The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1891-11-13
ELY'S
CREAM BALM
THE COUNTRY ROAD PROBLEM.

Its Solution and the wisdom Of Applying 1t
The New York Evening Post says: San
interesting addition to the literature of road
making is a pamphlet recently Issued contain.
Ing an address delivered last January before
the New Jersey state board Of agriculture by
MIR. Chauncey B. Ripley on ''Improved
Roads," and collection OF his Views on the
making of good country roads and their
financial valde. Mr.. Ripley Is a lawyer prac-
ticing In this city and living In New Jersey,
who has, as property owner, the most un-
bounded faith In the doctrine that money
expended on roads comes back to the tax
payer who eXpends 1t. Having been instru.
mental In securing the passage of the New
Jersey law which permits the chosen free
holders of each county to designate certain
thoroughfares rs "county roads," and to
provement, he has stirred up the people Of
his own county (Unon) to take quick advan-
tage of this law, and he bears gratifying tes-
timony to the result.
Mr.. Ripley defines ga good road" to be ga
road available for all sorts Of travel and at
every season of the year." No one certainly
can find fault with road which can stand
this test The ordinary country road is the
exact opposite. Indeed, 1t may be said OF 1t
that 1t is really available for no kind OF ira, ell
except for few weeks IN year. II of clay,
1t can be driven over with pleasure only in a
dry time. If Of sand, 1t affords a good drive.
way for only few hours after rain, before
Its packed surface is cut up by wheels. Ma.
ture very seldom provides a roadbed which
| Is not mire hoe In the spring and dust
bed In the summer; and In this country only
In recent years and very slowly have farmers
come to recognize the fact that the cost of
making "a good road" after Mr. Ripley's
definition, will come back TO them in any
way. Accepting the adage that the condition
of country's public roads indicates Its civil
ization. Mr.. Ripley poi is out that In our
country we have been spending our millions
on the railroads which were unknown when
this adage was framed, and which have had
so much to do with shaping the civilization
of all countries In modern time. The FARMER
who should tell him that 1t would pay to
mortgage his county for five per cent OF Its
valuation in order to macadamize the wagon
roads has been easily persuaded of the per-
sonal advantage to him OF bonding the same
county to assist In laying out railroad
through 1t, and may have Invested few hun.
bred Of his own hard ear4d dollars In the
of which Is SO generally p cal. The rail-.
road, In word, has By pted as me-
cessity and al unql benefactor,
while the good wagon simply been
dispensed with - to ke luxury.
Whoever attempt interest In
good wagon roads Id -outside OF
the few NewpQrte1 where lux.
ures are prepare
himself to - III puv.
The rural pfopeff generally
susceptible to the dc. When
first appealed to to lad Improve
ments his reply Is. 81 Fners OF fast
horses make fine ROAD ket bim inter.
ested he must be sh0v practicable eX-
ample that 1t Is to his prd he able to haul
a ton where before he ha EN- able to haul
only half as much, or th with roads that
are ''good" In the techncaF sense be Will find
his land In demand at prices which before no
one would offer. For this reason the testi-
mony presented In Mr.. Ripley's pamphlet Is
very valuable. Here Is some OF 1T: Real es-
tate has doubled, trebled and quadrupled In
value since the construction of telford roads
from Orange to Dover, N. j. One of the
chronic grumDlers against taxes for road I'M.
provements In Union county, when asked II
he would CONSENT 10 nave tHe ioau iOstoiou "
its old condition In order to save the taxes.
replied: "Well, as / shall not be required to
pay more than two dollars year tor the
rest of my life, II would not be worth WHILE"
The travel has increased on these roads ten
fold 10 a years time. ''Since the law went
into effect" says Mr.. Ripley, 'real estate val
ues in Union county have advanced nearly
s l.500, 900, exclusive of property advances IN
of about 100000 or more" This
statement was made In October. 1890, and
work under the county road act was begun
only the year before. So rapidly has rea! es-
tate advanced since the roads were made bet
ter that one of the largest real estate owners
In the county expresses the opinion that the
appreciation In future values will cover all
the cost of the Improvement.
Every one who has watched the progress
Of country road making must have noticed
that road improvement Is contagious. Every
good piece OF road Is an object lesson to pro-
duce imitators. In one district near this city,
where no general system Of road making has
been done In the Last few years BY individual
farmers who have been shown by two or
three enterprising neighbOrs what luxury
aud time saver piece of good road IL. In
Union county, N. d., 1t Is noted that many
property owners on the crossroads, which
have not been improved under the county
system, are putting these roads In good con.
iltion, briet experience having convinced
hem that no roads but good roads pay. Mr..
llpley's chief point In bis address to the
board of agriculture was the advisability OF
aging out, at state expense, two perfect
Dads across the state Of New Jersey. one 9
,rossing the state, as from Newark to Cam.
len. ana one running from Cape May to the '
nest northerly point. A good argument In J
ayor of these roads would be the missionary I
work they would do In setting examples for
imitation; and II New Jersey can secure aD I
xecutlve and a Legislature whose chief OBJ I
pcts are something besides the creation of Of G
ices and the distribution of salaries, Mr., |
sipley's state road scheme may soon be re- I
lily.
1 have peen q great sufferer from dry ca
arrh for many years, and tried many rem e