The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1907-02-02
The Road Question.
Judge ]. Henry areen. in the Odessa y

Judge ). Henry Green, In the Odessa Ledger
No other question seems NOR,
difficult to settle than the question as
to how to make and maintain good
roads at a reasonable cost.
Tae sgislatule has gwen US many
different laws in the last few years
bu' none that seems to fully meet the
demands. One great dlAicultv grows
out OF the fact that we, The tax.
payers are not willing to pay a RI ad
tax sufficient TO make permanent
Improvements on the roads, such as
rock and cement abutmeuts ard
culverts and iron bridges. EBut
instead we are doing work with dirt,
logs, brush and planks, which Is
constantly washing out, rottlng and
caviDg in, thereby keeping a constant
dram on the road fund as long as time
lasts, unless we change our plans.
Bridge lumber at present is getting
very scarce and the quality very
inferior II 3 now ALMOST impossible
to get a bill Of good lumber for
bridge but instead a great deal Of
inferior stuff is used, that will NOT last
ionser than 70 or three years, agd
the price is getting higher all the time.
So you see this kind o: work mpst be
discarded ooner or later for some.
thing more permanent and in my
judgment the sooner the better.
If under the present lew the county
court cannot make a levy sufficient to
meet the requirements OF this work, ,
we should petition orr representative
in the legislature to offer a bill giving
county courts power to levy a bridge
apd culvert fund sufficient to put In
rock and cement c%ulverts and iron
bridges.
OF courseiths will be more expen.
slye for a few years, hut IN the long
gun it Is bound TO De much cheaper.
And now as to the question Of |
making and keeping up dirt roads, we
know a great deal more than we
practice. We have fallen into some
old Tuts and we refuse to get out OF
them. There is hardly a man IN ,
Lafayette county but knows that the
roads ought not TO be worked late in ,
the summer ind fall, and yet IN lidlng +,
about over johnson and Lafayette
counties this winter l find more late
worked roads than l have seen for
years-some of it done as late as
November graded for miles with the
grader, and the consequence IS that
every time a little rain comes these
roads are almost impossible. AS {
stated above, we know better than to
do this kind Of work, and we put it of
as long as the road overSeer will let !
us-just so we get in the time and do .
not have to pay cash to the county !
collector. Z
1 verify believe the legislature
should so amend the law as to compel!
all heavy grading and plowlng on the '
public roads to be done prior to July
/, and making it q mlsdemeanor for :
any II to do this. work later than =
July l, .
TO be sure all road work cannot be
done by this date. There is bridge
work to DO all the year around; wash. ,
outs are liable to come at any time !
and have to be looked after OF all
seasons Of the year. Also the road :
drag can be used to advantage at any :
season Of the yesr-there are times ,
when it will do much more good than
Others-but 1t never does harm, no
matter how wet or how dry, winter q,
summer. After several years Of
experience in working road myself
with the steel graders, l became
thoroughly convinced that several
times running over during the year
doing light work each time. would
keep the roads IN better condition than
one than one heavy grading but this ]
was too expensive as It took so many ]
teams to do esen the ligat work with !
the grader. t
INV think this problem has been {
oIved in the road drag. 1t will do .