The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-09-24
Best on Garth
Roman Reads and
llow cheg Were RuIIf.

OullQlnS mas -Deel 50 active, lnol III
southern Kansas and now IL Oklahoma,
come to look upon the construction OF a
railroad as a great engineering feat. And
yet railroad construction is nothing COM
pared to the roads of Rome.
A military power such as Rome was
could not long be content with the Bride
paths which all primitive people find suf-
ficient to suoserve their commercial in
terests. For, in order to facilitate the
shifting and concentration of their ar
mics at strategic points, they needed
better and more comfortable means of
rapid transit than was Furnished by the
primitive bridle-path. The primary OBJ
ject which the Roman international roads
were intended to subserve was military
in character. and therefore they were
known as Woe militares, though in the
provinces we find Woe consulares and
Woe proetorioe. because they were built
by proconsuls or propraetors respectively.
The width of the Roman road varied
much according TO its Importance. Often
it was one hundred and twenty feet wide,
though in the provinces it was generally
sixty, sometimes forty feet wide. In or
der TO understand the reason for this
great width and for the substantial con-
struction that was rigidIy adhered to, we
should bear in mind the makeup Of the
Roman army, whose comfort and neces-
sites were continually consulted. In the
first place the Roman soldier was bur
dened by his heavy armor and other i'm
pediments in such a manner as to render
him wholly unfit Qmpeditus) to repel sud
den attack successfully, as we read on
nearly every page of Caesars Common
taries. The baggage train was far larger
and more unwieIdly than anything we
know of today, for the reason that this
train had to transport not merely the
tents, artillery, arms, munitions of war,
army chest, and a host of other things
necessary in the warfare Of that day; not
merely the effects and plumber Of the le-
gionaries, but also those of two secondary
armies-an army of women, wives Of the
legionaries and camp-folIowing prosti-
tutes, and another army of body SER
wants, for each DICTIONARY had one or
more servants, so that the colonies out
numbered the DICTIONARIES themselves.
When on the march this unwieldy army
maintained the line-of-battle order.
theoretically at least in order to be
ready to repel sudden and unexpected
attack. Good roads, therefore, were nee
essary in order to enable the immense
capped to keep pace with. the DICTIONARIES
and wide roads were essential in order
in case Of sudden attack, to allow the
individual DICTIONARIES to make effective
use of their arms without interfering with
their neighbors.
The Roman roads were built with more
care than is expended upon the beds Of
our railways even. They were made as
straight as possible, and natural obstacles
were skilfully overcome by the use of
cuts, fills, bridges, culverts, embankments
and even tunnels. Stiff grades were
avoided, and a level. once reached, was
doggedly maintained. even at the ex-
pense Of making cuts, fills, etc The work
preliminary to the building of any Ro-
dirt down to hardpan, and the excava-
ton thus made was filled in, regardless Of
expense, with layers of sand, stone and
cement, until the requisite level, how
ever high it might be, had been reached.
Finally. the surface was dressed with a
layer Of metal and cement. The road was
practically indestrucdble, and required
only occasional repairs. That continu-
Gus or even merely yearly repairs were
not necessary seems clear from the fact
that. when repairs were made. the pro
praetor Of the province thought it so i'm
portant an event that he celebrated It
by inscribing the fact along with his
name on the milestones
Many years ago Berger made an ex-
animation Of certain Roman roads still
in use in France. One road was exam
ined at a point where it had been raised
twenty feet above the level Of the sur
rounding country. and a vertical section
revealed structure Of five layers. First
came the great fill of sixteen feet and
one-haif; on the top Of this fill came.
first, foot layer Of flattish stones mixed
with cement. then a foot laver Of fat+fsb
stones without cement, then a foot LAYER
OF firmly packed dirt. then half foot
layer of small metal in hard cement. and
lastly a half-foot layer OF large metal
and cement. Other roads investigated bv
Berger. while differing in treatment.
were just as substantial roads. Paved
roads were rare, but the Via Appia Of
fers a remarkable instance OF a paved
road. The stone used in its pavement is
Of the kind Of which milIstones are made.
and they are SO carefully dressed and ad-
justed that the road often seems to be
solid rock. and has proved SO indestr,lct-
fble that, after two thousand years Of
continuous use it IS stiH a superb road
In the countless inscriptions which state
that such and such a governor under such
and such an emperor repaired the roads
and bridges in his province. reference is
made 70 the top dressing OF metal and
cement The military road Of the PROV
inces was usually sixty feet wide. and
was divided into three tracks: 4 raised
centre and two side tracks. each track
being twenty feet wide
Il the old Roman roads IN italy. F-anoa
and elsewhere are still existent and IN
use. there IS an especial reason therefor.
quite part from the fact that these
roads were originally built for eternity
In the days % Reme.s ascendencv. ali
roads led to Rome. and n Europe this
has never ceased u be more or less q
fact No city in Europe ever attained
such transcendent Importance as 70 make
necessary a complete change in the gen
eral direction q the road system: 80 that
in spite OF the decline of Rome and the
rise q other centres, the roads q Eu-