The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1901-10-17

II OF Public Road Inquiries
NJ Office. writes as follows IN
- Municipal Journal and En-
%inecr:
The re iex intircnr" OF the bicycle
and the automobile has tinall; created
Il public sentiment that is crystaliiz-
ing into hcttcrment Of the public
highways 10 IN extent that Is most
gratifying 10 the good roads enthuSi-
ast. Many States which have failed
TO make any appropriation for the I'M
provcment Of roads in tho past year
yielded 10 thH public demand anu
made fer them liberal appropria-
tionS. The good example of Massa-
chuSetts. Connecticut. New Jersey
New York and other States is bearing
fruit. II the aggregate. including the
small appropriation made by the Gov
crnmcnt. millions of dollars nave
been set aside for the betterment OF
the country roads during this year.
Canada is by no means q laSgard.
hut rather we'll IL the lead. when all
things are considered. for she has ap-
propriatcG $1.OO0.000 to be expended
upon the improvement Of the high
ways during the season.
The good roads train which has
been touring the South during the last
three months, was made up ut Chi
cago through the cooperation OF the
National Association Of Good Roads.
the Illinois Central Railroad and sew
cral manufacturers of rOad-makinS
machinery. The train started from
Chicago on April 20. equipped with
eight carloads Of the best and most
important r0admakins machinery. eX-
pert operators. roadmakcrs and en-
gineerS. arriving in New Orleans on
April 22
The following week &n object les
son road. about two miles in length,
was built in the suburbs Of New Or
leans. over low plain, formerly sub
ject to overflow 1t was desirable TO
raise the -oadhcd higher than usual
TO get above the action of the water.
which softenS the surface Of the road
so rapidly; therefore. earth handling
machinery was used 10 advantage.
The New Era grader. propelled by
twelve animals. was first put upon
the work. and earth was transferred
from the sides TO the centre. at the
rate of four cubic yards per minute.
Within the short space of two days
the undisturbed earth was trans
formed into smoothly finished road
way, over which automobiles could
pass with perfect ease.
During the week State convention
assembled for two days in pursuance
Of a proclamation issued by the Gov
ernor Of Louisiana. Every parish OF
the State was well represented, there
being about one thousand delegates
in attendance. As 4 result OF this
convention permanent State organ
ization was formed, which will oper-
ate in cooperation with the national
association. TO carry on the work al
ready so we'll begun.
On the first OF May the train left
New Orleans for NatcheZ, Miss.
where it remained n week building
another object lesson road and hold
ing district convention for two days.
1T the close 0f which Il permanent or
ganiZation was formed for carrying
on the work in that vicinity, and for
the purpose OF cooperating with the
State association. aftcrward formed
ut Jackson. Miss. and the national as
Sociation, formed last November ut
Chicago. We had here the hearty
cooperation OF The city and the county
authorities. the object lesson road be-
ing built partly within and partly
without the city Of NatchP@.
Our next stand was st Grcenvillc.
Miss. where we arrived on May 16.
This is in the midst of the famous
YaZoo Delta. The soil is IN alluvial
deposit, subject TO overflow and in
urdation. 4 portion Of this soil' is
known Us "buckShot land. and is eX-
ceedingly difficult 10 handle and more
difficult 10 retain III the form OF
smooth roadbCd. 1t was doubted
whether the carth-handlinS machinery
so successful in other soils. would be
able to handle this peculiar buckshot