Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-10-06
HOW TO GET GOOD ROADS.
The Evils of Uhsystematic and UnskiIfui
Management.

management
To the Editor of the Free Press;
"Reader" in his article on the Road
Problem" in the Free Press of the 18th.
advocates doing away with the town road
commissioners on account of the expense.
This is matter well worth the careful at
tention of the taxpayers OF Vermont.
The early settlers quite commonly To-
Gated themselves on the hills, and roads
were laid from house to house, frequently
over the sharpest hills ana through the
deepest valleys. Now, is 1t wise to con-
tinue these routes for all time, merely
because the selectmen or other influential
persons who have remained on the Old
homesteads insist that all through travel
shall go past their front doors?
Years of observation have convinced me
that on a large part of the roads of this
State the grades could be so improved by
good engineering as to take away one
half the total rise and fall between the
termini. Even with no change of loca-
ton, there are very few roads in the
state, outside the larger villages, in which
a vast Improvement in grades might no,
be made by the simple expedlent of cut
ting down the crests of the hills and put
ting the material therefrom into this
nelghborinS hollows. But so far as my
observation goes, this Is almost never
done; we have oftener seen the submits
of hills raised than lowered by the high
way surveyors, and when fills are made
we very seldom see material for the pur-
pose taken from the roadbed on the crest
of a neighboring hill.
In some of the towns OF the State In
which considerable pains have been tal1er
to improve the road-bed, not the slightest
effort has been made to- improve the
grades, the highway commissioners seem
ing to be ignorant of the fact that n horse
Is only able to draw one-fourth as much
up grade of one foot in ten. as on q
level.
Each new highway commissioner start.
Ing In with perhaps the best of intentions
has to learn his business and of cours,
makes many mistakes at the expense OF
his town; and before he has learned the
best methods, very likely another is elect
ed. who goes through the old routine a.
he has seen 1t carried out by his prede
cessors.
Before the construction of a railroad i,
begun a careful survey is made by d
competent engineer, and IL the line is &c
be through one, on which n larg,
amount of traffic is expected, no expens,
or pains are spared to get the best grade.
and alignments.
If such care is ncedful in the construc.
ton of railroads. why should II be neg.
lected in the building of our highways
This state evpcnds annually from $500
WU 10 100000 on its HIGHWAYS
and still on most or our roads there IA.
been no substantial Improvement. Worl
and money are still as wastefully anc
foolishly spent on them as in the time.
of our fathers. What would be thought
OF the directors of a new railroad who
Should refuse to employ an engineer e
survey and lay out their road. but SHOULD
divide the proposed route into Il number
of divisions, without definite location, ant
should place on each division men with M
instruction but to build the road past Tho
house of each director and join the divis
ions on either side and who after year.
of trial and of demonstration that Other
roads were doing similar work better ant
more economically, should still forbid any
change in grades and location? Now thi.
is exactly what has been done in a large
proportion of the roads of this State from
the time of the earliest settlers. Under
the present system are we likely to hav,
any better state Of things in the future
Indeed is it possible? No substantial pro
gress has been made for many years
though our expenditures annually fo
highway repairs (so-called) are proba bl,
larger than in any other country witt
which | am familiar Our expenses ar,
not diminishing and our roads are not i'm
proving; nor is there any hope of i'm
provement by increase of taxation undel
the present system.
There may be nine right ways of doinI
a job to one wrong way, but some mcl
are so constituted that they will almos
invariably take. the wrong way, and ii ha!
often seemed TO me that individuals al
such make up generally get appointed or
committees to lay out highways, and n;
road missionerS for in many towns
through which | travel. half or more. o.
tine work on the highways is worse thar
thrown away.
| 1t seems to mo as evident n $ any demon
stration in geometry, that intelligent ant
economical expenditures on our import
ant highways can only be made under tn,
supervision of men who have studied tn,
subject thoroughly as n profession, anC
who are sufficiently independent of loca
ssues to lay the highways where they
will best accommodate the general public
In 1899 bill was introduced in the Yer
mont Legislature providing for the APP
pointmcnt of n State road engineer, who's,
duties in part, were to locate all new
loads, after making careful surveys. Hi
estimates and profiles were to be submit
ted to the town meetings for their action
He was also to draw specifications for tn
work on new roads, and important re
! pairs on the Old ones. contracts for which
were to be let to the lowest responsible,
bidders.
! The bill was killed; but since that tim,
tho governors of several States have re
i Oh
Doubtless If the bill had passed it woulc
have been improved by subsequent legisla
ton, but it was a step in the right direc
ton and the methods proposed were SINH
lar in principle to those customary in othe
countries in our government work and II
most large construction companies, an,
is the only one by which the creates
economy in expenditure. and the best re
suits can be obtained.
! There is no good reason why the road
of Vermont should be so lamentably infe
ricr to those Of Italy, Switzerland, Bel
GUM. Holland Germany, England an,
France. 1t is not so with our steam ant
electric railroads. the managers of whicl
pursue more intelligent business methods
and 1t need not be so with our highway
II our legislators would only study up thu
matter and use their common sense. Tn
difficulty is not to be remedied by tn
mere appropriation of more money. /
the taxes were doubled there would onl!
be greater waste under the present sys
TEN of irresponsible expenditures with m
competent supervision.
WAYFARER.
| THAT INDICTMENT FOR RIG AMY