The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-02-02
STATE WITH GOOD ROADS
MARKED IMPROVEMENT OF NEW
 JERSEY'S PUBETC HIGHWAYS.

state Aid and Systematic Methods Have
 Resulted in Building of Hundreds of
 Miles Of Hard and Smooth Roads-Con-
 neeticut Awake to the Subject-Indiana's Governor All Right.
 The good roads" movement is win ming great favor in all parts of the country, and New Jersey and Connec- ticut are among the leaders of this up- to-date commendable work for the pub lie good. The New York Times says on this subject:
 ASK any experienced bicyclist where the best public roads can be found and the answer will invariably be-In New Jersey. That state has conceded ly led in systematic work of improving its highways during the past few years.
 In his annual report just issued Henry l. Budd, state commissioner of public works in New Jersey, says: The state aid law has stimulated property holders of many counties to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars upon their roads, to meet the state appro- pration.'
 Under this law the state has paid since 1892 $466, 595 for the improvement of the highways which, added to the amounts spent by counties and indi- vlduals, makes an aggregate expendi- ture within the six years of $1, 400 900 for permanent roads in New Jersey There 20 000 O1i1aS pP Ic in ho cit Ia and about 300 miles of the most fre- quented highways have been improved permanently, on modern lines. Tem- porary improvements are being made in every county. Many good roads leagues and associations have been formed. Through the agitation which they induce they have brought forth money and labor from their respective communities.
 Smooth, hard roads, beautified by trees and shrubbery have developed under the stimulus of these local good roads leagues. Foot paths and cycle paths have been created and the ap- pearance of various communities have been so changed that they have become attractive centers of settlement Too lHuIu SlIGSS tdHHUL De ldlu upUu lllt importance of these associations says Commissioner Budd. There is no pow CT so useful as that which persuades
 ach and every person or community to do their best to help themselves by their own labor and contributions.
 "A novel feature of the good roads movement in New Jersey is the propo- sition to introduce instruction on road building into the common schools. The need of elementary instruction in that direction is seen every day. The state report says: The ignorance that pre- vails among the average rural resi- dents regarding the proper manage ment of repairing even the common roads shows a striking necessity for some kind of technical instruction, guided by which our ordinary township authorities will be able to make the best use of the ever present materials for keeping the roads in proper repair In traveling over the country we often see men repairing a miry roadway by throwing mud from the ditches into the middle of the roadbed. In all our communities it is common practice to scrape the wornout material, that has been repeatedly washed from the center of the road, back into the mid dle of the road only to be again washed out by the rain or to be waded through as deep sand. Upon our ma- cadam highways there sis prevailing spirit of neglect; instead of immediate ly repairing the little breaks our coun- ty officials leave them until rods of | the stone become unraveled, necessi- 1 tating at times, the expenditure of several hundred dollars per mile for repairs, where a few dollars would have been sufficient.
 Education is to be conducted along the lines of draining, and the preven- tion of earth and water from mixing on the roadbed; also to give knowledge of the proper adn1ixture of suitable earth materials, clay, sand and gravel, l in the proportions that will make an |impervious roofing and form a perfect roadway for light traffic. People are to | be taught how to utilize the seashore shells, and the shales and slates that abound in many sections
 | Satisfied by the experience of the past that no system of permanent road building can be uniformly successful unless fostered by the state, Commis- sioner Budd pleads for an annual state appropriation of S300,000 He says: | Such an appropriation would give to each county each year healthy mile l age, the taxation to meet which would not be burdensome, probably no more on the average than one-eighth per cent. on the ratables, and would result l in an annual expenditure of more than $1 .000 900 for improved roads, a rate that would soon place us in a position | to attract millions of capital for in- vestnent and thousands of progressive citizens for permanent residents. x 1 Improved highways give new life to the country through which they pass as they are often thronged with bicy- | cles and other pleasure vehicles
 Interesting phases are developed in the construction of new roads. For in-