The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1904-06-10
Good Roads


affecting the public good being more
freely or intelligently discussed at
the present time than that of good
roads. 1t is question that appeals
to the interest of all classes.
The merchant desires good roads
into his town that his customers
from the country may bring in their
produce and haul away his merchan-
disc.
The farmer is greatly interesed,
though you would scarcely believe
it from his apparent indifference to
the matter, that he may the more
economically market his stock and
grain.
There is no question of public
interest in which the oil men of this
locality are more interested than in
that of good roads through the oil
field.
They, above all others, at all
seasons of the year and in all kinds
of weather must use the public
highways for continuous driving and
heavy hauling. The oil men of this
locality are required to pay out
thousands of dollars unnecessarily
every year for teamsters to wallow
their horses through belly deep
mud with only a small fraction
of load instead OF having good big
loads hauled over dry and solid
roads. With the excessive spring
rains in this country and the soft and
stickey nature of the soil in the
bottoms, as Is we'll known to the oil
man, it is out of the question to
haul a reasonable load, and, at
times impossible to get through
many places with even a light
wagon.
Could decent roa ds be built at a
reasonable cost they would more
than pay for themselves every year
IN new business to say nothing OF
the greater pleasure and profit in
handling the old.
The good roads problem like all
other problems in which every body
is interested but no one sparticular
invested with the power of solving,
the whole thing is neglected. Good
roads are more and more becoming
necessity every day. AS the country
develops and settles up the demands
on them and for them increase
: rapidly until communities are com,
! PEELED to take the matter up and
! treat it in sensible business like
way. There are many materials
in different localities that are
! excellent material for road building
In the south, along the coast, the
immense deposits of sea shells form
one of the very best of materials,
and the shell streets and roads of
of some of our southern cities
have a world wide reputation for
their beauty and utility.
In the zinc and lead mining local
tiles of this state and MISSOURI the
cheapest and best material for top
dressing for roads is the crushed
rock from the mines.
In some localities burnt gumbo is
gaining great favor as a road build
ing material. We noticed in our
recent trip to the Worlds Fair that
1t is one of the chief materials used
for the roads and walks and SEEMS
to be very effective.
Native rock and gravel are the
most available material in many
localities, and are the materials
most generally used. The home OF
our boyhood was In southern Ohio
on the east fork of the little Mama
river, where the mud was very bad
and prevailed most of the year
except the little time it might be
frozen in the winter Finally some
genius discovered that gravel wa:
] very abundant in that country and
y some kind of a road law was devised
by which the country was cut uT
: into road districts and all theil
roads from one end to the other