Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1905-04-21
GOOD ROADS GOSPEL

How to Make First Class
Roads Out Of Clay
and Gumbo
D. Ward King, a Missouri farmer.
discovered a method of good road
making which Is both inexpensive and
practical He il travelling through
Iowa new on q good roads train, lee.
turing and telling chow to do it."
The following is from an article in
the Chicago Review:
The farmers OF Iowa have always
appreciated the disadvantage Of being
compelled to travel over muddy roads.
They have had expounded to them the
benefits which would be theirs If only
they had good roads. It has seemed q
little ironical. as if they did not real
ize all thai better than any lecturer
could. Schemes have been devised
for the building of certain roads of
various kinds. But there has always
been one trouble with the work which
has been done in the past. The good
roads could be built, but they were
very expensive. The towns of the
state might be able to put in good
paving. but the farmers VINO have
the most need of good roads over
which to travel coula not afford the
expense of building such roads as had
heen suggested to them. The mis-
take had been made of thinking of
good roads as an end, whereas they
are really-to the farmers at least
only means; the means of making
transportation easier and cheaper.
This missionary to the farmers in
Iowa lives very near the Iowa line
il Missouri. Report has 1t that the
roads there are about the same as
they are In Iowa, perhaps little
more 3d." as David Harum would say.
At certain seasons of the year the
roads are good, but in the rainy sea-
sons they are often impossible. 1t
seemed that something had to be
done. D. Ward King made up his
mind he would do that something. 1t
is just nine years since he began the
work of improving the road in front
of his farm. There was no ostentation
about the beginning of the building
OF his road. He made no speeches
about it and it was not featured up
in the newspapers. In the years
since then he has made hundreds
upim hundreds of addresses upon the
building of good roads and the news
papers have been eager to tell of hit
methods. Like so many good things,
his movement had a very small be.
ginning. Perhaps he was not hopeful
of any great result. He was simply
experimenting. For his experiment he
took. as his implements. two pieces
of log which he had split, and tire
from an old wagon and piece Of old
chain. The pieces of log which were
about one foot thick and about nine
feet long. were placed on edge about
thirty inches apart with the fiat
sides facing in the same direction.
The iron was used for protecting the
lower edge Of the front piece and the
chain was used to haul this drag
over the road to be improved. A very
simple contrivance, was it not9 And
with it Mr.. King went out to sweep
in front Of his own door, as it were.
Mr.. King had soon proved to his
own satisfaction that the results were
such as to justify the time which
was spent in dragging the road. The
stretch of road upon which he worked
was about half mile long. For four
years he kept up this work, dragging
the road after each rain. before any
of his neighbors followed his exam.
pie. 1t was such simple, such an
inexpensive thing to do that 1t Is lit.
tie wonder those farmers. who had
come to look upon good roads as a
luxury they need never hope to pos
sess, hesitated to undertake the work.
But it was becoming apparent that
the road in front of Kings place was
always good. The method, which was
so simple and inexpensive as to seem
Insignificant. was proving its worth.
And when the farmers began to real
lie this they took it up almost stimuli.
tsneous]y. The farmers Of Holt
county had seen good thing and
they knew it. The county commits
kioners finally took the matter up and
made a standing offer to furnish the
drags to all farmers who would use
them. and at one crossroads black
smith shop fifteen drags were made
in one week.
Mr.. King does not claim for his
method perfection, neither does he
eay that it will do away with the