Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1907-12-25

MATERIAL CHANGE IL LAW
AFFECTING THEM.
APPROPRIATIONS FOB STATE ROADS
VOW coNPULsoRY-sHAlL TOWNS
WILL RECEIVE BIT LITTLE AID.


Bysh rsrcvlsior< Of the iaw e2ag-ed By
the list Legislators tbs wcrk Of Perna-
nszs improvement On the S-zte roads viii
On the frs. day Of January asxt pass TO
ths control o. the STATE commissioner of
Highways. and ths uaoney raised By the
towns for this purpose. instead OF being
voluntary. n under the present lar. will
then tcxne cen rrlscry- sad the sncunt
that each foxn vii. be required TO APP
p-cprlsts viii te liked according 20 their
valuation. which vii be foand 10 be q
very great change from the present eonii-
sions-
OF the thirsy-ive towns that comprise
the county of Hancock. thirty have had
the main thro1yhfare running tnro1gh
their fo~n designated ss Sfase road, and
hare made permanent Improvements
thereon The ive thss hare nos yet taken
Up this work are Cranberry Isles Isle an
Hszf- PsDonscos, Sorrento and Verona,
bet under the new lar they will be
obliged to make appropriations for. and
commence this system Of bodybuilding.
But a< not only all towns, but also or
CANNED plantations and unineorporzted
townships, viii nov be obliged TO make
appropriations fog th.s p1rpose, il will Be
found that, as the amounts required are
based upon their valuation. the smaller
towns, although shsy viii receive more
State aid in proportion to the mount ex-
pended than the larger ones- viii &c;
much less than they nov receive for the
work they are doing.
OF the twelve towns which have this year
expended $50 and upusrd. and which viii
receive $40 from the State, only the four
largest VIII pass thst limit under the new
law; eleven others will receive upwards
Of $40; the remaining twenty vii get
smaller sums in proportion to their vain
xtion- For instance, one torn that has
this year expended &xSs-s in permanent
Improvements, and will receive saa2.50
from the State, under the new faw viii
only be entitled to receive S2.l6. which.
it is obvious, viii make it impossible in
the future to carry On snr Systematic i'm
provement on its SIX miles Of State road.
Permanent work has been carried on in
twenty-seven towns in this county the
present year, and some idea Of the
character Of the work done can be gather
ed from extracts from the reports Of the
selectmen in the different towns.
In Bluehiu. on the road from BluehiH
village TO Sedgwick in continuation Of the
work done last year, . section of more
than half mile Was cleared of rocks and
lodges, by blasting one hundred times and
improved by putting in stone cuiverts
and drains. ana By applying SO loads Of
gravel to the surface. making . stretch Of
road Of which that or any town, might be
proud
In Franklin the improvement was made
where il cost SIS to blast rocks and clear
them away before even sufficient width
could Be Obtained fog tbs road
In Hancock part of the money was sx-
pended by contract, a method which
should be employed as far as possible in
all road building. In this place autouao-
bilss are very common in summer, and q
section Of twenty rods vas built across a
dangerous curve in the road, by removing
ninety-sxo cYbic yards of ledge by blast
ing, and building Teiford road at the
ends. with one stone euIvert, for sess
In the town of Orland a centre drain
nearly quarter Of a mile in length vas
made Of stone, four feet deep, st cost OF
$3.50, after which the surface was grayelied-
In the other towns, in ainios. every case.
what had been the hardest place TO get
through has been changed 20 a solid and
Aperulanent piece Of road By this method.
the standard of the whole road is raised
for continuous trareI. making Il possible
to CARRY larger load the entire distance.
The two great requisites for permanent
work are gravel and stone. but conditions
vary greatly in different towns. some
being fortunate in having both kinds of
material, some having gravel only, others
stone by the roadside near where they are
needed. while in other towns neither kind
Of material can be obtained without the
expense Of long haul; therefore in or
der to expend the money il the way that
it viii yield The best results, these con-
dirions must Be considered, for in none of
oar country towns Is it advisable to nm
dsrtake to do permanent work By a fixed
rule.
Senator Hale's Fireside.
The aS g..