Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-06-18
Comm. Sargent Looks
Over Maine Roads.
Interesting Figures Regarding
Cotton Industry in Maine.
June Bulletin Of Agricultural Department Will
Soon Be Ready for Distribution.
STATE HOUSE CALENDAR.
Next Meeting of Governor and Council
Friday, juno q, at 10 A. M.

Highway Commissioner Sargent has
returned from trip to the Eastern
portion of the State where he passed
several days of the past week on th..
work of inspecting the highways.
While i'm Bangor last Wednesday, Oh
his way to Washington county, he ac-
cepteG the invitation of a friend to
make trip to Cherryfield by automo-
bile, which furnished an excellent OPP
portunity for examination OF the roads
along the route. AS might be expected
from such trip all kinds of road were
encountered, but the majority which
were trayersed during the trip were
good and some were excellent.
The road from Ellsworth to Cherry
field, Mr.. Sargent said, was excellent.
being free Of rocks and as level as a
floor, and in the town of Hancock was
another piece of road which was in
first-class shape, its condition being
due to the fact that the road commits
sloner had been over practically its en-
tire length. filling in the ruts. The
places filled varied from a rut which
could be filled with shOve.ful of earth
to one which would require a carload,
but all had been treated in this way
and the result was a road of more
than ordinary excellence.
III Township No 10 in Hancock coun-
ty the route led over four miles of
road which had been dragged with a
split log drag. and which showed the
advantage of this form of road treat
ment. Not a rut or hump was left in
the road, and the surface Of the road
was as smooth as that of Il race track.
For the last seven miles of the trip,
from Tunk pond 10 Cherryiield. was
another stretch of good road. which
is one of the best in that part of the
county. 1t is as level as {, floor, and
without a rock or pebble Of any kind.
and shows that it has been looked af-
ter very carefully. Other roads along
the route We're hardly up to these men,
toned, and offered great opportunity
for work in the interest of good roads.
Labor Commissioner Matthews has
just received from Washington some
figures relative to the cotton industry
and the cotton manufacturing in the
Northern and Southern states. 1t ap-
pears from the statement that there
are some 90i, $50 spindles in the State of
Maine, and this State consumed last
year 1850 bales of cotton, amounting
to 1i.0,S007 pounds. 1t is shown that
the cotton consumption in the Southern
mills amounts to 13G per cent. of tn
American production.
The annual consumption Of cotton
per spindle in the Maine mills is cal
pounds, compared with 12i.5 in the
South. The difference in the per spin
die consumption indicates that the
Maine mills are spinning yarns of
very much greater fineness than those
turned out by Southern mills. The
finer The yarn is spun the greater the
number of hanks obtained from n Civ
en- quantity of raw cotton. and cOnse-
quentiy the slower the process of con
suming cotton. In the last five years
the cotton mills of the Southern states
have greatly increased their con-
sumption. But during the same five
years the Maine and other Northern
mills have decreased their consumption
by 1885 bales. This is explained by
| the fact that these mills have been en-
gagged during this period in replacing
| old machinery with that which is more
| modern, thus increasing the efficiency,
| AMI the fneneSS of the yarn spun with
out making large increases in the num-
Der of spindles.