Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1904-07-22
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE GOOD ROADS QUESTION.
The Time Hns Come When Antiquat-
ed Methods of Rond Making
Must Go to the Rear.

he is apt to become rather conserva-
tive. He may not become brake to
the wheels of progress, but he will act
Us check on enthusiasts, and do much
to prevent unwise action. | was APP
pointed state delegate to the Ma
tional Good Roads congress, which met
in st. Louis in May, and closely
watched the proceedings of that body,
listened to the speeches, and especially
noted who were pushing things and
the influences at work to make a great
impression and bring results, The men
who are now most active in the good
roads cause are automobile makers
and users, road-machine manufacture
ers, and men who desire to keep them
selves prominently identified with the
movement SO as 10 fall heirs to some
of the offices that will be created when
congress takes hold of the matter; and
1t takes such forces to make it a go.
There were quite number of farm
ers at the meetings, and some of them
were quite as enthusiastic as the lead
ers, while others appeared to be some
what fearful that they were being led
into deep water and likely TO be
swamped with taxes.
The one point that met with great
est favor was that good drainage Is the
fist essential to good roads. Every
man who has had any experience in
building roads knows well enough that
it is useless to build a road through a
pond and leave the pond undrained.
The water must be gotten away from
the sides of road by surface-drainin
and from beneath the grade by tile
drainage, before good road can be
maintained. After drainage comes
grading, and the higher the grading, If
it Is properly done, the easier 1t is to
keep the road in good condition. But
1t is the silliest sort of nonsense to
grade road and then leave 1t; yet
that is exactly what is done all over
the country. What sort of roadbed
would railroad have If it were left
to take care of itself for three years?
1t would be unsafe to run train a
mile an hour on it. A wagon-road
needs the same kind Of care that Is
given railroad. The Surface must be
kept smooth all the time by the use
! of the road-hone as soon after every
shower as the soil will crumble. This
means that the wasteful, Anticipated
method of each farmer working out his
poll and road tax must be abolished,
and that section men" must be hired
to care for the roads and keep them
| up as they are hired to keep up the
railroads. When this system is adopt
ed we can have good roads about ten
months in every year without pound
of gravel Where stone and gravel are
abundant, hard roads are the ones to
build but in the section | live in 1t
dollars mile to build hard roads,
There are quite number of good-roads
advocates who are strongly in favor
of building the main road between
| &
SO that they will be good the year
round, but it was stated that 1t would
be much cheaper in the end to build
trolleys on such roads.
! There are quite number of men
| who advocate the erection of kilns, and
! the manufacture Of small, rounded
brick for surfacing bad places along the
roads and for use on the approaches
to bridges. Where the soil is suitable
for making such brick, the cost Of
manufacture would not be great, and
they would make as good roads as
gravel. In few sections | learn they
! are using the waste of brick and tile
factories for surfacing bad places In
the roads, and this material seems tc
give excellent satisfaction. Where dirt
III the only material available, we mus
depend on drainage and repeated hon.
ing. -Four years ago we had road
commissioner who was thorough
raadman-one who declared that a Ger.
tain section of road that is much trav-
eied and is VIGOROUSLY bad eigh
months in the year could be made goot
and kept good by proper and timely at
tention. He was told to try his piar
on It, He first rounded it well up with
road-grader drawn by eight horses
and cleaned out the bitches on ethel
side so that no water could stand ir
them. This was done in June. After
ward he ran over the roadswith road
hore as soon after every shower as thu
dirt would begin to crumble, filling III
all ruts, aud leaving the surface per
fectly smooth and rounded During
those two years that section of tn,
the cost of keeping it in that condition
was very small compared with the ben
efits derived. Now, one would be lei
to think that with such an object les
son .,efore them for two years tn,
farmers and village people would be
come enthusiasts on SUCH an easy ant
simple means of having good road
fully ten months of the year, Instead
boweycr, a majority of them, aided ant
abettsd by few of those pestiferou
petty politicians to be found in ever.
locality, decided to GUST this commits
sioner Lecause he did the work him
self instead of giving the softer job
II few parasites. The road men
: tiored was neglected, and quickly re
turned to its former condition. TIL
past winter it has been almost i'm
passahle. If the Good Roads congress
can discover any means of getting tn
road management entirely out Of tn
hands of petty politicians, and of abol
ishing the poll tax and the privileg
of working out the road tax, 1t viii
accomplish more for good roads thai
has been accomplished since the coun
try vas discovered. II is about tim
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