Connecticut western news., 1896-04-30
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1896.
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
 More Ahout State Roads.

LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
 More About State Roads.
 Editor Qf Ne,cs:
 I have read with good deal of inter- est the several articles that have ap- peared in your valuable paper on the subject of State roads, and wonder at the slowness of the people in grasping the situation. Of all the improvements Canaan needs, its greatest need is better roads. It is great drawback to busi- ness to be obliged to plod through sand and ruts all summer, as we'll as slusb and ruts all winter, spring and fall. For instance, suppose Charles Barnes Sons or Pierce & Freeman obtain an or der for 1000 barrels of lime, f. o. b. cars in Canaan. The matter of hauling the same to the cars is quite an item of ex. ponce, and at this season of the year over the present roads with the mud, the ruts and pitch-holes there is as much expense in delivering ten barrels of lime to the cars as it would be in haul ing Is or IS barrels on State road; in fact Q span of horses will haul three tons over state road with more ease than the same team hauls one ton on the present system. Now, if thls is true, what saving to the company to gay nothing about the wear and tear of harness and wagons, Under a state road system what saving to the North Canaan manufacturers; what 8 saving to the merchants in the matter of wear and tear, to the farmers, to all the peo- pie; saving that would make the profit and loss account at the end of the year look much better these hard times. and North Canaan owes these gentlemen better roads. for they are men any town might justly feel proud of; they are working for themselves and their fami- lies and the town, and, like the mer- chants, the tradesmen ard the farmers, all go to make up one of the best towns in the universe, and what is their inter- est is the towns interest. and what is the towns interest is their interest.
 Cities strive to induce the masses in surrounding territory to come to them for their traffic, and as an inducement build railroads, open up highways, and improve every opportunity to advance their maternal interests; and as 8 natural result moEey comes rolling in to them and the city grows in numbers and in- creases in wealth. And what is true oi cities is also true of villages. There is no logical reason why North Canaan should lag behind. Let it get into line and give its people better roads. and you will zee the merchants eyes bulge out on account of the influx of the sons of toil bringing their wives and their little ones to get clothed and shod These farmers have got the money and they pay their bills too; aud at the end of the year let the happy faced village improvement representative call upon the lime manufacturers and she will be made happy by the many crisp s,O( bank notes that they will chip in mucf more freely than the smaller bills they now bessow. But don't have the fac, to ask them until you as town giv' them state roads.
 Iwould rather live in small villag, with good roads than in lsrg village with poor roads made up witl mud, slush and ruts. The whole front age of my 20 acre fruit farm is traverse, by the state road, and I assure you
 fully appreciate it. Before the stat road was built our road was better thal the general run of country roads, and thought it extravagsnce to tear it up but this slow-pockey idea is now al rooted out of my makeup, as our ne, state rosd is very much ahead of any thing ever thought of. On the ol road in summer we had sometimes mud in winter, spring and fall mud, slust ruts, sides of the road rocks, blac alders. scrub pines, missiles, golden rod willow stubs, and all kinds of rubbis that kind neighbors deposited thsr about house-cleaning time. Surfac water gathered in the ditches on eithe side of the road. Into these wa dumped rubbish of various kinds. | its place we now have fine, smootf even sloping road, almost as good as
 concrete side walk, Of course such
 thing as mud and ruts is now unknowr and with possibly one or two exception al days nc slush, The road is so COT structed that the water flows to the gu
 ters, thence into catch basins that ar
 placed here and there as is necessary
 carry off the surface water. For tn
 reason the road bed is always dry an
 clean, the brooks are carried under tt
 road through fine finished stoneworl
 in fact the whole road bed and it's side
 are finished clean and perfect.
 Does the wheelman iostle you on tf
 sidewalks? Not so here; the state ros
 is preferable. in fact it's the bicyclist
 thoroughfare, the pedestrians promel
 ads, the horseman's driving park;
 fact everyone enjoys the state road, an
 we are all sorry the entire town is n,
 traversed by it. X.
 April IS, 1895.