The suburban citizen., 1900-11-17
God Roads 26tss
OneIda,s Exnnrlment.
Tie experiment. In rOaumakInl
nv pountv nriconnre undpr

Oneida's Experiment.
HT HE experiment in roadmaking
by county prisoners under
takeno two years ago by the
q Board OF Supervisors Of
Oneida County has gone far enough to
enable some judgment 10 be formed Of
It's practical value The second section
OF road built under the system has just
been completed, and statistics of cost
are available for comparison with the
cost Of good macadam roads built under
contract The Oneida County Super
yisors in the fall of 1899, after nearly
year of planning. purchased a road
! outfit, including a twelye-ton steam
/ roller, a stone crusher and self-dump-
! ing wagons, at a cost Of $4,000, and
offered to contract with the towns and
villages for the construction OF roads
| by the labor Of the prisoners in the
! Utica Jail. The county charges 25 cents
a head for each days work OF eight
hours actually performed, and $3.50 I
day for the services Of the engineer
employed for the steam roller In ad-
! dition it requires the road district or
village to furnish coal and road mate
cial and supervise the construction ac-
cording to specifications agreed upon.
The first read building was under
taken last fall of section seven
eighths OF a mile long and sixteen feet
wide in the village OF Vernon. This
vas not entirely satisfactory, owing to
/ the experimental nature CT the work.
A large amount Of preliminary labor
had to be performed in developing
quarry, and the cost Of the road ahd
he time occupied in construction were
unexpectedly great. After years
wear however, it is in perfect condi-
ton without any repairs. In May a
contract was made with Road District
No. / OF the town Of Whitestown for
the construction Of a road one and
three-tenths miles in length through
the village of New York Mills. The
New York State specifications were
adopted and strictly enforced, careful
accounts were kept and valuable data
are preserved for the use CT other
towns and counties.
For $50 feet the read was 10 feet
wide; for AGO feet, 16 feet wide, and
for 1900 feet. 20 feet wide. The ma
cadam was six inches thick with a
crown Of half an inch to the foot
Thirty-four prisoners on an average
we're employed; 2,1O9 cubic yards of
21b-inch crushed limestone and 7O9
cubic yards of half-inch crushed lime
stone were used. The time occupied in
construction Of the road and on acces-
sorry drainage was fourteen weeks. The
total cost Of the 6910 feet Of road, in
Guiding wages of prisoners and all ma
terlals, was S5,S79.3G, or S4,51796 a
mile. A piece of State road adjoining,
If equal length, built by contract cost
$500 The Utica Press gives the
following interesting figures of other
roads built under the Higbie-Arm-
strong law
Troy and Schenectady rdSn Schenec-
tady County, two miles, S16,5175l.
Dear6eld, near Utica Oneida County,
two and a quarter miles, S1G,SSS.39.
Hamburg. couth of Buffalo, Erie
County six and hall miles, about
$4,000.
Lebanon road to Massachusetts line,
Columbia County, one and quarter
miles, s9,992.87
The Oneida County League for Good
Roads is enthusiastic over the success
Of the work, and hopes for the wider
adoption OF the plan. Mr.. F. O. Wal
oott. superintendent of some of the
factories OF the New York Mills Com
oany. the largest taxpayer in the road
district, assisted in supervising the
road Suilding, and in a report to the
state Engineer points out some objec-
tionable features Of the present system
The law making an allowance to the
Sheriff for prisoners food and permit
ting him to save what he can from it
he thinks should be changed. Prison
ers' at hard labor outdoors need more
food than when in Jail, and the Sheriff
Is under strong temptation either to
feed the men inadeQuately or to oppose
the outdoor work which cuts down hi2
6rohts. The county furnishes one
/ guard for each eight prisoners. Ihey
are entirely under control OF the
Sheriff. Mr.. Walcott finds that for
lack Of authority over them the High
way Commissioner is sometimes un-
able to secure perfect discipline or ex-
act a fair amount Of work from them,
These defects could easily be remedied.
! In spite OF them road building by
county prisoners is a great success. II
| "a good for the prisoners, and it makes
possible good reads in places where the
expense Of other labor renders in
proyement hopeless By the expendi-
ture OF the present wasted road taxes
for prison labor on the construction OF
permanent macadam roads the towns
OF New York in a few years could OBJ
tain a fine system Of highways to sup
plement the main thoroughfares to be
built by the State. The Board OF su-
pervisors in every county would do
well to follow the example Of Oneida
and turn the occupants Of their jails
to good use.-New York Tribune
Familiarity Breeds Contempt