Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1898-07-22
BAY STATES ROADS.
RESULT OF FOUR YEARS OF lNTELLI-
GENT WORK.

the Cheapest-Money Formerly Sunk i'm
the Mud Now Put in Good Roads.
Massachusetts, began to build good
roads four years ago on a systematic
plan, and the magnificent results al
ready attained have given the common
wealth an enviable reputation for enter
prise throughout the country.
Today the sections completed, if plac-
ed end to end, would make a continuous
highway from Newburyport, through
Boston, Worcester and Springfield to
the New York boundary line.
Four years ago the town authorities
were engaged mostly in repairing vii
lage streets Hardly ever did they touch
a main highway unless some local poll
tician lived some distance from the stores
and bank and felt the personal in
convenience of a rough way to the CEN
ter of trade. The pieces of modern i'm
proved road that were laid out at the
time were few and far between.
The state highway commission came
into existence and went to work con-
structing state highways, the best that
inventive genius could devise, built on
scientific principles.
Up to date the commission has laid
out over l79 miles of thoroughfares and
actually completed about 100 miles, Of
which l25 miles have been accepted.
The educative effect of the work has
been remarkable everywhere in Massa-
chusetts, State highways have been
made by citizens of the towns traversed,
] ho no
job, and those citizens have learned
what constitutes good road.
In 1893 about 81 per cent of the
towns in Massachusetts spent less than
81 900 annually on streets, and 81 per
cent spent $1,000 or less. The bulk OF
that money went for repairs. Today the
appropriations have largely increased,
almost every town is building some first
class roads, and p towns are construct
ing absolutely nothing but the most i'm
proved highways.
In 1898 only - steam rollers were
owned in Massachusetts. Today there
are l21 steam rollers, with stone crush
ers and other machinery in proportion.
There are two lines of man highway
crossing the state from east to west, two
lines to the northward of Boston, one
line to the southwark of Boston run
ming to Cape Cod, and line starting
at Fall RIVER and going down to skirt
the shore of Buzzards bay.
The commission in its last report
considering the distribution of state
roads in the commonwealth, made these
statements: 1T seems, in the first
place, clear that the most important of
the many needs which are to be met is
that which relates to the connection of
the centers of business with each other,
in so far as the business relations de-
mand this connection. Thus where two
towns have large exchange of rela-
tions, the way lying through other
towns which profit little by the traffic,
there is good reason why the state
should take charge of the main connect
ing way.
'ClOsely related to this is the case of
a considerable number of smaller, less
pOpulous towns, surrounding a large
city or center of dense population, with
which they have intimate business re-
lations. 1t furnishes the market for
their products, and the profit 70 the
producer as well as the cost to the con-
sumers is largely determined by the
cost of local transportation. Even
where facilities for transportation by
rail exist there is still much use of the
public highway, whenever it Is in rea-
sonably good condition. 1t is in evil
dence before the commission that many
articles of produce, especially perisha-
BILE and delicate fruits. are preferably
sent many miles to the city market in
farm wagons, where shipping by rail
would be much quicker and cheaper, on
account of the better condition in which
they may be delivered.
Another class of cases arises in
which one or more towns lie remote
from the rail or water ways, losing the
opportunities of advancement on account
of this hindrance. These conditions
are in some instances so grave
that the average cost during the year of
transporting ton of freight from vii
lage otherwise we'll placed for manu-
featuring to the business centers of the
commonwealth is greater than would be
incurred in transporting the same bur
den from the central portions of the
Mississippi valley to the city of Boston.
In these cases also the commission feels
impeled to better the traffic conditions
by improving the ways.
1.-The conditions above mentioned may
be regarded as of a local character
There remains yet another of such in.
terests of a general nature to be provid-
ed for These will be met by so group,
ing the state roads that they will in the
end afford continuous routes through
the commonwealth, which may serve the
interests of pleasure travel or the oc
casional distant carriage which would
be done by ordinary wagons where the
roads were good. These extended ways
including in general those which relate
to driving for distance of more thar
II miles, are of greater importance tC