The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1892-01-15


|, Ice NAV be practicable, on direct line
north and south and east and Wesl
througf ell The county seats. Wher'
rosds are already IN existence they vii
ne u'iIizsd ~ part Of the system and 9th
lers opened where necessary. This worI
Il will he in the hsnds OF competent stat,
Iengineers. The kind OF roads will de
pend on the available material. Sub
;lsidiary 10 this there will be : count,
llsyssem. under tho control OF the county
/ authorities. and to this 10 10 be added
,ltownship system, al working together
'las far Is practicable. This plan. OF
something similar, should be adopted ID
al the states
J One thing is certain. almost any plan
would be an improvement upon the
present system OF working roads.
\ In the first place very few men ere
qualified 10 build or repair roads Many
of us think We are but fail when tested.
A supervisor this year plows . ditch on
one side Of road next year his success
cor fiIls II up and plows one on the other
side. And this is often Z specimen OF
the road work done It . particular point
during the terms Of the two officers.
This is not said IN di@paragement Of the
men. II has beeD In vogue for ) ears
Road making is . business OF itself.
Neither our city streets, turnpikes or
country roads are properly constructed.
Il requires as much or more engineering
skill 10 make good country road a. Il
does 10 build . railroad. We will never
hsve good roads until this fact is real
lied.
Occasionally . supervisor is found
who seems to have we'll defined ideas Of
road msking. and who keeps the roads
Ia his district in good condition. Unfor-
tunateIy they ere exceptions to the gen.
eral rule.
To change our road svstem. the 6rst
thing necessary 10 legislstion. The man
or men who can succeed in ENGRAVING q
we'll considered road act on our statute
bo0ks will be entitled 10 our lasting
gratitude. II can be done. Public opin-
ion 10 sll powerful when sufficiently
aroused 10 mske manifest its will Let
us work TO that end.
The easiest and cheapest roads to build
are narrow road WAYS There is no ne
cessitv for wide roads. They occupy
ground which might otherwise be used
10 better advantage There 10 too much
roadway TO keep In repair. Too many
nOxious weeds are grown on the unused
sides. They afford too much pasture for
rowing cattle. A road bed wide enough
for two wagons TO pass each other IL eli
that 10 necessary. Weeds should never
ne suffered 10 grow In rosdwsys. Their
seeds spread 10 adjacent lands and euisil
unnecessary labor.
- -
roads public or private where psact'.
cable. II 10 contended th,t trees cast
too much shade and make the road
damp. Dvciduous trees cast : shadow y
only in summer. and 90 could not make
. road muddy, ae mud Is concomiiautl
Of winter rains and ireezes and spring
thsws. The roots OF the trees absorb
much Of the moisture. Their shade lei
very grateful in the heat Of summer.
They prevent roads from becoming asl
dusss a. roads without shade. Roads
through the woods, except where the
he'd lies below the surrounding surface.
are dryer than exposed road wsys and
comparatively free from duet. This IL 81
practical and convincing argument mi
favor Of roadside tree planting The
roots also. 'hold she soil together" a.
one writer expresses II. aud "pump out
the water" Grasses aiso are excellent
aids IL the ssme direction.
II The roadside tree planting was gen.
eral. sruis and nut trees could be ueed
for the purpose and their crops utilized
- IN portions of Europe. Such policy
would have 70 be general or depredatorsl
would otherwise destroy the crops and
trees.
There are more poor roads In the
United States than 10 any other equally
civilized country. This Is partly owingl
70 our magnificent distances. The rapid
building OF railroads IL another cause for
our common roads having been neglect
ed. II is different IN European coun-
tries. They are more denseIy populated +
Cities, towns and villages are frequent
and railroads comparatively few Good
roads were established In Europe before
the ere Of railroads. L
Another reason whv our roads lag be-
hind is that We have no national or State
~ siem OF road making Our govern. !
ment u one line embarked In Il. The
old national road. crossing this Statel
from east 10 west. eiili IN use In MANY
places. is an evife ence Of II. The turn
pike from New Albany 10 PaoIi Il IN *.
ample 81 State rosd msking. But then
rsme the railroads. and iii other State
md government road making was abau-
doned.
We can build our own roads without
State or national aid, u W will We are
not The thinIy settled people We were
fifty years ago. Yet our roads are no !
better nov than they were then. In nc, !.
he turnpikes buils fItty years ago ere
better than those recently constructed.
Population % attracted b. good roads. :
An observsnt man seeking farm home :
ooks frst 70 the soil, water and roads. \
Farmers must 90 to market with theirIs
produce and 20 purchase supplies. On IL
lood road one horse can draw more than !
- horses can on : ysd road. The saw =
ng IN such caae can be calculated. AZ
nsn ten miles from : market on : good I
oad is practically nearer than the one !.
wing hut i've miles of on poor road \
Poor roads cost the farmers or Indiana I