The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-07-18
Keeping Down the Dust.


Owing to the increase of motor We
hicles many of our roads are now sub
jected to a wear for which they are
unsuited. Owing to the dirt raising
power of the automobile the dust prob
lem has reached an acute stage in
many places. The matter has resolved
itself into a local study, since it has
been closely demonstrated that pre-
ventives which work on one soil are
either useless or harmful on another.
This phase of the problem was recently
discussed by road expert, Mr.. ]. W.
Howard, before the American Road
Makers association. Said this author
ity:
Each locality Is separate problem al
to what available materials to use for
constructing roads and what methods to
adopt for reducing dust. My experience
testing pavement and road materials in
my laboratory and constructing pave
ments and road surfaces for many years
! in many places. convinceS me that not
/ cheap first cost, but economic mainte-
| to suppressing dust. Water alone, or
mixed with salts or with alkali and oil,
has a very limited application. Certain
adhesive asphaltic oils for soft road ma
tertals and specially prepared coal tar
| products for hard macadam and similar
roads seem to be the present solutions Of
dust problems for thousands of miles of
| highways.
The condition Of many of the main
roads in the country after a few days
| of fine weather is such as to justify
almost every expression that may be
used to designate it. The surface con
sists either Of thick layer of dust or
i of variable mixture of sand and loose,
sharp stones, according to the locality.
Every fast vehicle that passes. and
often merely puff of wind raises the
1 dust in clouds, binding and choking
the. users of the road, penetrating way
/ side houses and Christening the people
1 like. one of the plaques Of Egypt. The
more frequented highways are often
/ shrouded throughout the day in dense
I
/ wind ard the traffic and never having
4 time to settle. 1t is not surprising that
the public grumbles and demands re-
4 lief in one direction or another.
The English public is confronted with
! The same problem. and there the ques-
ton of the hour is the choice Of meth
DDS in the use of tar. An article in the
London Engineering says that tar OF
some tar compound is the most salts
factory and adds:
Tarring has its defects and its lirnita-
! lions, but on the wholei 1t appears at pres
i ent the most promising solution. How ii
4 can be best applied is the next considera-
1stion. It seems obvious that the proper
I time Is during the reconstruction Of the
/ road when the surface material can be
mixed with tar befora being laid, SO thai
/ every individual stone is covered. An al
! Tentative method advocated by some is to
coat the road thoroughly before the sur
face material Is laid and then roll the
| latter until the tar is forced up into the
1 interstices. If 1t be true that tar always
4 finds its way upward to the top Of the
! road there is something to be said foz
/ this method Of using it. Usually, hoWey-
er, tar has to be applied to an existing
surface and then the treatment is neces-
sarily less thorough. The ordinary proce-
dure is to sweep the road clear Of dust
and then to apply the tar brushing the
latter into the interstices by. hand labor
Sand is then laid to prevent the tar being
1 picked up by the wheels Of vehicles, A
second coating is given after six weeks
i but a single dressing only is required in
i subsequent years.
The tarred surface eliminates the ex-
4 pense Of the water cart and adds to the
life of the road. By the use of a tar
ring machine the annual cost of main
tanning the tarred surface after it has
been laid is cut in two.