The Republican journal., 1907-07-25

ford Tribune says, sit looks as though
this years road will be even better than
that built last year and that gave entire
satisfaction" The Tribune says moth
ing as to the cost of this kind of road.
doctors differ upon almost every
matter brought to their attention.
There now seems to be doubt among
the authorities as to whether sunshine
is as good for man as people with sun
parlors in their homes believe. Sun
shine, it appears, may be excessive and
induce neurasthenia in the white man.
And the strangest statement made in
the course of this discussion is that the
farmers of Manitoba are, many of them
at least, Inconsistencies. Members Of
the Tuxedo set, jaded housekeepers and
fdgety business men are usually the
natural heirs to this malady of the
nerves. But life in the open also has
its drawbacks and the Medical Record
is found considering the question, care
Settlers of Western Canada Doomed to
Failure?" in commenting on book
written by Major Charles E. Woodruff,
A. NJ, NJ. D., surgeon in the United
States Army. The title of Major
Woodruff's book is 'The Effects of
Tropical Light on the White Mar"
Speaking of Manitoba, the Medical
Record says:
THE country is one of almost contin-
nous sunshine, the brilliancy of the
light equallng that of the tropics, and
if it is really the light rather than the
heat which bars tropical lands to the
white man, as Woodruff contends, the
prosperity of the Canadian Northwest
promises to be short-lived.'
But more authorities will be needed,
it is believed, to remove the well-settled
notion that sunshine, freed from all
danger of heat-stroke and eye-strain, is
one of the good things provided for man
of which he cannot partake too freely.
The Star-Herald of Presque Isle in
discussing the road repair question
gives the town of Mapleton credit for
using its appropriation of highway
money to az good purpose as any town
in Aroostook county. 1t says: ''The
practice in Mapleton seems to be to
pick out with good judgment the bad
places in the roads and to repair and
improve them, and to let alone the part
of the road that is already good enough
and where the natural conditions for
permanent maintenance are favorable
As to road machine work the Star
Herald is of the opinion that a large
percentage of the money thus expend-
ed is worse than useless, and instances
the Washburn road, over which the
road machine has been run for some
miles, as the latest case in point. 1t
says: "The result is that the road is
now merely narrow windrow of soft
muck. 1t is inevitable that such a
piece of work with the poor material
used will go entirely to pieces when
subjected to heavy teaming, and it
seems to us that little will be accom-
plished directly except to make bad
piece of road worse" In conclusion
the Star-Herald presents phase of the
road question worth considering gen.
orally:
1t may be noted in passing that the
practice of narrowing the roads which
results from work done with the ma
chine as commonly used, is rendered
increasingly Objectionable with the
growing use of automobiles. The auto
mobile is a troublesome proposition at
best on country roads, but when these
roads are so narrowed and slope so
steeply at the sides that much care is
required even for the safe passage of
ordinary teams, the auto becomes
much more formidable to drivers of
such teams. This consideration alone
will probably compel new methods to
be employed in road building.
The automobile is here to stay, and
the roads will have to be adapted to
the new conditions, which means
| broader road beds and it means that
the best conditions can be reached by
practically discarding methods hereto.
| fore followed.