The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-03-20
Practical Road Work.
EDITOR REPORTER:

EDITOR REPORTER:
By request will describe the method
of road work l first saw discussed in the
st. Louis Republic, the writer claiming to
have worked piece of road for num-
Der of years. In time the roadbed
would become hard ard smooth, would
shed water and be in good condition
when other roads were hardly passable.
The committee of the good roads league
of st. Louis inspected the road, said it
was the best piece of dirt road they ever
saw, advising every one interested in
good roads to try it. The work being
so simple and the tool something /
could make, and being interested in
better roads in the county, | thought
would give it trial. The first trial was
surprising. At quick as man would
drive on the road he would inquire who
worked it, what he worked it with and
why he did't work more of it. | will
try to describe what worked it with:
l took a red elm log Is feet long and
6 inches through, split it in the center,
took Pinch augur and morticed holes
at each end. Then took 2x4s two feet
long, pinned them together, flat sides
facing the same way and l had one of
the best tools ever used.
took log chain and hitched it so
the square side was in front and hitched
on three or four horses, hitching the
doubletree to the end of the drag sloped
back, pushing all the loose dirt to the
middle of the road. l rode on the tool.
A road that has been we'll graded you
can do good work on by going up one
side and down the other, it requiring
half an hour to make mile OF rough
and rutty road in good shape. The
time to drag road is just as it begins
to dry after rain. Repeat every time
1t rains and you will eventually have a
road that will be a pleasure to the trav.
cling public.
Frank Allen, our popular rural free
delivery carrier, who drives over %
miles Of our roads every work day in
the year, is in position to appreciate q
piece of good road work. have kept
one.q uarter of mile Of road on his
route smooth this spring and 1 live
three.quarters of mile from rural line
and have experimental on one mile of
road. He says it is the only good piece
of road on the route. If Uncle Sam is
good enough to deliver our mail We
ought to at least furnish him good
road to haul it over. Our roads at the
present time need improving. The
remedy lies with the farmer. If every
farmer would see that the roads border.
ing his property were well worked, sup.
pose it would take three or four days of
your time over your taxes, you would
reap your reward. Travellers through
the county would say as they drove
over your road, 'There lives man with
some enterprise; see how smooth he
keeps his roads and keeps the weeds
cut" We may vote thousands of dol
lars for road takes but it will do good
only in localities where there is polit-
ical pull. What the roads need is work,
and the farmers must do that work.
Work your time on the road with the
same interest you pillow your corn. You
don't stop blowing until corn is in good
shape; don't stop working the roads UNI.
til you get your own road in shape.
have heard men abuse the road boss be-
cause he didn't have better roads, then
when they were working those roads
only want to putin half their time and
think their team is doing too much.
Who is to blame for the condition of
the roads, the boss or the man?
Hoping some one who is interested in
better roads will give the drag a trial.
Once begun you WON'T quit it. Yours
for better roads, M. +. SPRING Err,