Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1904-07-16
WHoLr NunBrR, 1,7O7.
HIGHWAY REPAIRING
LARGE SUM WASTED ANNUALLY IN
THIS WORK.

Money Squandcrcd In Patching Up
Our Roads Would Pny the National
Debt-What This Alleged Mainte-
nance Has Cost One Town.
The money that has been wasted on
the common patch policy Of highway
maintenance is appalling says writer
in the Good Roads Magazine. 1t would
pay the national debt; 1t would provide
IL navy that the nations of Europe and
Asia could not subdue; it would grid
iron the country from the Atlantic to
the Pacific and from Canada to the
gulf with the best of mncndam high
ways. The money thus squandered In
the eastern and middle states alone
would macadamiZe every highway In
general use in those sections.
For the past 70 to 100 years, ac-
cording to the age of the town, 1t has
been the practice every recurring
spring to fix the roads" or work out
the highway tax" This means the
throwing on of n shOvelful Of gravel
or. worse yet, Of loan. here and there.
building an occasional water break or
making n futile attempt in some cases
and in some places to clean out the
cutters. throwing out an offending cob
blestone once In awhile. The first
smart summer shower undoes the half
of this clumsy patchwork. and the fol-
lowing winter or early spring COM
pletes its destruction.
A certain New England town has
for the past 100 years appropriated an
average of $4,000 per year for this al
legged maintenance OF its highways,
ter than they were in the most remote
memory of Its oldest inhabitant. Quito
likely they are no better than they
were soon after the town was first in
corporated. A half million dollars
practically wasted in one small town!
This would macadamiZe every neceS-
sary highway there. If permanent
highway improvements had been in
nuguratcd at the outset the towns
valuation and population would today
have been doubled.
To compute what this perniciOusly
wastcful practice has cost the farmer
and business man in wear and tear
would be impossible Its RESPONSE
bility for wrecked vehicles, for Grip
pied horses, for broken harness, is in
calculable. Little use to seek further
the rationale for abandoned farms. 1t
may he readily found in Il system that
has produced the worst possible high
ways Mt the highest possible cost,
1t Is not that the poverty Of the
farmer has made the system n conse-
Qucnce, but that the system has made
the poverty of the farmer cOnse-
quence True, good roads associations.
the automobile, the bicycle, rOadmak-
ing machinery, scientific roadmakers
and n somewhat awakened public SEN
timcnt have done something to Grip
pie this recklessly wasteful patch high
way system. But it ought to be de-
molished root and branch.
Let the motto hereafter be, "Every-
thing for permanent highway improve
ment; not one cent for patchwork
Let one piece Of solid. smooth and per
manent highway be constructed every
year and let the balance Of the roads
rest without single penny Of patch
work expenditure. Where this system
of highway maintenance has prevailed
for SO long the roads are bad, OF
course, but they can't be much worse.
Get the road roller. the rock crusher.
the grader and the scraper. Let the
expense be divided among two or three
towns If necessary. And be not afraid
of running into debt to purchase them.
Debt acquired for such a purpose Of
economy and prosperity is an incen-
tive, stimulus, gain, blessing. II
is laying up for n rainy day, for the
time when there will be no necessity
for so much expense to keep the high
ways In repair and for the time when,
whatever that expense may be, 1t will
be borne easily and cheerfully by the
prosperous farmer who is living under
a rational highway system.