The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1906-04-26
Display Line In Drses Adv Says Girls Wash Dresses Some Claim
SHELDON TALKS BACK
Crticises j II Livlnsston's Views on Road
Building.

ston succeeded the writer as chairman
of the street committees his first step
IN the advancement of his theory was
to destroy the streets, which had been
successfully macadamized with hard.
heads during the previous two years,
10y scraping of the top course of finer
material constituting the road surface.
This he replaced on Gage street with
yellow clay which for best of reasons
he speedily carted of again He
doubtless had this incident in mind
when he referred to the hundreds and
thousands of dollars that have been
FILTERED away in experimental road
building these last ten years -
Mr. Livingston bases his entire argu-
ment, as to the relative cost of crushed
hardheads and limestone, upon an
impeachment of the official integrity of
David + Moore, street commissioner.
This argument viii have no interest to
the intelligent reader while the author
ity fcritis ithhsld. The effect of such
unsupported utilization is to react
upon its author Mr. Livingston OF
course understands what it costs in
money aud humliating retraction to
dciaHe ihe character Of has uaighbor
in Tie public mess. The limestone
contingent have as yet wisely reirained
from any Official report of the cost of
crushed limestone, delivered on the
streets.
Mr. Livingston peraaps didn't know
| it, but Tie law was the same rs to 1.-THE
expenditure OF money that has not been
nominated 10 the warning" when the
stone crusher was removed to the lime
stone quarry, and The old crusher was
repurchased and installed in Pixies
clay bed in spite OF the repeated votes
of the village to the contrary. In other
words, the law is no obstacle 10 Mr.
Livingston when he wishes to carry
into effect his limestone theory, but
when the village wants to carry out its
theory that hardheads are best for
road building and that it is wise to
forefend against threatened deyasta-
ton OF the village by Hood, Mr. Liv.
ingston rushes into print to advise the
trustees that they must not do it on
account of his profound respect for the
law. IT reminds me of the minister
who told his congregation he hoped
they would adopt his preaching as
their rule OF conduct and not follow
bis example
The stone cruSher vas purchased to
crush hardheads from the river, and
the village has never authorized its
use for any other purpose, and has
uniformly voted to continue its use for
that purpose.
Mr. Livingston must have forgotten
among many other localities, when he
wrote his article, Silver street, which
was macadamized with hardhea Is when
the writer was chairman OF the street
committee, from NJ W Stewards resi-
dence to Grand View street, and upon
he authority OF Judge Bates in the
/ last village meeting, has not cost the
village a dollar since for repairs, and
is now in excellent condition for travel
engthwise or crosswse, in any
weather, without a boat or rubber
boots.
The condition of Main street from
the Putnam house to Loring's corner
ought to be enough to convince any
body, who can be divorced from an
exploded theory. that limestone is the
worst material except yellow clay,
that has been used on our streets in
the last twenty years. The first prin-
ciple OF road tuilding is drainage.
That is what the hardheads furnish.
Water teaches through them as through
a seiye Hardheads are practically
indestructible, wet or dry. Hardheads
afford no sticky paste for the detention
of litter that falls upon the street, and
every shower is complete street sweep
err; as witness Union street, which is
never scraped, and is the cleanest
street in the village.
Limestone is soft and Stacks when
it is wet, and, under traffic, brushes
like lump sugar. 50 we have on lower
Main street, from limestone put on
last year, sticky sludge, ankle deep
when wet, and pillar of binding,
sitting, penetrating limedust, when
dry. The commissioner began to cart
on the wornout material last fall,
within a few weeks after it was laid
down, and he would have to keep ever
lastingly at it to keep it litfor footmen
from side to side, foe which there is
great demand. The money which is an
nually expended in scraping up and
carting of PIGGY, unsanitary mud,
from limestone streets and restoring
them to grade, applied to the extension
OF permanent Improvement, with dura
BILE material, would soon give the vii
lage outside of Main street Il chance
for It's life
The removal of the crusher from the
river bank has already resulted in the
damming of the stream in that locality
by the accumulation of hardheads in
the channel, so that the river threatens
to change its course to the south OF
its present course and go crashing
through the more populous part OF The