Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-07-15
HOW TO IMPROVE HIGHWAYS.

fOW ~ IMPROVE HIGHWAYS.
Iowa Turf has several times written
on the subject chow to improve our
highways" The question of better roads
| is being agitated in some IF the New
England, Eastern and Middle States.
1t is question that should interest every
farmer in the country. Country roads in
Iowa this winter were probably never in
worse condition. w many places it has
been impossible for farm teams to draw
grain or other produce to market: necess-
itY compcls some farmers to occasionally
venture out with a partial load, but it is
only when it is necessary.
Prot Lewis VI. .llu,u in an article
recently published in the IIorseman saws !:
.Ie problem OF road building is one of
overcoming or reducing the physical re-
sistances due to grades, curvature,
friction and rugosity, or finding the line
OF least resistance. 1t is an engineering
problem of pcomlcated order and has
nothing to do with politics, and yet the
laws which have been framed to regulate
the construction aud maintenance of our
highways seem to have been designed to
distribute political patronage and to en-
courage a continuous drain on the treas
ury without satisfying the requirements
OF the problem. 1t is utterly useless to
propose an improved road system under
existing laws and methods of super
vision. Realizing this, many States are
assiduously striving so to modify their
road laws as to secure intelligent and
competent supervision. The New York
law, passed June Z, 1890, provides under
this head that, "All improvements and
repairs made under and in pursuance of
this act shall be done under the super
vision OF competent civil engineer,
holding diploma AS such, to he appoint
ed by the board of supervisors, and TO be
removed by vote of four-ifths of all the
members of the board
The bill proposed for Tennessee pro.
vides-lirst, that there shall be IA State
engineer; second, competent county en-
gineers; third competent forcmcn or
road-masters, to be appointed by the
county engineer for every few miles of
road
Sin ilarly the bill drafted for Maryland
provides for the appointment of State
engineer by the university, with county
engineers selected by the State engineer.
In Pennsylvania the State road COM
- oil hnt
there bc country engineer to take
charge of road construction at small
per diem, when so employed, but even
this change WAS regarded As too much of
-nccure in the direction OF fiat salari-
ed olliccr,'. and was amended so as to
substitute county surveyor. The eX-
pericncc with pixies" in Pennsylvania
Is such that in Lancaster county, one
OF the richest IN the State, the farmers
convention resolved to oppose the road
bill on the ground that they were worse
than earth roads. This is readily eX-
planned by the fact that these pixies were |
among the first built in this country pri- I
or to the railroad era; that they were
joint stock concerns and are still owned !
by parties who are unwilling to spend
money on them for maintenance. In |
the foundation stones are
uncovered by wear and wind so that in
many places the road bed may be likened
to that of a dried brook. 1t was the
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