Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1906-07-04
HINT TO THRASHERS
REASONS THAT THEY SHOULD 81
HIGHWAY BUILDERS.

None More Eligible to Become Good
Roadmakers, as They Are General
ly HustIers How Their Traction
Engines Can BE Used In the Work,
The following paragraphs are from a
paper prepared for the southwestern
Transformers convention by State
Highway Commissioner Horatio s.
Earle Of Michigan Limits of space
forbid the publication of the entire pa
per, but the suggestion to thrashermen
to go into the road building business Is
an interesting proposition, says the
Good Roads Magazine.
Why good roads are wanted and
why they are needed by the owners of
farms, Of factories, of mines and by
producers of any other material re-
quirlng transportation can be given in
one elimination.
The reason thrashing machines are
employed to separate the grain from
the straw is for the purpose of elimi-
nation-that is. it is cheaper to thrash
this way than by the use of the fall or
beast stamping process, and so por-
ton of the cost of thrashirx Is done
away with and the money remains in
the hands Of the grain producer.
There is no sentimental reason for
wishing to cut out portion Of the cost
of thrashing or Of transportation. 1t is
simply righteousness, very COM
mendable quality in man If only
coupled in right proportions with the
Golden Rule doctrine.
If 1t costs 50 to draw one ton to
market over bad road and only So to
draw two tons over that same road
when the road has been made good,
then the good road is the machine with
which to do the thrashing-that is,
with which to eliminate a portion of |
the cost of transportation, provided it
doesn't cost more for the machine and |
It's repairs than is saved by Its use.
Every bad road Is a toll road. AL
though you may not be compelled to
drive under shed and hand to an old
cripple your cash before going through
the gate, yet the toll Is collected just
the same by Cripple Mud or Cripple
Sand, who are found along the way.
They collect the difference between
the cost Of transportation over a bad
road and over a good one, and this diff
ference Is never less than one-half the
cost of hauling over a bad road. So a
farmer who hauls his produce to mar
ket over bad road If 1t cost him 500
a year to haul has paid $50 Of this
amount as toll to Crlpples Mud and
Sand.
No one Is more eligible to become a
good roadmaker than the thrasherman.
In the first place he is generally hus-
Her. He has to be in order to be sue
,essful In his business. for thrashing
doesn't last the year round, and he has
70 be up and doing while 1t does last.
II anybody obeys the old maxim,
Make hay while the sun Shines" it is
he thrasherman. Next he has trac-
Ion engine, whose power can be used
o pull the pillow or grader, to haul the
tone and gravel and to crush the stone
md roll the road. He has the time, too,
n spring and early summer as well as
n the fall to attend to this work.
Every dog has his day." and the
,ood roads day Is here. The thrasher
nan who gets sample permanent
DAD to build and does 1t well with the
dvlce and help of technical practl-
al road builder will not only learn
ow TO make good roads, but will Gre
tie sentiment for them which will
urnish him employment just as long
S he continues to do well what he un-
ertakes. He can work out the statute
abor for the taxpayer by hauling
ravel with his traction engine, and as
Don as the taxpayer sees how much
lore good the gravel does than the
TOrn out earth that he has been scrap
lg out of the bitches year after year
nd pillng up in the center of the road
e will not fail to get "Mr Thrasher-
ian Good Roadmaker'' to do his road
TOrk for him every season.