The record-union., 1892-10-28
OUR WAGONWAYS.
The Loss Caused by Their Neglect is
Enormous.

/
Enormous.
1t will astonish a great many persons
| to learn what crushing mass of inidui-
ties and drawbacks to civilization may
be logically piled up on the account Of
bad wagon roads. A forcible movement
IS being pressed for a comprehensive ex-
hiblt ut Chicago OF everything which
enters into road making and mainte
nance, and the persons who are contrib
uting to the effort have gathered together
| some remarkable arguments to impress
| upon our cOuntrymen the importance of
| improving our internal highways. The
movement is called IAN uprising against
the bondage which is upon the people
| that are hampered by poor means OF com
| munlcatlon-a protest against tax in
directly placed upon every article of con-
| sumption" The tendency of population
toward the cities, the abandonment of
farms, and even the modern development
of ''slums," are largely ascribed to bad
roads, which are said to be worse and
more numerous here than in any other
civilized country. Bad roads, it is ar
gued, cause schools and churches to be
neglected, prevent social intercourse i'll
the country, and make life in the rural
districts cheerless, isolated and narrow.
The movement now under way is aimed
toward utilizing part of the exposition
grounds at Chicago for complete eX-
build and how to keep good roads. as
well as to teach them the almost vital need
there is that we should all of US possess
them. Very many of the implements
and materials i'll use in road building are
included in the original classification of
exhibits for the fair, and all are TO be dis
played there. But the movers fer good
roads say that the force of the display is
greatly diluted, if not destroyed, by the
manner in which it is to be made. 1t is
to be scattered about in five buildings. In
the agricultural section will be shown
methods of construction, machines and
apparatus for road-making, samples of
wood-paving and the methods of treating
wood to cause 1t to resist decay. In the
mining building will be collected the
stones and stone mixtures or compounds
and the rock-crushers. Systems of drain
age are classified for exhibition in the
transportation building, while conduits,
drains, sewers, bridges, working plans
for paving and drainage, and the con-
struction of roads and their maintenance,
all belong to the department which ex-
hibits in the manufactures and liberal
arts building.
1t would seem that the exhibitions in
the Agricultural and Liberal Arts build
| ingS either conflict with or parallel one
another, but this is not the case, as one
deals with roads from the farmers and
view Either might be elaborated to COM
prehend the entire scheme, but the expo
Sition officials, while asserting that they
fully recognize the importance of the sub
ject declare that this is not practicable.
Those who are combining for an effective
display insist that they should have
building especially devoted to it, but the
reply to this is that there is no room for
such building in Jackson Park. 1t will
be a great pity if this best of all oppor-
tunities to educate the public in this di-
rection cannot be fully embraced. We
may feel sure that if it is not, it will not
be due to any lack of energy and ardor
on the part of the present reformers. In
| that case we shall not be surprised to see
road-making and maintenance made the
subject of a subsequent and especial ex-
position. The knowledge of what is lost
by the neglect of our wagon-ways is daily
extending, and with its spread is certain
to come more and more pressing de-
mand for action that shall remove what is
not merely & hindrance to progress but
blot upon our national character.-Har
per'S Weekly