The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-08-28
W. r. Geddes Offers Advice on an
Important Question.
Says the District System Is a DeIusion
and a Snare.
Paddy's Spade, PIoW and Hand Grader
Given Endorsement.

| have read with much interest the various
communications and discussions anent
| the good roads question, which have ap-
peared in the city papers from time to
| time, and while much of it seems vision
airy and impracticable, yet it all contains
much that has merit, and will prompt
, everybody to think more along these
| lines, and lead to a better understanding
of the whole subject.
| To the mere listener it would seem
! that enough Importance is not attached
, to the question of drainage. All agree
that drainage is necessary element in
road making, but it is not given the
prominence in these discussions that it
should have, and the best methods of
drainage are not sufficiently thought
out. Any farmer who has helped to
make country roads, and travelled them
in good weather and in bad will agree,
; that the foundation element is proper
drainage-in fact it is more than half
the battle. If those agitating the ques
! ton would drop all this talk about rails
| ing large sums of money to make road
ways with macadam Or other processes,
which will not be practicable for fifty
years hence, and will assist in having
adopted and inaugurated proper sys-
TENS of drainage, there will be little
left to complain of, if the town and coun-
ty authorities will then do a reason
able amount of grading in proper ways.
With the water taken away promptly,
the country road will rise rapidly in the
estimation of all.
There is no part of the work done on
country roads that come so far short
, of attaining to the end sought as the
work of draining them does. This is
largely due to the fact that it is done in
a short sighted and make shift way, with
improper instruments, and without any
system. The methods followed in this
work are not based ON plans that are
comprehensive enough to bring the desir-
ed result. There are certain reasons for
this, part of which may be enumerated
as follows:
First. The roads are too wide. 1t is
a matter of common observation and
experience that the public get along
very comfortably with the use of road
way from one to two rods in width, the
balance of the four rods being given up
to noXious weeds and mudholes. If the
public work and money that is spread
over the four rod way were applied to a
two rod road and no more, all could be
kept in much better condition, and the
public would be better served The sur
plus means and energy could be applied
to more thorough drainage and better
grading of the narrower road.
Second. The road district system is
a delusion and snare, keeping the town
cut up into small subdivisions, each pre-
sided over by man good, bad or indif
ferent, with little experience, and in
some cases having no public spirit. This
feature of the highway system is parti-
| cularly obstructive of proper drainage,
because each overseer plods away in his
own territory, with no community of
thought, purpose or method among them,
while to drain properly large territories
must be contemplated in one plan, and
| the work directed from one center. So
long as the district system prevails poor
| drainage will exist, and as consequence,
poor roads.
Third. The huge patented road grad
er, sold to towns for about four times
what it is worth, is another bugaboo in
the road syetem, and is the greatest de-
stroyer of public time and waste of pub
lie money there is. So long as roads are
! ditched with these "white elephants"
boards of trade, and county conventions
will plead in vain. One of these ma
chimes consumes the force of from six to
| ten horses and takes the time of from
three to five men each day, with little
to show. The road grader is useful to
level and smooth rough places at times,
but this is the limit of it's usefulness,
and one heavy harrow, with strong
team, and man who has judgment and
is willing to work will do more in day
toward leveling and smoothing down a
road, than two of these machines with
all their force of men and horses. know
this opinion of the grader is not popular,
but it is becoming more so from year
| to year.
Fourth. People are too anxious to
have all roads run on straight lines,
thus forcing highways into low, marshy
places and through veritable lake beds,
where it is almost impossible to secure
drainage and more impossible to get a
foundation for any kind of grading done.
1t looks nice and symmetrical to have
roads on straight lines and is advantage
Gus to individual farmers in many in
stances, but this is all gained at the cost
! of good roads. A little meandering of
roads around such places would do away
with much expensive drainage and grad
ing, and leave us with better roads in
many places.
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