The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1900-04-05

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change of location. The county com
mis- sioners have full power to make
these improvements and they should
be made regardless of the question of
macadamizing the roads. The OBJ
jections of feaO property owners
should not stand in the way of inn
provements which would benefit the
mGny.
The next work to be done would be
the widening of the roads The coun-
ty has right-of-way at least thirty
feet wide and the road bed should be
widened until the distance from gut
ter to gutter is not less than sixteen
4 feet, except perhaps in few excep-
tional places. The widening of the
reads should be done even under the
present system, but it is especially
needed when part of the road is to be
macadamized, because the dirt part
of the road may be used more COM
fortably and more economically than
the stone part the greater part of the
year. 1t is foolishness to macadam-
ize more than eight or ten feet of the
width of ninety per cent. of our coun-
ty roads. This widening of the roads
should be completed so far as it is
commenced at one season, the road
should be carefully rounded up and
the road machine not allowed to go
on that section again for several
years, except for special reasons. To
skim over the roads every year as is
done by many Of our supervisors and
tear up few inches of dirt merely
produces mud and removes a few OBJ
structions in the cutters which could
better be removed with a shovel.
The next and perhaps most impor-
tant work to be done is the under
drainage of the roads. There are
many low, marshy sections of road
which no method of road construc-
tion will make satisfactory unless a
system of drains is laid lengthwise of
the road and foot or more below it's
surface. Ordinary tile will do for
this purpose. Water is the arch enc
my of all roads-dirt or stone-and
provision should be made for getting
it off and away from the road as quick
ly as possible. The cutters on the
sides of the roads in low places should
not be allowed to hold the water un-
til it soakes away or evaporates This
will soon ruin the best road. To dump
stones in the road without removing
the water is utterly useless and stamps
the supervisor who does it as unqual-
flied for his position.
These three things-the widening,
the draining and the regarding and
relocating of the roads-should re-
ceive the first and foremost attention
of the road supervisors if they would
attain results of permanent value.
Of course a small amount needs to be
spent in repairing washouts and dan
gerous places but the bulk Of the road
tax should not be spent in this way.
If the present road tax were spent in
making these permanent repairs in
five years the road tax could be re-
duced one-half with better general
results than at present are attained
or the county could at the end of this
time adopt a plan for matchmaking
every public road in the county,
which, by borrowing money at a low
rate of interest, could be completed
in eight or ten years and paid for in
thirty years without imposing an ad-
ditional road tax equal to one third
the amount saved by good roads, and
the repairs could then be maintained
indefinitely with one-half the present
rate of road tax.
To carry out these ideas of improv-
ed road construction it would be nee
essary to make few changes in the
present road laws, the most impor-
tant of which would be the appoint
ment of a road engineer or expert for
the county. Someone should have
authority to give instructions and di-
rections to the district supervisors,
and to enforce uniform methods
throughout the county. This person
should be a practi al road engineer,
one who thoroughly understands the
up-to- date, scientific methods of
road construction and maintenance.
Such an engineer would cost at least
$1,000 year, if his entire time should
be given to the work, but it would be
the most economical investment the
county could make. When the tax
payers and the commissioners of the
county realize that the theory and
practice of road construction and
maintenance is broad one, requiring
scientific knowledge and technical
skill, long step toward the attain
ment of "good roads" shall have been
made.
That Throbbing Headache