The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-09-01
Problem Of Good Roads Under
Official Consideration.
WELCOMENEWSTO WHEELlIEN
Compilation of Data by the Agricul-
tural Department Relative to the
Construction of Pathways for All
Sorts of widespread In-
tcrest In the Movement.

Geu. Roy Stone, of the Agricultural De-
partment, whose speciality in the service
of the Government is the Improvement OF
the public highways, has compiled great
amount OF data relative to the construction
OF the public roads in various parts OF
the country. Under his direction, during
the past year, there have been sent out
several thousand circulars to various county
and State officials, asking for infOrIna-
tion as to the cost and maintenance of
various forms OF specially constructed
highway. The answers and the conclusions
reached have been incorpor ated In several
pamphlets which have been sent out 10
the county officials over the country In
d certain sense they are among the most
important documents issued from the de
partment, Stree they will undoubtedly have
a great influence in the building up and
improycI, snt OF the public highways
The news OF Gen. stones efforts in this
direction will be especially welcome TO
whcelmen who are accustomed To taking
long country rides, and who. long before
Jacob Coxcy agitated the idea, deIanfied
good roads. The early PLATFORM OF ii'e
League OF American Wheelmen constituted
a single piank-"Giye us good roads, That
request has long since been fulfilled IN The
greater porti0n OF the Eastern country, but
there are still bad roads with ruts two f,et
deep and dust several times thicker, which
could be Improved, II the methods OF Gen.
Stone are carried out.
A rurI,ber of diagrams are useG by the
Agricultural department In its pamphlets,
showing cross sections OF the best roaGk
and also cross sections of tnose which. ia
the RAINY spell, become worse than the
River OF Jordan. The plans show that
some development in the construction pr
roads has taken place since the time Wien
farmers believed that all tina. was Hete>-
sary t. make road was to clear IL nf
undeTirush and stones, and make wagon
track over il, Such roads are muddy ~
rainy weather and dust Y III dry weatntf.
They iucrease the cost of transporting ihe
farmers products nearly 80 per ceut,
eaiailing almost 30 per cent more horse
power to haul the loads To market, a nd
even Their, delaying the produce To- such
an extent that its full value cannot be real
iZed. II is for this reason, and In Behalf
of Ihs farmer, that the Department. uf
Agriculture has Interested itself in The
good roads problem Ii has peen doing ~
now for half a dozen years or more, 'ut
its recommendation are now meeting with
more favor than formerly.
The ideal road that Will drain itS'lf In
wet weather, and that will be So FIRMLY
| constructed that dust will be impossible, rs
made hy first digging out all suI,erfluous
earth to a leyei> of about two feet below
the grade Then a LAYER of rough, heavily
cracked stone. nearly foot thick, Is
! spread on. This is the bed Of the road,
| and WI he-e tn grade is great. arrangements
ar. made to drain off the water In the fiOl-
lows. Over Jhis roadbed of rock is laid
| second one of stones crushed u Hnilier
| pieces which is laid ON for about six
| inches. The road is then leveled and the
| final layer OF gravel Is applt:d- When
| rolled this gravel becomes hard 1nd sTibDth
and thesieve-like arrangements OF the road
! bed pelseiI he surface water to sink right
| through the gravel into the rocky road
| bed below. where il is again drained Off
This is the sort of a road recOmneeE. iel
| as the cheapest and best constructed pad
which can be operated with the least eN-
! pepse OF course, If more expensive roads
are required, the graduation between me
| crushed stones and the gravel Is made more
| gradual, and in the case of the mac'tdtlii-rd
roads the gravel is dispensed with aluist
| entirely.
At the recent meeting of the League or
| American Wleel'nen at Albany Gen stone
| read a paper On Good Roads" in which
he set forth his ideas about the eonstruc-
ton of a good highway. The ideal '"ad
| Should be perfectly impervious 10 wagon
tracks, and so evenly constructed that no
more damage 10 the roadbed is caused by
| a wagon or heavy dray than by d bir5c;e.