Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-02-10
ON ROAD BUILDING.
Good Roads Commission Sheds
Valuable Light on Subject in
Report to Legislature.
.52,422 MILES IN THE STATE
Urges Setting Aside $4,000, GOO Year
by State to Aid the Townships
in Work.

commission was submitted to the gen
eral assembly yesterday. The com
mission was created two years ago for
the purpose of investigating the var
ious problems of road building in Illi-
nois, such as the best and most eco
nomical native materials. the best sys
TEN of road drainage, the best and
most practical methods by which the
burden of cost may be equitably dis
tributed among all the people, such as
federal, state and county aid, convict
labor" etc. The commission appoint
ed under the act consists of Dewitt
w. Smith, chairman; II. L. Wallace
and L. A. Mitchell
The report contains some interest
ing statistics. 1t states that there are
in the state of Illinois 1862 political
townships in counties under township
organization, and in counties not I'M
der township organization there are
POS corresponding highway divisions,
making a total of 1867. From these
we have received $50 replies"
1t is stated further:
CHS Miles in Township.
Eight hundred and thirteen town
ships report a total mileage of 52,423.
making an average for the townships
reporting of GAS miles. Applying the
average 50 obtained to the 1867 town
ships in the state, we get a total of
lO1 .040 miles of wagon roads in the
state of Illinois, exclusive of streets in
cities, towns and villages"
The amount raised in 1903 by town
ship tax for road and bridge purposes
was So. 1872, OSOGG.
The compensation paid to road Off
Gals of the state is estimated to be
S60S,S47 per annum. The amount of
poll tax worked out in 1903 is esti-
mated at 100000. The grand total of
all expenditures of roads and bridges
in the state in 1903, according to the
commissions estimate, was $4.730, GS2.
Material for Good Roads.
In the course of a discussion of the
best and most economical native ma
terials," the report says:
"Of all the states of the union, Hi
nois is the best supplied with fertile
ton of road surfacing material But
surfacing material does not make the
road. II simply finishes or covers it.
just as a roof finishes or covers a
house. No amount of surfacing can
make permanently good road if its
foundations and sides are defective
and weak. Neither can good founda-
tons and sides compensate for leaky
roof. A structure to be good must be
all good, just as a chain to be strong
must be strong in all its links. OF no
structure is this more true than a
wagon road.
There is a widespread belief that
building hard roads on the black loan
of our level prairies will prove to be
most difficult and expensive thing;
that it is. in fact, wholly impracticable.
There are many more who can remem-
Der when what are now our most fer
tile fields were set aside by early sur
veyors as swamp lands, and sold at
nominal price because it was thought
they could never be used for agricul-
tural purposes. A thousand incidents
might be cited of impossible things
that modern science has made simple
and easy. Road building is one of
those things.
Need Not BE Deep.
The oid-fashioned idea that two or
three feet of hard material was neces-
sary to the construction of good hard
road is an exploded one. 1t used to be
the belief of even experienced road
builders that the surfacing material
had to carry the weight of loads haul
ed upon the roads, and that a great
quantity of hard material was neces-
sary in order to prevent the road from
breaking up under heavy traffic. Elk
perience and careful study have proven
the fallacy of that belief.
1T is the underlying soil that car
ries the weight, not only of the loaded
wagons, but also of the material com
prising the hard surface of the road.
1t has been found that six inches of
good material, properly applied upon
thoroughly drained foundation of
natural soil, viii make a better and
more lasting road than two or three
feet of hard material carelessly placed
upon an undrained foundation, as was
the custom of too many road builders
of the olden time-in fact, of too many
of the present time"
A Startling Figure.
a startling figure is the estimated
amount spent on wagon roads. Dur
ing the past % years says the report,
THE people of Illinois have spent $75.-
000. 900 on their wagon roads. and. with
the exception of bridges. our roads
are. taking the state all over, in little
better condition than they were %
years ago. With a continuance of
present conditions We will have very
little. if any. better roads at the ex-
piration OF the next % years than we
have now. If to the $4,000, 900 above
referred to as having been paid in di-