The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-07-23
OUR COUNTY ROADS
THE TOPIC.
Meeting of RoadbuiIders Yes
terday. To Organize a
State Society.

SN0t0 SS0sOeL
Shortly after eleven o'clock Mr.. p. II.
Hanes, of Winston, called to order the
Good Roads Convention, and Mr.. r. II.
Sykes, of Chapel Hill, acted as Secre-
tary
College, then stated that the meeting
would be very glad to hear from any one
who had had actual experience in road
building. He said the original intention
had been to organize Society of Road
Builders of the State.
First Mr.. w. L. Spoon, the Government
expert in charge of the work III this and
several other Southern States, read pa
per on The Betterment of the Common
Public Roads" He began by dwelling
upon the vital importance OF the question
to all citizens, and more especially to the
farmers.
Every business, profession, trade or oc-
cupation is interested, and should take
part in the expense of building and keep
ing up the roads. We are too poor to
allow any one to use the roads without
paying for them, that is, by taxation or
labor
But to talk OF macadamized roads for
all sections is a mistake We must look
to the most economical way of using both
the money and the labor at hand For
instance, in the East, where sand and
mud prevail "a good road may be made
by mixing sand and clay, as has been
done there with great success
Then why not have these same sand and
clay roads in the middle section? AS a
matter OF fact, we can have them, for
the sand is even better here than in the
cast But, besides this. there is abund-
ance of gravel in middle and Piedmont
North Carolina. Accordingly, we can all
get good roads, if we only will put little
money and labor and intelligence into it,
We must use our energy, all of it, both
man and beast, if we desire to materially
improve the public roads of North Caro-
lima. We must unite our forces.
This State is abundantly supplied with
good sharp sand, clay and gravel.
Competent men are needed to locate and
grade the road. This will be economical
in the end. After that anybody can go
ahead and make the road-bed
Mr. Spoon urged strongly upon his
hearers to make experiments with sand
and clay and use wide tires. Let the
school teachers try it on the footpaths to
the schools, the children's feet will pack
it, and the school houses will be kept
cleaner.
Asked as to cross drainage, Mr. Spoon
said that where stone was plentiful he
considered a stone culvert the best. In
other localities, sewer pipe or wooden
bridge drain was the best. The bridge
culvert.
Then Mr.. Hanes called on Mr. w. p.
Bachelor, of Wake, to talk about wide
tires He began by pleading guilty to be-
ing crank on the subject.
The first thing he had found was that it,
actually lightened the draft He first tried
the wide-tire wagon, with load of over
1900 pounds of cotton seed On ploughed
ground two mules took this load easily,
and the tires sank only to their own
depth. When they got on to the farm
road they struck trot with that load
The next trial was on the county road
and that was before it was improved to
his farm. He put on load of 6 bales
instead of the usual four bales. That load
was taken to town in less time than it
used to take with four bales. So the wide
tires saved so per cent Of his mule power.
One of the essentials of getting good
roads was little brains. Once get good
roads and our boys viii stay on the farm
As 1T is now, we can't blame them for
envying the town boys
One of the principal advantages of good
roads is they get people together to rub
brain matter against brain matter Al
very amusing story of how Mr. Bachelor
once saved 5000 by listening to a tramp,
gave practical example of the good de
rived from the exchanging Of opinions.
One great advantage of the wide tire
was that it packed the road as it went,
and also saved the wear and tear on the
wagons. He recommended from four to
six inches as the width of the tire
He thought a wheel tax graduated ac-
cording 20 the width Of our tire would
be a good thing.
Prof. Riddick thought it would be a
good thing for some one to take an agency
in this State and recommend these wide
tires, for the trouble seemed to be that
people did not know where these wide
tire wagons could be gotten.
Mr. Bachelor said his wheels were
solid. without spokes. Several present said
they had tried wide tires with spokes and
they did not work because the clayl
clogged so thckly that it wore out the
teams.
Mr. Spoon said that that was one rea.
son why sand must be mixed with the
clay.
Mr.. w. G. Allen. of Wake, declared
that the sand and clay mixture did not
work IN this county. He claimed the only
way to make roads in this county was tol
change the beds of the old roads. !