Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1897-12-18
BAD ROAD BENEFITS.
THEY KILL HORSES AND HELP KEEP
UP THE PRICE.

They Also Keep the Farmers Sons at
Make Poor Roads and Keep Them In
That Condition-Use Narrow Tires.
There is an absurd idea gaining
ground here and elsewhere that better
roads would be advantageous and that
the present methods of building and
maintaining them are out of date. In
every age and i'll every country there
has been a class of agitators, dis
gruntled, dissatisfied, endeavoring to
overthrow existing conditions. In Rus
STA there are nihilists, who rebel against
the tyranny of czar; Spain is at present
disturbed by Cuban patriots; i'll Canada
there are road reformers. The last men
toned are turbulent, obnoxious and aim
at IL state of anarchy.
Bad roads aIe in every way deslra-
BILE They kill time. Farmers have too
much time hanging on their hands.
TIL, V don't know what to do with it all.
Time is money Farmers have so much
money usually that they can afford to
kill time They have time to burn. But
they don t burn their money-just time.
We have enjoyed the benefits of bad
roads so long that if they were con-
verted into good roads we wouldn't
know how to use them. Every farmer
would be as uncomfortable as Fiji is
lander wearing new suit of clothes
and fur overcoat. How they would
perspirc In the meantime the horses
perspire.
Bad roads kill horses and help to
keep up the price. Good roads would
encourage fast driving and would there
by encourage cruelty to horses Fast
driving is very immoral. With good
roads every farmers son would own
nice top buggy and would be able to
keep it clean long enough to drive into
town. and they would want to spend
half their time in town. Bad roads keep
them at home They have to "stick to
the farm because the farm sticks to
them
These are few of the reasons why
we want bad roads. But it does not
are many other matters respecting COM
merce, society and civilization which
we have not space to even suggest. OF
course, if they have been applied, in
principle, to other matters besides the
roads, we would still be without the
printing press and the steam railway
We would be without religious and ed
ucational institutions. There would be
no progress, no civilization. The saw
ages Of central Africa would send mis-
siOnaries to us.
Still it is evident that we want bad
roads In making them the first point
to observe is that water should be kept
i'll the road us much as possible. Dig
trenches along each side of the wagon
track, but do not provide fall or out
lets to carry water out of the trenches;
otherwise they will be drains. These
trenches should hold water and permit
it to soak into the roadbed, keeping it
soft If the surface of the road should
by any means get dry, the tires of We
hicles will easily break through the
crust and sink into the soft foundation
The dirt from these trenches, COM
posed of sod and clay, should be thrown
lulO INC ttIttI VI lllG IOtu 81 DIS W St.
cure good depth of mud. By keeping
the roadway flat on the surface there
will be little danger of aiding drainage
to any extent by the greater height of
the center The sod, too, will decay,
and is excellent to keep road in a
muddy condition.
If gravel must be used ON the road,
r,,,1itx- np,,tai,i,,t, ,>1n, of
sand and clay This will retain mois-
ture and will yield easily under traffic
in wet weather. There should be plenty
of big stones to roll around under the
feet Of the horses and the wheels of the
vehicle. A rotten culvert, standing a
foot or so above the surface Of the road,
is almost necessary for the making of a
bad road in its ideal state. They break
the monotouy, carriages and horses
legs.
A road grader is good thing with
which to make bad roads, although in
the hands CT an INSCRIPTIONS person it
may also be employed i'll making good
road. Care should be taken to choose
an operator who doesn't know how to
make good road, and the chances are
that he will be successful in producing
a bad one. Do not keep one man con-
stantly employed on it, but pass it
around for every one and any one to try
his hand on. 1t is just like pillow in
this respect. Do not get an experienced
man i'll the first instance, and see that
no one gets any experience When using
it on a gravel road, always turn the
dirt and sod from the shoulders of the
road and the bitches in to the center of
the road. If gravel can be covered by this
means, let the maker of bad roads wear
a blissful smile. He has crowned his
efforts with success If the gravel road
was previously good, it will be ruined
by this treatment.
Use narrow tires. Wide tires have a
Marrow tires cut into the road and are
harder for the horses to pull, but the
man who has the interests of bad roads
truly at heart must not hesitate. Be
sides, the horses have to do the pulling.
The driver can sit on top of the load
and smoke. What use are good roads,
anyway: We must have time to smoke
If these few principles are carefully
followed out, our roads will remain
pretty much as they are at present for
a number of years. Municipal Word.
Usually Needs Breadwinner.
The young fellow who worries ex-