Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-03-22

,whcrc travel IL extensive. Macadanl 30
feet wide and inches thick In tho cen.
ker requires $500 tons Of broken stono 10
khc mile. Tho cost Of stone varies from
70 cents 10 % ton, and this would bring
the cost Of surface material up 70 $3.50
10 et1 900 mile. A macadAm road he's
recently been made near Philadelphia
at an average Of about 5000 . mile for
six miles, but there was good founda-
tlon 10 work on. At Bridgeport, Conn,
forty miles OF good macadam, 1S TO 20
feet wide, including grading, cost trif1e
under 5000 . mile.
The committee on improvement OF
highways, Rhode Island division OF the
League Of American Wheelmcn, recently
received two important letters upon tho
subject Of good and bad roads which are
Of general interest Ex-Governor Henry
Howard, Of Rhode Island, says:
II am very glad 10 learn that there Il
some prospect Of legislation In regard to
our faulty highway system. When ] re.
turned from my first and prolonged visit
to Europe could scarcely believe that I
had all my life been familiar with such
roads rs met my eye on my return. In
no part Of my travels had I seen roads 90
poor as is the rulo in our country towns;
and had been In some out Of tho way
places, too. We are more wasteful In
this respect than in all other things put
together. Comparing the rural sections
OF Europe with those Of our country,
there Is no doubt, think, but that horse
there performs double the duty he does
here, and therefore Is worth twice AZ
much. II would be the highest economy
10 put all our roads In permanently
good condition. When It Is once dono
tho annual expense Is as nothing TO the
money which Is expended now without
any beneficial results. There Is no class
to which highways are 30 advantageous
as TO farmers. II they could be induced
to give the subject sufficient consideration
they would soon put stop to this eyre
gious folly Of working out the tax.'"
The president Of the Rhode Island Do.
rnestic Industry society writes:
.As 20 tho matter OF highway i'm
provements, I think it Is Of the greatest
Importance to the prosperity Of our ag-
ricultural communities that some change
should be made in their care.
cat present in some parts Of our state
there IL q gradual shrinkage in the value
OF our farming property. owing. in my
opinion, TO the want Of better highway
communication.
"In my own town, Scituate, we have
about seventy-two miles Of highway,
divided into about sixty road districts,
and in some Of these districts, fear, the
road taxes have been expended on the
working out or standing out plan Last
spring, at our annual town meeting, It
was decided to make change by ap-
pointing road commissioners. the mum.
Der not to exceed three. This change
takes effect this coming spring, and /
hope that suitable road machinery may
be supplied them, 80 that our road taxes
NAV be used to better advantage. As to
the present condition of the roads In our
state there can be but one opinion--they
need to be improved; as to how it should
be done have no plans. 1t might be
well for the legislature to appoint a com.
mittee to take the matter into considera.
| ton and recommend some law that
should be applicable throughout the
o4sts "