The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1906-05-18
Don't Know Anything About They There Would Be An Immense
THE HARDhEAD QUESTION.
Another Letter From J. H. Livingston on the
Subject.

Mr. Elitor:-Again paying my
humble compliments to the Hon VIM
B. Sheldon, who seems to know so
much about road metal and road con-
struction that amt so, permit me to cite
in as witnesses the veteran road build.
err, Mr. Fl. NJ. futile, and the eS-street
commissioner, Mr. David h. Moore,
the latter OF whom served under Mr.
Sheldon's Craftsmanship of the street
committee of the Board Of village
trustees, to- show that Mr. Sheldon
fully acknowledged to Mr. Moore, when
Depot street was under construction,
that quartzite was dismal failure,
that he instructed Mr. Moore, after II
was found by practical demonstration
that the "stuif" could not be made 70
"pack," to lind something he did
not know what for binder that
would hold it down; that hr Moore
consulted Mr. futile upon the subject
that Mr. futile advised earnestly that
Mr. Moore continue 10 draw on quartz
tie detritus, TO keep on watering and
rolling, an TO leave it in as good
shape as possible "a an object lesson,
to Mr. Sheldon more particularly, Of
the utter futility of qVartzite as a
road metal. Mr. futile felt that il Mr.
Moore used other material than quartz
tie as a binder, and the road failed,
Mr. Sheldon would have it always
for an excuse. But Mr. futile failed
of his "obect lesson. The street was
built wholly OF quartzile, it went
promptly 10 pieces, but Mr. Sheldon
convinced against his will, appears to
''be Of the same opinion still"
Speaking of Mr. Moore, perhaps 1t
would be we'll to intimate here that Mr.
Sheldon cannot involve us in quarre
MIR Moore and myself understand each
other If his report to the village
meeting in 1901 was exaggerated 1t
was really no fault OF his. one in
authority over work that involves the
employment of gangs of men scattered
al various points in the village must
needs be compelled to trust to the tally
sheets of others. When the crusher
and engine was brand new it never
turned out more than 60 tons ofquartz-
tie in ten hours. have MIR Tuttle's
authority for this 1t cost $50 90 under
the most favorable short haul cOudil-
ions to land 60 tons of crushed quartz
ite on the streets. That is sl.O0 a to
We are sorry to note, however, thai
Mr. Sheldon's article, wilfully or OF er-
wise, is at variance with the truth So
often that it viii hardly pay to follow
he fctions in detail Mr. Size don errs
when he says that Mr. Livingston ad-
gised the trustees that they must not
remove the stone crusher from the
quarry where it is now located ION
account of his profound respect for
the law. | simply advised the
trustees that Mr. Sheldon's motion at
the village meeting had no binding
effect upon the board 1t cost over a
thousand dollars To locate the crusher
where it is, and the trustees were not
morally or leagally bound to take note
OF Mr. Shedon's motion, because such
action was not nominated in the warn
ing and therefore was without for;
and effect
Mr. Sheldon also errs when he says
in effect that the board, OF which was
a member, removed the stone crusher
to limestone quarry. The new crush
er, bought when Mr. Sheldon was on
the board, was left, in accordance with
vote OF the village, on the river bank
The board, on my advise, bought
back for $50 the old stone crusher that
the village had traded in for 800, and
by the expenditure of $40 more, put il
ia as good condition as it ever was.
We crushed "hardheads" all that sum
mer, but not, thank heaven, quartzite
hardheads.
And here we come back to the hard
head question again. You see, Mr.
Sheldon. there are hardheads and
heardheads. The "species' we
used averaged about go to 70 per cent
Of limestone of varying degrees OF
hardness, five per cent OF quartz, five
per cent Of quartzite, here and there a
boulder of quartzose, granite, gneiss,
diorite, basalt, etc. All these from
"Pike's clay bed screenings from
the gravel we drew on the streets that
summer, which gravel Mr. futile, our
ablest authority, says was 1.-THE best
ever drawn on the streets OF Bennlng-
ton, not excepting that from his own
pit.
believe that any sensible man, who
has given the matter thought, will
agree with me when assert that it Is a
moral crime to draw a single bowlder
away from the bed or the banks OF the
Roaring Branch. Every stone remoy'
ed from the bed should be placed on
the bank of that treacherous stream
thus accomplishing double purpose
deepening the bed and raising tue
banks at one and the same time. Un
til the Roaring Branch is reconstructed
to uniform width and depth, it will
always remain menace. To accom-
plish this, every bowlder is OF vastly
more Importance on the river bank