The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1901-04-19

and the wise provision in the law al
lowing the commissioner to meet tn,
conditions by which the town is sur
rounded. Almost all of the obiec
tions offered by the towns in regard
10 former laws are removed under
the present law. II will be impossi
bic, however, 10 draft any law that
will be entirely free from objection
for it is impossible to build any law
that cannot be improved in some re.
spects.
"Ihe present law, governing as II
does the whole of the action of the
state and town on n liberal plan OF
financial assistance, and broadening
the policy Of the state in the methoc
OF construction, and also keeping
well within control of the state the
whole movement, has enlarged the
field of work for the commissioner
and has reduced somewhat the juris
diction of the towns accepting state
aid; but so far every change from
the laws of 1895 and 1897 has been
very much more beneficial to the
towns and around the whole move
ment safeguards that has already
demonstrated its worth.
at has never been the policy OF
the state to be unpleasantly arbi.
trary in her dealings with the towns
although at the outset Of the move.
ment it was difficult to have all towns
understand this. As the work has
progressed the towns have been
brought into a full knowledge of the
attitude of the state.
at was at first thought by many
people of our state that when the
roads through the villages were i'm.
proved the interest would die ont I
and that n vote for the improvement /
OF others would not be had. On the
contrary, the desire for a general /
of the roads in all
towns in which we have constructed
roads is increasing rather than di.
which fact speaks we'll for
the future Of the good roads move.
ment.
81 have many times improved four
five and six sections on a main high.
way with an appropriation Of $1,000
and while each section would not ex.
tend over many lineal feet Of road
he sections selected are places that
iad been for years a weak spot on
he road. and would have been i'm.
proved long ago had the town been
financially able TO so do. II stands
o reason that If n road having five
IT six bad places at different points
m a road six miles long, and these
,ad sections can he removed for
4 900. thereby reclaiming and max
NO a good road Of the five or six
niles. it is money well invested. As
matter of fact. the largest return
or the money invested is the i'm
rovement of these sectional pieces
+ road throughout the state"
Commissioner Macdonald makes this
rotest against the old drag scraper:
have seen thousands of dollars
-asted with this old time practice Of
utiing the washings from the road
lck on the road. The road scraper
roperly used is a great assistance to
lr country roads and a saving of a
rye amount Of money and time If il
intelligently used. The old drag
raper system is a back number and
lould remain so. 1t is the lack Of i
lowledge of how to use road I
raper and not the road scraper I
at is TO be condemned. IL would
better in the use of the road 7
raper when the sand washings are D
und I'm the gutter to lift up the Z
ade and let the washings lie where
e rain left them. and go on and
op the blade only into good mate p
II. and thus leave the road in a c,
ssable condition, instead Of eight b
,hes deep, as ] have often seen it 4
th worn out road scrapers." e.
The commissioner does not think ii