The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-04-07
GOOD ROADS.
From tho Gospel Of Good Roads. ~
CHAPTER XI.

| common road trade. It exceeds by
millions of tons the entire carrying
trade Of the railroads; for, in addition
to the fact that the great volume of
freight carried by the railroads is, in
the first instance, cited in one form or
another over the common highwsys Of
the country, you know that enormous
quantities Of produce Of al kirds are
wheeled over the common roxds Under
the requirements Of local trade in rural
sections. aud that these vast quanti-
tiee Of produce consumed in tho locxi
market have NO connection WhAtsyef
with tho railroad traffic. And: 10 j. he-,
comes important to inquire in what
manner this great carrying trade which
Is constantly going Oh over the COM
mon roads aud which supplies not only
the immense freighting business of the
great railroads, but the more import
ant iuter-c0mmunicati0n between
neighbors in the local market, can be
carried on with best facilities and with
least cost. l have tried to show you
that upon this question of economy the
great railroad corporations of the cOun-
try have established valuable prece-
dent. Each of these corporations is in
the business to make money. Their
one object is to give little and get
much; and yet, tn spite of the gradu-
ally reduced rates charged by the great
trunk lines to the general public, they
have steadily increased in prosperity
until the enormous wealth of many Of
these companies has become the won
der Of the century. These railroad
companies began business in crude,
undeveloped, and in some cases uusys-
tematic way. Their desire for gain
sharpened their wits; they experiment
ed, and by experimenting found that
the greatest saving of expense in the
management of their railroads was to
be attained by the adoption of easy
grades and by adding to the smooth
ness and hardness of the roadbed.
These two qualities of smoothness and
hardness are the essentials of q & ood
wagon road. You cannot have and
keep such roads without good laws and
intelligent supervision. Here is an
other picture, showing one of the roads
Of Brittany. Did you ever see road
like that?
1t is made to last for all time, and is
kept in repair ut half the cost and labor
expended on the average dirt road of
this country. 1t is looked after with
tho same system aud care that are be-
slowed in the management of the other
departments of government. and every
farmer living on the long lire of that
splendid roadway is happy and Jude
pendent in the consciousness that he il
every day and every way in touch with
the great world of business and soci-
ETY..
CHAPTER XII.
It may be Interesting for you to know
that the exact difference in power re
quired to move u given load over differ
ent kinds of road surface, has been d.
termined many times, and so often ver-
lied as to be we'll settled. From these
experiments you may know that on the
smooth surface of a macadam road one
horse will haul twice the load that the
same horse could haul on the best dirt
road. and from Eve to ten times rs
much as can be hauled by single
horse when the dirt road is covered
with soft mud and ruts. From this
you will understand that the value
even of dirt road depends very large.
~ upon its condition aud the care With
which it is kept in good repair.
And right here must cay to you,
that the great destroyers of the com
mon earth roads are water and narrow
wheel tires. In the first place, these
roads are as rule wretchedly drained,
or in many cases not drained at ALL
IT deep side ditch could be main-
tatned on each side of the ordinary dirt
road, and kept clear 80 as to receive
and carry off the running water, the
quality of the road wonld be improved
in most cases 100 per cent. This is a
point which farmers seem to meagerly
understand, or at all events one which
they rarely put to practical use. Water
has no place in any road, good or bad.
It 10 more hurtful than any other agent
OF destruction, 1t should be carried
of and out of every road as soon as it
falls II possible. Now, as to wheel
tires, let me remind you that you said
little while ago that q road was good
enough for your purpose whenever the
mud would roll and pack under the
wheel; and by this understand that
you look upon your wheel as roller
50 it is. Every road becomes smooth
by the application of a roller, and this
smoothing process is hastened or re-
tarded by the quality Of the roller it.
self. If you have wheel tire II inches
wide, like those upon your farm wagon
every time you 90 down the road with
4 ton OF produce, your wagon wheels
sink into the soft mud, form ruts and
tend to keep the road in q rough con-
dition. Your II inch "roller" will not
prodtably exert its rolling qualities un-
til the mud becomes nearly dry. A
wider wheel tire would serve your pur.
pose much better; and il tho farmers
of your county would use wheel tires
or 4inches wide. as are used abroad
your dirt road would be rolled into pas
| sable condition in half the time that il
now re0uired ro omnliah thia re.,,lk
Next to water, nothing 10 30 destruc-
tive OF good road surface as q heavy
YAhicla running On nar.ox ul,aaia II