St. Landry democrat., 1893-02-11
WANTED. GOOD ROADS:
Every Bicyclist a Critic of h High
way He TraVerses.

way a
Lovers of the wheel will be pleased to
find Professor Shaler, of Harvard, de-
claring in the Atlantic Monthly that "ir
its social Importance the bicycle deserves
to rank next to the railway and the telc
graph among the inventions of our wan
ing century, General Miles has recently
assigned to the bicycle q high military
value, not only for courier service, but
for the transportation Of bodies of troops.
But Professor Shalcr's appreciation OF its
uses is still higher and more comprehen-
sive. One Of the special services per
formed by the wheclmcn is to create an
interest in the lettering Of the public
roads. Every cyclist becomes q critic
of the highway he traverscs.' And since
the bicycles in use are now, as Professor
Shaler says, "~probably to be reckoned
by the million" he ascribes the recent
remarkable growth of interest in the i'm
provement of highways largely to their
introduction.
1t is ordinarily true that a measure of
the progress of a modern country is
found in the condition of it's roads.
That tells the story Of trade as well as of
neighborly communication. Yet judged
by that standard America is not very
high among the civilized countries. In
her case, however, there are exceptional
conditions, including especially the rap
iditv with which settlement has spread,
the search for new homes going on before
the occupied regions had been developed.
1t CHANGED, also, as Professor Shaler
points out, that the introduction Of rail
ways came, half century ago, just about
the time that the importance of making
good wagon roads had been fully appre-
ciated, and public interest and attention
were diverted to the new means Of trans
portatjon. Steam railways have since
been supplemented by horse cars, and
they in turn by electric cars; but now
there is a return of public interest to the
ommon roads. The church, the town
meeting. the social festivities Of neigh
bors and families are all interested in
this new movement. for, as Professor
Shaler rather quantity puts it, ''where
the roads are bad all the duties of the
citizen and the social being are most i'm
perfectly done"
L pS liz bCGG way Via
munities to the great cost involved at
the outsetin establishing a perfect system
of roads is to get into their minds the
conception that every bad road exacts a
tax on the wagner in time, in labor, or
in wear or injury to the team. This i'm
position may be slight, but it is constant,
day in and day out; and if properly
reckoned it will be found to amount to
far more annually, as a roadway tax, than
the interest on the money needed for
building a proper road and keeping 1t in
repair. Another point insisted on by
Professor Shalcr is the need Of abandon
ing the old tendency of roadmastcrs to
take the straightest course from one
point to another, up hill and down,
rather than Moose a level but circuitous
route. Here, also, a simple calculation
of the extra strain on the horses, the eX-
ira wear on the vehicle, and the increased
cost of keeping billy roads in repair. will
show that, except under special circum-
stances. such roads should be avoided.
Still another important matter is the
character Of the roadbcd, the materials
for which ought to be selected with a
view to the underlying soil, and the effect
of frosts and rains upon it. Then a
common fault III American roads is that
of making them too wide, with the result
of having a fringe of arabic land going
to waste in weeds, and too broad 4 road
to maintain properly. But in this matter
must be considered. Professor Shaler
thinks that farm vehicles in most parts
of this country are now tending toward
shorter axles.
Much of the trouble with America
roads is ascribcd to the absurd narrow
ness of the tire on wagon wheels, a relic
of the days of ~high-priced iron. This
narrow rim is very hard on the average
road when heavy loads are carried. But,
accepting this popularity of the tires,
a fundamental rule in road construction
should be to keep the substances which
folm the bed firmly in place. This need
is shown by the shcaring strain on aroad
hOored with gravel. In cities blocks of
stone or asphalt can be laid, but not in
country districts on account Of the cost,
and the best ordinary substitute for the
country is angular bits Of stone so driven
together on the macadam principle that
they will not be moved by the pressure
of wheels.
1t is interesting to learn that the Law
renee Scientific School, of Harvard Uni
~versity, considers this subject of so much
importance that it has engaged an in
structor for teaching exclusively the art
of road construction. 1t is thought that
good results would follow from similar
attention to the subject in the leading
engineering schools through the country.
A convention was recently held tc Or
ganize a National League for the i'm
provcment of countr roads. Indeed.
everywhere the subject appears to be at
tracing attention. The Interior depart
Inent concludes that one method of de-
veloping the Indian reservations will be
to open good roads on them, 50 as to
help the red men who are trying to be
If half the study and energy
that have been devoted to the develop
nent of American railroads are applied
% the improvement of the country high
ways there will be a wonderful transfer
nation in the latter before the end of
his century.
RELIABLE RECIPES.
OYSTER SAUCEFOR FoWLS.-PIump the
for a moment or two over tho fire