Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1899-07-20
ROAD MACHINE WORK.
Greatly Reduced Cost of Road
Building Claimed.

Last week several days test OF the new
road grader which the county commits
sioners have purchased was made near
the Joos farm. About 80 farmers we're
present. The machine gave good salts
faction 1t is said to those present who
saw it IN operation. It can be pulled
by II horses but 16 work it easier and l6
were used the last few days. 1t plows
elevates and distributes dirt on rollers
and requires three men TO run it. It is
claimed the cost OF moving dirt by the
New Era grader can be made as low ss
~ cent cubic yard. But with that
price doubled 1t is 9 saving in cost OF
road building as the com missloners say
the expense of road building in the
county has run from 8 to IA cents q
cubic yard. The dirt is passed up from
the mould board on rubber carrier
belt. A stretch Of 120 rods OF road was
made in Two days, soil being heavy to
work in also. The commissioners think
the machine will pay for itself IN short
time and do better and more road work
than could be done at many times the
cost with the old plow and eorsper.
Two graders have been bought, q large
one costing 81 $50 and q smaller one
for finishing and other work costing
s14O. This smaller machine is sold
at reduced price to complete the work
of the large one. II bought alone the
smaller machine would have cost $500.
The cost OF Stutsman county roads has
become proverbisl and much OF the road
work is poor when done. These facts
the agents show up in their arguments
for the purchase OF the new machlnee.
II the road makers will work the
graders. says the machine man, some
thing substantial will be accomplished
in road building. The road tax, they say,
as 1t has often been worked out, has been
q great advantage to farmers, but the
proper building OF a road has not always
been obtained because The right ma.
chinery has not been used. It Is point
ed out that the county has spent over
100000 since organization on road
work and it is claimed that not five
miles of good permanent road has been
constructed. With the changing OF the
''short cut" roads, to section lines, by
the cultivation Of more land each year
the necessity OF more and better grading
will be found. The sloughs that have
been avoided by making new road
across some persons land will have to be
filed it they are on section lines
The commissioners say, with the re
suits OF the grader rs shown in the work
already done with it, taat the county
has finally got down to business on the
road question and will utilize the tax
payers money to better advantage than
has been done in the past on road work
without proper machinery. The road
machine men claim that every county
which has used the modern graders has
found the work cheapened and bettered.
They say that the townships IN Cass
county have bought over $4,000 worth
of these graders and other road ma
chimes IN the last 16 years, and now they
have grades on almost every section line
in that county. The machine it is
claimed will elevate dirt on a grade to
crown at a cost Of cents yard, while
they clsi,n it costs 10 cents to do it with
plows and scrspers. 1t is claimed that
the cost OF one piece Of road work done
last week by the grader would have been
over $500 by the old way. The commIs-
sioners and several OF tho leading farm
ers who inspected the work, which is
only necessary to finish by dragging a
harrow over it, are said to be we'll
plessed with the mschines and believe it
tho part OF economy to buy them.