Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-03

gate before entering Brookville was a
greater disappointment than all. 1t was our
last chance Tor revenge, and here again a
defenseless won an came forth to receive 10
cenis. From the condition oil that turnpike
l can't help but suspect cool conspiracy to
have none but women at the toll-gates. 1t
makes teamsters swallow their wrath. Uhere
many a male toll collector would be drawn
into dozen fist fights per day.
OF all wretched, outrageous, scrubhy.
despicable and disgraceful public roads. we
have seen in our rambles, this stretch o.;
turnpike from the Clarion river to Brook
vile is one of the worst. 1t is horribly cut
up. 1t is worse than the average township
thoroughfare. All clay, it is ill-graded,
not drained at all in some spots, and gener-
ally allowed to go to the dogs The pull of
merely IL miles from Clarion to Brook vile
was one of the worst our horses have vet
had. The rain had left the mud deep and
thick. Bucephalus. poor fellow, felt the
hard work as we did the injustice Of paving
tolls for riding on such miserable high
way.
The Worst Rond Yet
This Clarion pike is part OF the same old
time Waterford and Susquehanna turnpike,
which we traversed in Venango and Craw-
ford counties. In each of those counties it
those counties the charging of toll had been
abolished years ago. On other sections o!
it. east OF Brookville, no toll is charged
Only on the division of II miles from the
east side o! Clarion river to Brookville are
tolls still charged. Those tolls go to keep
ing the road IN repair, and yet how remark
able is the fact that the first road on which
we have had to pay tolls in Northern or
Central Pennsylvania is the very worst road
we have vet struck. The free divisions of
this old clay pike are well kept. Taxes do
1t. Are not tolls failure these days in
every sense of the word?
And in Jefferson county find the roads
are all bad. The streets in the county seat
here are veritaOle mud puddes. Farmers
or townspeople make no attempt to repair
or build roads scientifically.
Incompetent Supervisors.
In the rural districts men are often elected
road Supervisors who know nothing more
about scientific road building than children.
They seek and accept the offices as political
stepping stones to something higher. Many
of the farmers express themselves as salts
fed with good dirt roads in the summer
time, take bad highways in the winter as
a matter o course, and hold up their hands
in holy horror at the idea of a 50, 000, 900 ap-
preparation annually by the State Legisla-
ture tor macadamizing principal highways.
THAT tax must come off land largely"
said one individual in Union township to
me, land will not live long enough to
share in the benefits"
He objected to paying the fiddler for the
dances of future generations Would we
have had a Pennsylvania Railroad if j.
Edgar Thomson had felt the same way? or
would the coal interests OF the Mononga-
hela Valley be what they are to-day the
originators of the Monongahela Navigation
Company had abandoned their improve
ments because the stock would not paw divi- |
dends the first decade of the enterprise?
Time to Begin Now
There must be start sometime" said |
j Judge Henry Truman, of Brookville, to me |
last night in the lobby OF the Commercial |
Hotel. Il trave-sed many OF the stately |
roads of England last summer, and / was |
impressed with the tact that old as they are
they were once built. And to have good |
permanent roads here we must make start
The farmers ought to understand 1t is not |
'nly Tor their present good. That idea is
ln-Amerlean. The start may possibly take
70 or 10 years. but what o. that? Future
sons o. the farmers of to-
iay-wlll reap the benefit, and PennsyIya-
Tia Will be all the greater !or the improve
nent"
There is little Limestone in the southern
Dart o! Jefferson county, but the limestone
edges o Clarion county are so close at hand
hat Jefferson would be well supplied in
ase limestone macadam should ever be.
Looking for IL gisiati, n.
Mr.. J. B. Patrick. editor OF the Clarion