The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1896-01-25

| VILE, PA.
| should be taxed to aid the construct ton
of good roads in this county and every
other portion of the state. We are a
great people to advocate good things
If had everything that we say we
| should have we should be enjoying d
| civilization compared to which our pres
| ent civilization would be a mere shadow
But nobody is willing to pay for secur-
ing what everybody says we ought Il.
have.
Let the state compel the construction
OF good roads. is repeated over and over
again by rich men, great corporate
pleasure seekers and townspcople gem
orally. All right; but who is to pay the
bill? Let anybody pay it, so do not
have to, is the answer. Now start
out with the undisputed claim that it
would be profitable to the farmer if we
had better roads. We go still further,
and make the assertion that it is pra c.
teal to have good roads without great
ly burdening the farming community.
In the first place, it will probably be
generally admitted that not one man in
a hundred who has charge of the roads
knows any more about the science OF
road building than n Choctaw knows Of
the principles of the Christian religion
Build up the center and perhaps cut
bitches on the sides. That is the begin
ming and end of our road construction
as rule. That it does not work is
abundantly proved by the condition of
our roads. Something more is re
Guirad. The advocacy of state and
county superintendent of roads, these
officials to be practical road builders or
engineers, involves the correct princi-
pie OF road construction, inasn,uch as
it recognizes the fact that to construct
roads requires n practical lInowlcdg:..
but such system would be expensive
and pretty sure to become a political
tax-eating machine. The people, if (
understand their temper, are not favor
able to an increase of the offices. The
practical thing to do is for the people
themselves to learn the art of proper
road construction, and this is not diff
fcult. Perhaps there is nothing in the
ordinary affairs of life that comes int
existence SO much from chance and al
ways remains about as it is first made
MS road Or street. In the west, where |
the roads are SO often run on the sec
ton lines, there is little more system
than in the older portions of the coun- |
try.
The crook in the road remains. md
we waste time and horse muscle in trav-
cling the crook. The original hill will !
remain for a century, as if it did not |
cost anything to pull II load uphill. Yet
the principle of drauSht anybody can
understand, and the Importance of eas-y
inclnations in roads anybody can COM
Prehend. For instance, the force nee
cssary to draw n wagon which with its
load weighs six tons along a level mac
adam road is 254 pounds. But on a road
with an ascent of one foot in 20 the
force required is 456 pounds Hills.
then, mean less weight to a load and
more trips or a larger number of horses
to the load. 1t requires no civil engi-
neer at a high salary to decide that the
hill is Improbable, and it requires no
high engineering ability to reduce the
ncline; and yet the permanencv OF
nils in the road would indicate that
nobody ever thought of removing or re-
lucing them, and that nobody knew
low to do it. Then it would be an Insult
o the intelligence of any farmer to say
o him that the only way to construct
permanent roads is by the use of stone,
II gravel. or iron. The state does not
iced to employ engineers to tell people
hat; and comparatively little study
would enable any supervisor to build a
DAD out of any of these materials.
The question as to what kind of stone
best might not be generally under
TODD. Limestone is too soft, though
a our cities a great many streets are +
with limestone. But it will {
OF stand constant teaming. The hard
r the stone the better: and now thu. j
,nstrac1ion of good road consists of i
,alsing it OF hard, tough stone or c
ravel, at ieSs--.. c;y inches deep, crl I
eePeF, II practical, l;uila 1t tho best {