Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-08-27
THE CITIZEN. =.
Good Roads.

Prof. John Hamilton, Deputy Secretary
Of Agriculture, has taken up the subject
Of good roads and in a recently issued !
pamphlet says that Just now there Is
special necessity FOR complete and durable |
niqhwaYs. that has not before existed |
Rapid communication and trsnsportatl1 u, /
whether bv steamship, railroad, trolley or |
eouutrv road. are demanded By our clyll- |
ystion. and this demand is not simply Tor
the qualification of the pleasure seeker or
the luxurious. but is a necessity IN busi-
ness. Surplus products must be moved
rreater or les. distances 10 IND market,
labor and time have become more costIy
and al enterprises that are to succeed In
the comr etition that has set in, haze found
II imperative to so plal t1e v3riO1s opera
lions in their business, that one man. or
nit of force. can accomplish twice the
-vcrk In the same time, and at less e1-
pebditp.s, than was necessary before. The
more depressed the Industry, the greater
is the necessity for che penlng production
and reducing expenses.
There arc over so, 600 miles Of roads IN
PENNSYLVANIA, outside OF the wards ana
boroughs and cities of the Commonw ealth,
and not including the turnpike roads IN
der corporate control. For this year end
ing Nav 3lst. 1895, these $4,000 miles OF
road cost the farmers Cf Pennsylvania Just
s3 SOS. .573 SO cents, or at the rate OF S49. fJ
per mile. This expense has been conin-
ued for many years ana yet acomparauve@
ly small amount of the roads throughout
the State can be truthfully designated
good FOrty-eight dollars a-d seventy
three cents for every mile, expended every
year; and yet how little that Is permanent,
to show for this vast expenseG Who are
IA g.s~ .
has been intimated, the farmers have COM
plete control of the entire system from end
TO end Each township elects its own
officials year by year, who are placed IN
charge of this important piece OF pubhc
business, these supervisors lay the tax and
oversee the work. All responsibility.
therefore, for the use or misuse OF this i'm
porta7t tIust rests upon the people whom
these officials represent. Is 1t unfair To
say that there must be something radically
wrong with q system that, after trial for
over one hundred years and involving an
expenditure Of money counted by the
hundred millions, has produced only that
which We have to day7
Supervisors knowing that stone ballast
is hard, suppose, that being hard, 1t will
necessarily make a solid and durable high
way suitable for public use. They accord
they put az work v ith implements that are
only fit for some museum of antiquities,
and begin the construction of turnpike
roads. Stones Of every size and quality
are hauled upon il, the surface is partially
leyeled of and the ballast slightly broken
over the top, leaving that below practical
! y untouched Afterwards a light cover
irg Of earth is spread over the surface and
the work satisfactorily done. Much Of the
stone road in Pennsylvania is constructed
in Just the same way, and no mistake IN
road building is greater or more to be con-
demned.
road can be built in most Of the dis
tIicts of the State, be prepared for the bal
last and a layer Of broken stones deposited
over it, tx and One-half inches deep, and
and seven feet wide, for not over five
hundred dollars per mile. Inside of ten
years, therefore, with the present tax, the
people Of the State can have their roads
we'll piked, in all dirtricts where stones
arc abundant, which includes fully three
fouribs Of the roads Of the Commonwealth.
This, it j. true, is not perfect road, but
it is good road. 1t is dry and it is solid,
and with proper attention will stand all
reasonable wear. 1t II, moreover, within
the reach Of OuI citizens and would be the
5eRinningof more uniform and perfect
$ stem Of road building in the State.
Every mile Of road in Pennsylvania
should have competent person, who will
he held responsible Tor It's condition. and
will see not only that il is not deBtroye cd,
hut is daily improved In many districts
Of the State the supervisors are elected for
bat a single year. Any policy in road
constructing that may be adopted by such
board cannot be fairly tested in so short
period, and consequently those in charge
hesitate to begiu u work Of permanent i'm
ffoyemeHt FOR fear that they vii! not be
continued in control sufficient time to dc
mousirafe ia value. There should be .
degree o! permaEeucy IN the Office, AID
his could De secured If the supervisors
we're elected for three years, one going ont
each year, leaving two Of the old officers
as q majority in control. and give time to
the newly elected official H. become &C
quain,ed with the system and understand
IT'S purposes, before any radical change
- ould Da oGoatad- At Ioaat ono half of
the road tax ought 70 be paid in cash
Bridges need repairing, and new ones
need 20 Be constructed, permanent stone
cglyert5 or terra Gotta drains 20 carry
gates across the road ought 20 be provid
cd instead ul wooden structures that need
consiant repairg. road machinery ought to
ae purchased the "secLiOn men" ought to
br E.t in cnarge aud be promptly paid
70 DO these things il ia necessary that
at ,ea-t one-half II the tax should be pa id
IA cash, and the other half can be paid in
watk Every male taxable over twenty
oEe y,ars Of ago, should be required to
pay q road tax Of at least the price Of one
day n work