The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-08-21

lNl1 w u necticut railroad man from Falls Vil- lage, and formerly master mechanic of the Housatonic road, will go with MT Murphy as travelling engineer for the Rogers Locomotive works.
 TWO PIECES OF TOWER LEFT TO
 DENOTE WHERE THE LIGHT
 HOUSE STOOD.
 Two years ago the lighthouse on Gardlners Island was reported to be in a dangerous condition from the en- croachment of the water on the point of land where the house was situated, undermining the foundation, causing the whole structure to lean to one side. Seafaring men who pass by this point report that with the exception of the boat house and small storehouse on the west side of the point there is noth- ing left to denote that lighthouse ever stood there, except two pieces of the tower which stand on the shore turned upon their sides, looking like immense cart wheels. Nothing but the founda- tion of the dwelling house remains of that structure. It is a most dismal look ing sight. Nothing has been done by the government towards rebuilding the structure. An automatic gas buoy Is Ianchored about one hundred rods north of the point the light standing about ten feet above the water. It is charged for six months and lights itself when out. This point is directly in course of vessels bound in by Montauk or Block Island through Gardiner's Bay on the sound, and should have a good light.
 l STATE ROADS.
 | But a small per cent. of the 16S towns of the state of Connecticut have taken advantage of the state highway act. Those towns which have held meetings and voted to build macadamized roads under the act have shown themselves to be the live towns of the state, says the Norwich Bulletin, and it is gratify- ing to note that a goodly number of them are eastern Connecticut towns. | The selectmen of these towns should mark carefully the conditions under which the state and counties are as- sessed to improve the highways, for a strict compliance with the law is neces- sary in order to receive the assistance of the state and county in the work The work must be done with the ap- proval and under the supervision of the state highway commission, which has Issued instructions to the selectmen for the building of macadam or telford roads, which are up-to-date in all their | details.
 The law requires that all specifica- tions shall be submitted to the state highway commission for approval; and it is not probable that the commission will approve of any cheap or makeshift plans for getting as much road built as it is possible for the money. The com- mission recommends to the selectmen of the towns uniformity in road build ing, either in macadam or telford as wise and leading to the establish ment of the good roads so much desir- ed.
 | It should be borne in mind that in road building material that is cheap in the beginning is unusually expensive and disappointing in the end. It is a | proven IdCl that the common aqueous rock is not fit for the top dressing of l permanent macadam roads, and. that | igneous or trap rock is the cheapest and most satisfactory in the end.
 There is no way in which so much public money is wasted as in highway construction, simply because every ex- pedient is resorted to to reduce the first cost of road building to the minimum regardless of after expense of mainte- nance, which has been found to be all out of proportion to the money saved Tine only way to save money in road building is to procure the most suitable material and see that the work is thor oughly done A good road is perma- nent road, so well built that the cost of repairs Is kept at the lowest figure Any other kind of road will not only be a poor road, but in the end stand ing disgrace to the town building it an impeachment to traffic and disad- vantage to property.