Arizona republican., 1895-03-14
ROAD EDUCATION.


 Woman in the Country.
 That the subject of good roads is in- teresting people in all parts of the country is not surprising, considering what loss of energy, comfort, time and money is sustained by all classes on account of bad roads, or at least roads not nearly as good as they might be even with the appropriations made by towns and cities for building and sustaining public highways.
 That the several systems now in vogue, experience proves to be unsatis- factory expensive and bad, there is no doubt.
 Most of the loss sustained in main taining roads is from want of knowl- edge as to the best methods
 Commissioners should be appointed by the several state governments, com posed of men of the highest scientific and practical attainments on the sub ject, and by their reports, lectures and other means give public instruction, and to local road commissioners, and whose duty it should be to examine diff ferent localities and advise as to the most practical and efficient means of improvement in each locality, as differ ent conditions and requirements need different methods of building and re- pairing roads.
 The practice of many towns in allow ing all who wish to work out their highway tax is but little better than highway robbery.
 The use of road machines while ap- parently doing large amount of work does not do the best work, as they do not discriminate in the material applied in grading the road, for they scrape up what happens to be at the roadside, which is usually loam or sand, that in wet weather makes mud and in dry weather dust, and soon finds its way back to where it comes from.
 Doubtless macadamized road is the best, but the cost makes them imprac- tica1 in some states, except in cities and main streets of large towns.
 In most towns of Massachusetts we fortunately have abundance of good gravel that with judicious use of the highway appropriations (generally too meager) would make very much better roads than we have, but too often material wholly unfit is used because more cheaply and easily handled.
 There is no way by which money can be expended to better advantage than by putting in tile drains in the center of the road, particularly where there are spring hills or a moderate descent, and emptying into a culvert at the lowest points. It is surprising that this plan is not more generally adopted, -s-....-s.,;:e ....:cs. .,,..: s;..
 Our fathers of seventy-fve or hun dred years ago built long lines of turn bikes straight over hills and along val leys. It has since been ascertained that it is often nearer round hill than over it, and affording an opportunity for a mparatively level road.
 It has been suggested by many that the general government should build the principal highways in thorough manner ito save the expense to the people," But when it is considered that the people are taxed in some way to meet government expenses, and that our general government does work in the most expensive manner for the ends accomplished, it may be well to look at this scheme from more economical standpoint.
 It is believed that with the amount of money annually appropriated for highways, if l. diligently and honestly expended, our roads should be infinite ly better than now, and this would lead to recognition of the great com fort and advantage, to all classes, of good roads, and thus encourage greater appropriations to meet the de- lnand for still more improvement, Hence the need of more knowledge in road building.-Benjamin P. Ware, in Good D0a2c