Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1891-04-30
Aberdeen Herald.
APROPoS OF ROADS.
(Communicated.l

columns Of the HERALD, avail myself OF
the privilege; and to commence, would
express myself as not in favor of the
present proposition.
In the first place, roads should be built
to develop our agricultural lands and to
encourage the settlement oil best agricul-
tural districts, and to allow the settlers
to get the products Of their farms to mar
ke5; not for the benefit of any particular
town or towns. To my way of thinking,
to SOW broadcast 1924 800 on the roads OF
this county, as proposed, would be the
heighth of folly. When the money is
spent, we will find that we have only a
lot o. muddy trails, which will be inn
passibe for team with loaded wagon
to travel more than half the year, as is
the road from the head of the Hoquiam
river to Stevens prairie. This is an ex-
pensve county to build roads in, and
there is no use of talking about building
so many roads at once.
There is no question in my mind but
what there should be good road built
into the interior of the county from some
point on each side of the Harbor-one
from Cosmopois, or come point below, to
the south line of the county, which
would, in all probability, be connected
by Pacific county and extended to South
Bend; another road should be built from
the head of the tide on the Hoquiam
river to Quinaiult lake, over the present
line of road to Stevens Prairie. There
is no question but what these two roads
would open up more agricultural land
and induce more settlement and farming
than many miles of road anywhere
else in the county, and are more needed
at the present time for the development
of the country.
1t is OF little use to think of building
roads through the dense forests of the
lower part OF the county to be of much
service without plank or gravel; and
good gravel is not always easily obtained;
but plank may be had cheap. The nature
of the ground here is such that when
once laid plank keep their place well and
will last good many years with but little
repair, and afford good road at all
seasons of the year. l have seen roads
built in the east, with roadway sixteen
feet wide, planked with plank three
inches thick and eight feet long, that had
been in use for years and were still very
serviceable. This expense of planking a
road in this way will not be very great.
You will see by figuring that 126,710
feet OF lumber will cover mile of such
road, and can be had for $40 per Thousand
feet delivered on the road and it will cost
but little to lay it down after the roadway
is graded. Such roads will allow of much
sleeper grades than those of dirt or gravel.
Ii such a road were built to Quinaiult lake
q development OF that country would be
sure to follow that would greatly benefit
the whole county; as every one knows,
who is at all acquainted with the county,
that there is larger amount Of good
agricultural land in that direction, locked
up without a road, than anywhere else
in this county. 1t does not seem neces-
sary, that in order to build one or two
much needed roads, that every part of
the county should come up and demand
as good one. Roads should be first
built where they are most needed, where
there are no water ways or other means
rs fr,, rto : |, Il Al.
county that needs roads most and should
have them first from points on tide
water; for transportation by steam and
row boats is cheap anywhere on tide
water, and the people there can better
afford to wait.
am in favor OF building few roads
from tide water into the interior and
making them good roads so far as they
go, so that moderate loads can be hauled
over them at any season of the year !;
otherwise, pack hail is just as good OF
better, than road. For half the year at
least the Humptulips road is neither fit
to haul a load over or for pack trail
The North river country is in the same
condition, only there are two roads, one
from Cosmopolis and one from Mel
bourne, neither of which is OF much more
use than an ordinary trail for more than
six months in the year. They should
have good road; but because they
should, it does not follow that roads
should be built up and down tide water
where there are steam boats and rail-
roads first or at the same time.
Another thing l believe: The COM
missoners should first have some of the
proposed roads surveyed and get esti-
mates on the cost, and decide what Kind
OF roads be built; and then they, as
well as the people, could act more intel
ligently. To simply say that SO many
thousand dollars shall be spent in one
place and so many in another does not
insure good road anywhere. 1t seems
to me that it would be much better to
start at some given point and builj n