tents.
Were they really standing at the door
watching for us? Each member in turn
wore my spectacles, and we were at last sat
isfed that the Gipsies, if such they were.
had not yet sighted u.s. On the other hand,
Belsano had turned itself inside out to well
come us. Men rested upon their shovels.
Boys paused in their gambols. Women
held their babies high above the doorsteps.
The flower of Belsano awaited us. What
would be the result il at the last moment
the tents should empty their Bohemian
hordes, and they should publicly EN- brace
us as lsng lost tribal brothers? Their
Beatrices might kiss us The very thought
of such thing was more than we could en-
dure. Reaching the field in which the en-
campment was pitched, we whipped up
the tents at mad gallop. Every DISPATCH
explorer hid his unbarbered face.
We escaped recognition. But we had to
explain an awful lot to the citizens of Bel
sano why We drove so recklessly into their
town. The mystery of the thing is thatthey-
none of them-could tell us who occupied
the tents and we were afraid to explore the
tents ourselves. After all they may not
have been Gipsies, but our feelings are
worth describing anyway.
Bad Roads Abundant.
Our ride down the eastern slope of Laurel
Hill that afternoon was rough. The washed
out condition of the rock bottom road is
worse now than it has been for some time,
am told. We reached Ebensburg at P. M,
and put up for the night. The next day
we pulled as far as Cresson. The road from
Ebensburg to Loretto is in good condition.
The farmers of Allegheny township are
wealthy and pay more attention to road
building than any other section of the
Still they are only dirt roads, but
are we'll graded and drained.
The worst roads in Cambria county are
said to be those extending from Carrolltown |
to Ebensburg. There is a great deal of
heavy hauling by the lum mbermen over them. |
And for 10 miles the road has been almost |
impossible for the last six months. In Cam |
bria, as in other mountain counties, the con-
dition of things is somewhat different from !
that in other places. Being on the top of |
the mountains there is much snow through
out Cambria county every winter, and thus
it is that winter is the great hauling season
in the mountains. In the eastern and ex-
IRENE western sections of Pennsylvania,
when hauling is practically abandoned
owing to the depth and mellowness of the
dc ell Ie OF hair in fhn
Ready for Road Reform.
Yet the past winter was an exception,
With Shedding two or three times the Cam
,ria county farmers were as much at the
mercy of bad roads as the grangers of the
ow lands.
Mr.. S. James, an Ebensburg merchant,
vho has canvassed the farmers pretty
thoroughly on the question of road improve
nent, says they are ready for some substan-
ial reform. But he admits that the ques-
ion of cost will have a great deal to do
nth the matter. He thinks that farmers
re realizing their mistake in repairing
Dads either late in the fall or early in the
pring. They should be repaired late in
be spring. There is absolutely no discre-
ion used by the farmers working out their
Dad taxes. Simply wishing to get in their
|
hape than they found them.
There is not road machine in Cambria
ounty, am informed. Farmers here say
hey are impracticable on mountain roads
n account OF the immense number of rocks
nd the steepness of the grade. That is, no
oubt, true in a large measure, but yet
here are roads such as that between Ebens-
urg and Loretto, where the road machine
ould be used just as easily as in the undu-
ating hill country of some of the counties
q the western tier, where we saw them used.
Not Afraid of Taxes.
had talk with j. J. Davis, a farmer
Allegheny township. He says that he
oesn't believe that the full prosperity of a
ountry can be reached until solid and per-
lament roadways connect the interior with
ne railroads all the year round. This, he
links, mas been proven in the history of
European countries.
'fThere must be start" continued Mr..
)avis, "and the mere fact that ten years
light be consumed in the work ought not
be barrier to its commencement. Be
ause 1 may not have as much benefit from
ne Improvement as my boys will have, or
ecause have to bav the cost of it rather
IAN the boys, should not make me oppose
he enterprise. 1 know that my brother
lrmers all over the State will set up howl
f taxation Still you will find lots like
lyself, willing 10 pay the taxes, hoping for
he good results that must follow.
"But one serious objection do not see
ow you can easily overcome" he con-
nued; that is, that out of every aPpro-
ration which would be made annually by
he Legislature for road improvement prob
bly, 80 cents out of each dollar would go to
ay salaries of appointees in the Road
uilding Department. Or let the State
i've it by contract, and then comes in the
iddleman between taxpayer and ,Legisla-
lre In either case / am half afraid that
IS money would go on the roads in pro-
ortiou to what would be expended on
lem now il all road taxes were paid in
oney instead of worked out, as under
le present system the pay of supervisors is
erely nominal.
Enough Expensive Officials.
'sNow, reduce the cost of State admins
alton to 10 or 10 per cent, then l am with
1u in Governor Beavers proposition.
ood roads we ought to have. But we have
,ough expensive political machinery
Pennsylvania now."
Pittsburgers are familiar with the beauti-
Il drive from Loretto to Cresson. For the
ost part it lies through woodland. The
ope is so gradual that horses can usually
OF the whole way up toward the summit.
his road was one of the earliest fruits of
rince Gallitzen's pioneer work in the Alle-
1eny Mountains. To-day it is somewhat
IL mn by the large amount of travel by