The Monitor-register. [volume] (Woodstown, Salem Co., N.J.) 1892-1972, 1896-11-20


affairs at certain seasons of the year, that
would take more money to overcome just at
that period than the whole community was
worth. Then, again, this was probably a
road in sparsely settled, new community,
that hadn't had the time nor the means
to make the best even of the materials at
hand. And then. in comparison, show a
! road, an approach of Paris, one of the oldest
and largest cities of Europe, which was
really an ideal thoroughfare. but at what
difference of cost and traffic
1 said, minute ago, that bicyclers' and
farmers ends and aims were not antagonis-
tic, nor are they. But we do differ in our
ideas as to ways and means. We appreciate
good roads to drive and haul over as much
as they do toscorch over Sundays. We have
to pay the bulk of the bills, while they pay
practically nothing. The new road laws
have done much towards equalizing things,
but there are still things to be done. Wheel
men want all the roads made good at once,
regardless, while we want to proceed more
slowly, spreading out the expense and max
ing sure we are getting what we want In
quality, cost and durability.
Improved roadways are built by the pro II.
ceeds of taxation and farmers pay all the
land tax outside the cities, and the cities use
| all their own taxes. Therefore, the farmers
| build the roads. Now, it might seem a false
assertion to say that the farmers pay all the
land tax. But, is itnot true that, even If the
farmer does not actually hand the tax to the
| collector, he could rent his land at that much
| less, If it were not for the tax, or get his
money on mortgage at that much lower rate?
Now comes the question, "W hat is a good
road and what is 1t made from?" good road
is graded and drained highway, with the
| bed cons tructed OF such material that it will
be smooth on the surface, free from ruts and
| all inequalities, not hard enough 10 jar and
| ruin a horses feet and legs. but with COM
pactness enough to bear heavy loads with
| out cutting in. Such road consists of ma
| terial of resistance and binding to keep such
material in place.
There is nothing makes more perfect road
when all the conditions are right than good
gravel. Now, of what is that composed
Coarse sand and clay. But that wears out
Why? Because, each rain dissolves the clay
| on the surface, washes it away and leaves
the sand. And then, after several rains, the
road begins to get Heavy" because the i'm
mediate road is composed of sand only; the
| other necessary element, clay, has disap-
| peared. There is really very little gravel
suitable to build roads with, and, If it has to
| be carted far is costly material. consider
| ing the wear that it will give. And, again,
| it is almost impossible to get enough gravel
| out of one pit that is suitable to build any
con siderable stretch of road with; because
| you get one layer that has too much clay
and the next one has too many large stones
Over in Cumberland county they have
universally good quality of gravel, ana also,
fol the amount of money spent On them.
! some of the best roads in the country.
L believe we have no stone roads in our
county, and considering the natural road
material we have at hand and our accessi-
.bility to navigation, enabling us to get oys-
fer shells, they (the stone loads) are the
least desirable roads for US. =, p y S- q
We have many miles of oyster shell roads,
and they give, US the best of satisfaction n at
very much less cost than anything else we
can get Improperly built they are smooth,
easy ON a team, with good powers of resist
ance. They wear well and are very mex
peHsiye to keep inrepair. They are past the
axpe age, have been tried and lot
found wanting.
There is another style of road advocated
that / should think, would be a good one,
and that is the steel tramway. This consists
of U-shaped rail laid on some solid founda-
ton, after the manner of u street Car rail
way. This Is said to compare favoIably with
other styles of road in point OF expense.
So much for the different styles of roads,
now for some ways and means of construct
ing and keeping them in repair. Think the
greatest thing we can do for our roads,
whether dirt. stone, oyster shell or what not,
is to use broad tires. 1tseems tome strange
that anything so obviously advantageous to
the user, as well as a saving and benefit to
the roads, should be. SO persistently over
looked and neglected. Take even our com,
mon dirt roads, work them to grade and
use nothing for hauling on them but broad
tires, and, in addition to having better roads,
the cost of repairs would, 1 believe, be To-
duced at least one-half. And 1 have no,
doubt but that it is hard to keep even the
expensive stone roads in good repair. where
continual heavy hauling is done over them
on ~ and 2 inch tires. / know AtlssyeEy.
trying on our oyster shell roads. during tHes.
tomato season, when there is a large traffic
over them of from one to two tons to the
wagon on such narrow tread wheels. lit
tie jog gets started, and it will grow bigger
as fast as interest on mortga age.
And then, again, am great believer in
utilizing the waste forces of nature. In Sec
i-tivns where tn ere is. anch- hand work to be.
done on roads, put the. tramps to work on
them, and after that has been done day or,
two, and all the tramps are falling over each
other to get out of the State, make some sort
of q deal with the State to employ convict
labor There seems to be nothing the State
can put the convicts at in the prisons with
out raising a wall from some labor organiza-
hot 10 r,,ir lin haj huo nd 90
there is no labor organization claiming a
monopoly on road building, this would seem
to supply a long-felt want.
And now, to sum up the matter, it seems
that the farmers position is something like
this: We want good roads as badly as any
| body, but we want the expense divided SO it
will bear most justly, like q broad tire;
sonnet hing like our present State road law,
| only more so. We want to improve our
| most important highways first and see the
result. We want everybody to use broad
| tires and thus lessen our repair bills, so we
will have more money to expend on improv-
| ing roads without increasing taxation and,
| In view of the incompatibilityo of a bicycle
| track and heavy hauling going on over the
| same highway, that our bicycle friends, who
| can give us so many points on road-making,
etc., chip in and build themselves Ideal
paths for scorching, specifying only that we
will allow no grade crossings, and assuring
| them that we will make out to get our grain
| and produce to market without encroaching
| on their thoroughfares and that we will sit
| in the shade, Sundays, and as they fly by,
with Precipitation streaming. from every
pore, we will enjoy with them the halluci-
nation that they are having great time. ~
A general discussion follow ed, in which
Mt Gould gave bit of experience from
Ohio, where he said under former
| system, of farmers donating stone. labor,
etc., their roaGs cost about $4,000 per
NJ lie, but lately they had used crnders
and Stag from the rolling mills at Gle We,
land, at a cost of 81 so for asszkrge car
load, aud with this they had constructed
the very best road at a cost of $500 a
mile. IA ses1,Q
| THE COW AND HER HOME.
This, was the subject Of pest interest
ing and instruos,ye address bySsMr
/ Gould. He said the COW Is the only
animal in Ohio that has enhanced in
value during the past year, while we
notice a depreciation in the value of other
auimals, and the productSo of the COW has
sold for cash every day and every week.
There is such thing as GOV fashion and
cowology, and a way to take care of her
TO develop her possibilities. We cannot
understand, nor will manever know, how
milk is generated, and probably it's a
good thing for the COW, for il we did
some designer would endeavor to cheat
the COW of her business by securing
patent right. fS
4 Never buy COW that you don't like.
The possibilities are born with the COW,
and is is mans privilege to develop what
nature has done for the animal. Let us
breed just what We want, and we will
find that individual merit will tell in
laua~, ;pefanna Tho no 70 Of ha oou 10