Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-23

but $4,000 was to be spent during the
year of 1897; the balance was to lay over
until this year. in order that the work
OF the board might be continued without
having to wait for the annual appropria-
ton by the legislature. The provisions
were the same in the appropriation
asked for the present year But $400,OO0
of this amount will be used but the bal
ance from 1897, already at the disposal
of the board will make the amount
actually to be expended during the year
as large as that of last year, and as
large as any appropriation that has yet
been given to this board
But there is criticism from all parts
of the state at the work of the commits
sion. The county commissioners in the
western part of the state have already
expressed their disapproval of several
sections of state road constructed by the
commission, and if reports are true, the
results obtained by the board are not
anything of which to be proud. 1t is
but four years ago that the highway
commission commenced the work of
building state roads. There are few sec
lions of this road in the state that are
more than three years old, but there
are several sections that give the APP
pearance of greater age than this. There
are several sections that have already
called for general repairs. From $4,000
to $4,000 has been expended on every
mile of the macadam roads built by the
state, and when the older sections are
beginning to show signs of premature
decay, it is not to be wondered that the
people living in those places where the
roads are located, express their doubts
in the wisdom of further expenditures
along this line.
Many of the members of the legisla-
ture are beginning to realize that the
expense of maintaining the state roads
is to amount to a tidy sum in the future.
That the board of commissioners realize
this fact also is demonstrated by the
suggestion in the annual report, to the
effect that the towns of the state, and
those cities that are fortunate enough
to have any state road bear the expense
Of maintaining the roads and keeping
them in repair. This work, however, is
to be done under the direction, and
supervision Of the highway commission
With the amount of money that has
been expended per mile on state high
ways, during the four years that the
commission has been in active exist
ence, there Is no excuse for poor work
or poor roads. The commission comes in
for sharp criticism, from the practice
of entrusting important sections of the
state road to young and inexperienced
engineers, graduates of technical schools
who have no practical experience in the
field whatever. When a $4,000 section OF
road was built in Sterling year or two
ago. the engineer in charge was a young
fellow who had never had any expert
ence whatever in the construction of
roads. The responsibility of the work
wore on him to such an extent that he
was obliged to give up the task.
Instances of a like nature are COM
mon in much of the construction work
of the board Culverts with abutments
eight feet thick and built Of cut granite
are the rule where country brook is
audacious enough to cross the road. The
fact that serViceable and artistic Gull
ver-ts can be built of rough stone,
doesn't seem to have impressed the en-
gineers of the board as yet.
But these smaller matters are not
weighing so much against the general
question of state appropriations for
state roads as are the broader consider
atoms of general policy and methods.
Representative Harold Parker of Ian
caster, who is known throughout the
state as one of the brightest general en-
gineers, voiced the sentiment Of a large
per cent of the opposition in an informal
talk with your correspondent. few
days ago He was speaking Of the sub
iect in a general way. He said: THE
consideration of this question if the
money is wisely and judiciously ex-
pended. The policy of dropping a mile
here and mile there is not
wise one, and the commits
sioners have admitted this fact
in their suggestions for stretches OF
state roads instead of small sections.
In my opinion, not less than three miles
should constitute section of state road.
| [ believe that five-mile sections can be
built more economically and with better
results than shorter sections. As 1t Is
now the first mile of a continuous sec
! ton Of three or more miles has worn out
! by the time that the last mile is built.
| This has proven true in several IN
stances where the commission, in its en-
| deavor to carry out this general plan,
| has Joined a second and third mile to
the first section built. The roads should
he built in accordance with the amount
and the kind of travel. There are
many places where good dirt or gravel
road is much more desirable than mac
adam road, and would not only serve
the purposes OF the locality just as well.
bur at a much smaller outlay than the
macadam road We hear more or less
talk about through roads, but
through roads evolve themselves.
don't think | am in favor of through
roads, if Boston and Springfield, Boston
and Newburyport and Boston and Fall
River are samples of through roads.
| There is not through travel on this kind
of road, for people with merchandise
or freight resort to the railroads and al
ways will There may be sections of
this so-called through road that are not
used at all by the intermediate localities.
| The through roads are those that are
used by the greatest number of people
for business purposes Every large cen
| tire in the state draws upon the sur
rounding and smaller places for their
| trade, and here are the grea test good
and service for state roads. The
through travel on the road between Bos-
| ton and Springfield amounts to nothing,
and never will. Except as local and in
| termediate conditions demand, there is
no exigency for the construction of
such through road. The theory of
the present commission is all right, but
there is plenty of criticism at the results
that show, and perhaps there is some
ground for the same"