The L'Anse sentinel., 1907-05-25
A WASTE OF MONEY.
InJudIcIous Methods In the Use Of
Roads Funds Prove Almost
Total Loss.

The farmers of the west pay mil
lions in each state every year for good
road and yet bad roads are the rule
and good roads the exception.
There Is enough money spent. II II
folly to levy greater taxes to be spent
with equal folly. The great problem
is how to spend the money wisely. and
when we learn this there will be no
cry for greater taxation, but reduc-
tion Of about one-half, to the great
relief of farmers and to the great Inn
provement of the roads. We have
given time enough in investigating
the value Of the road drag to be abb
solutely convinced that after the road
is first drained and graded an ex-
penditure OF Eve dollars mile in
the use of the drag will keep the
roads Of the west In better condition
than any living man has ever expect
ID to see them or than nine men out
OF ten believe they can be kept. We
simply throw money away In allow
ing the roads to go undrained and un-
graded and wash out and then get
men and teams together, use an ex-
pensive grader, pile Ep lot of loose
dirt, with old cans and horse shoes.
and empty bottles, and with grass
and weeds galore In tns middle OF
the road, rendering 1t something to
be avoided until necessity .compels
us to use It. This is simply folly un-
speakable and a horrible waste of
good money.
It is equal folly, Wallace's Farmer
goes on to protest, for US to put In
wooden culverts. The time has gone
by when any culverts should be made
of wood. 1t is equal folly to under
take to build stone abutments for
bridges, even though the stone were
quarried and lying on the ground.
These stone foundations for bridges
will just as surely crumble as the
years come. Twenty years ago super
visors ceased to build stone bridges,
but instead put in piling in iron
tubes These will stand for two or
three generations. 1t has been per-
fectly clearly demonstrated that ce-
ment is cheaper than the stone quar-
ried and lying ready to put in. There
fore, IL we are to save our money we
must discard these bridges with stone
foundation, put in cement; discard
all the wooden culverts, using cement
instead, and then when the road is
once drained by tiling or otherwise,
and graded, use simply the road drag.
We are satisfied that by following
this policy the state of Illinois could
save 100000 out of the 100000
and over that we're used on the roads
last year, and have roads that would
be pleasure and comfort to travel
over nine-tenths Of the year. The
same may be said of Iowa, Missouri,
Minnesota, Wisconsin and eastern
Kansas and Nebraska. There Is not
much to the road question where the
rainfall is less than 20 inches; but
where the rainfall is from 80 to 40
inches we must have mud and misery
three or four months Of the year un-
less we learn how to use our money
collected in the shape Of taxes in
telligently. The great trouble is to
get road supervisors to quit patching
up roads or bridges or culverts and
put In permanent culverts and
bridges, using cement, costly as 1t
may seem at first, but with the con-
fidence that 1t will stand until their
grandchildren are ready to vote. Hav-
ing done this, quit patching up the
roads. Drain the roads II they need
grading, and then make it to the in
terest of the farmers to get out after
every rain and drag the roads. using
the cheapest and lightest drag that
they can possibly make.