The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-05-19
POMONA GRANGE.
Mr.. L. B. bennett Speaks On Our Country
Roads.

Roads.
The monthly meeting of Cumberland
County Grange was held with Cape Eliz-
abeth Grange in the latter's fine new hall
at Spurwink yesterday. There was very
large attendance and representatives
from nearly all of the oranges in the
county were present. Worthy Master
Scammon of Gorham presided.
The morning was occupied by the con-
ferring of the fifth degree on 35 members.
After the ceremonies about $50 ladies
and gentlemen sat down to bountiful
repast prepared by the ladies whose eff
forts contributed in great measure to
the success of the affair.
In the afternoon the subject for dis
cussion was: SIS our system of road
making perfect? if not, how can we make
it so?' and L. B. bennett, Esq, read an
essay. Mr.. bennett said:
The desirability of much better roads
IN the country, as well as in our cities, is
unquestionable. The fact THAT there are
from one and one-half miles to three
miles OF road to every square mile of ter
rltory discloses the immense cost of
maintaining the roads of our state even
in passable condition. This difficult
problem requires the cost to be kept in
mind, and the suggestions which make
are directed to the expenditure of pres
ent sums raised for the purpose. First,
the laws of our state relating to this i'm
portant matter should be faithfully ex-
ecuted. The Goth section of chapter Is
of the Revised Statutes of Maine re-
quires that, "Road commissioners and
highway surveyors shall go over their
highway districts, or cause it to be done,
in April, May, June, July, August, Sep
TENDER, October and November in each
year, remove the loose distractions to
the public travel, repair such defects as
may occur from time to time, rendering
travel dangerous, OF they shall give no.
tice of such defects to the municipal Off
GERS, under penalty of IS for neglect of
such duty, half to the town and half to
the complainant
There is no one section of our statutes
relating to ways which ifl faithfully exc
cuted in letter and in spirit would do so
much to remedy the present defects of
our highways.
Mr.. bennett spoke of the lots of loose
stones in the roads. In coming to this
hall today, he said, we counted within a
distance of three roads a quantity of
stones, none of which was less than one
inch in diameter, and they are cruelty ex-
hausting the horses strength, being
equivalent to an up grade.
There are three other sections of the
eighteenth chapter of our Revised Stat
utes, to which attention may well be di-
rected. One of them 1.-THE list section) is
entirely neglected, and it is probably use
less to mention it, although there is great
practical wisdom in it. This allows ian
abatement not exceeding three dollars of
the highway tax of any person upon proof
that he has owned and used on the ways
that year cart wheels having felloes not
less than six inches WIDE" Such wheels
roll the road and prevent rutting, and do
little damage to grass lands when pass
ing over fields. They do not grind to
powder the gravel on the road, as our
narrow felloes do, and their use would
be greatly beneficial to both roads and
farms. But they have gone out of fash
ion, and we can only express "our re-
grets.''
The 59th section requires that s'two-
thirds thereof THAT is of the money
raised for roads, "shall be SO expended
before the first day of July next The
73d section is designed to enable the mu-
nicipal officers to know whether the sur
veyors do expend the money as the law
requires.
But this legal requirement in the Vi
cinity of the city of Portland is disre-
garded, and the consequence is that the
dump cart brigade selects season
when it is out of a job elsewhere, and
does much of it's work in the short days
of autumn. 1t is useless to spread gray
ell or crushed stone upon a dry and hard
road bed. The wheels will grind it to
dust or scatter it from the center to the
side of the road.
The road bed should be nearly level,
with no more elevation at the center
than is required to prevent the water
from remaining on the road. When
gravel is applied, it should beupon soft
| road, and in no larger quantity than
can be rolled to a hard surface
| The spring of the year is the time to
repair the roads. The roads should be
wet enough to enable the road machine
| to do good work, and do it easily; to en-
able the gravel to mix with the dirt of
the road and make a hard surface.
| Even the hills should be well provided
| with side water ways at short intervals,
and they should be kept in good repair
| at all times
The art of keeping our country roads
in repair is not SO very difficult, nor is it
unknown to the many, but negligence is
the principal cause of the bad conditions
of too many of our country roads. There
are notable exceptions. In a visit to the
town of Bradford in this state, town
that contains 36 square miles of territory,
and which has two miles of road to every
$40 acres of land, I found that roads
properly graded, and their surfaces hard
and smooth, and without loose stones.
The soil is clayey, but the roads being
properly drained the requisite hardness
is secured.
Where, after the faithful execution of
the statutes of vigilance, there is still
some money left for permanent i'm
provement, the skillful trial of tile
draining on a piece of road which, in
spring becomes q bed of mire rather
than road, will win the unqualified APP
prevail of all travellers and lead to the
establishment of tile draining as the set
tied policy of good road makers. Other
methods of understanding are too ex-