Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-02
BETTER HIGHWAYS NEEDED.

The April number OF the Century
Magazine has an illustrated article Of
timely interest on the subject of country
roads in the United States. 1t shows
that the average dirt road costs more in
the wear and tear of vehicles and horse
flesh, and in the loss sustained by
farmers in hauling their products to
railroad stations or to market towns,
than would build and maintain road
ways that would be hard and durable,
easy to horsefesh and practicable in
all seasons and in all kinds of weather.
The people OF Los Angeles are keenly
sensible of the fact that more
money has been wasted upon dirt
roads in this county than would
have built the best kind of
macadam roads several times over.
There is collected from the tax
payers, in labor and money, an aver
age of about 100000 every year for road
purposes. In nine instances out of ten
this money is utterly wasted. The dirt
is piowed up in spring and the driveway
roaded. As soon as the rains begin to
come down the next fall, either the
roadbed is washed away or it becomes
quagmire which requires five times the
amount of horsefesh to haul load
upon it that would be needed if it were
we'll laid macadam road.
The HERALD has on many occasions
advocated complete reform in our
road building. There should be per-
centage of the money collected every
year for road purposes devoted to the
construction OF permanent highways,
reaching from the most populous points
to this city. All the work should be
done under plans prepared by compe-
tent engineers, and if only few miles
of such roads were built each year. there
would be something accomplished that
would be of permanent value.
We know that our present road laws
are defective and must be remodeled
before there can be any extensive re.
formation of our road evil. The district
Ing of the counties into road subdivisions
and permitting each district to make
its own roads, are at the foundation of
the difficulty. The residents of each
district are jealous of interfer-
ence from outside with their
roads, and the result is that each
district builds it's own roads to suit
itself, forgetting that the general public
has an interest in them. and that unless
they conform both in the character OF
their construction and in their points OF
direction with carefully devised sys-
tenn, they will never subserve the public
interest to the degree that they ought
to be made to. ....,
There might be some excuse for con-
tinuing our system if we had not before
us examples of the benefits which well
built roads confer on the farmer and the
general public. The country roads oi
Great Britain, France, Belgium, Ger.
many, etc., have done more to improve
the country and to elevate the condition
of the farmers than any other one thing
of public character that has been done
for the rural populations. The
roads in those countries are constructed
upon scientific principles. They are
sub.drained by CROSS culverts, they are
built upon closely compacted and rolled
macadam beds, and their surface is
arched 80 that water cannot lie upon il
or mud accumulate. When these roads
are once finished, there is an end of ex.
pense. The slight cost of keeping them
in repair is no tax whatever upon the
public.
The people OF Europe, who enjoy good
roads, would be amazed at the stupidity
of a community that would construct its
roads go flimsily that they would have
to be renewed every year. The United
States in point of country roads is now
where Great Britain was in the time ol
Queen Anne, when it was a common
thing for coaches to get begged going to
London. and when journey by vehicle
from Sheffield or Manchester to the
capital was an undertaking far more
serious than trip around the world
would now be.
1t would be task worthy of the high
est craftsmanship for some one OF our
hold-over senators to make thorough
study of this road question-to consult
the road laws of Europe and gather all
the data possible on the subject, SO that
he could intslligently frame legislation
on the subject Of improving our roads
that would lead to the reforms go ur-