The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1908-07-02
The Best Roads in Iowa.

Last Friday afternoon tho Reporter
man enjoyed trip down in Woodland
township, in company with Prof. T. H.
Mcdonald, the head of the good road:
commission of the state agricultural
with James r. Harvey in his auto, and
for several miles we made a delightful
run down on the Leon Lineville road as
far as the farm of James Hazlet, and
every mile Of the road had been sys-
tematically dragged and was in excel
lent condition. Continuing east towards
Woodland for few miles the road had
not been dragged, and what difference
up again and on into Woodland there
was splendid roads. Our objective point
was the farm of Hon. G. c. Dye, Prof.
Mcdonald desiring to take number of
views of the road work which he had
accomplished and run of few min
utes brought us to his famous roads.
And say, they did not look like country
roads but more like boulevards in
city park. For nearly four years Mr..
Dye has been an ardent good roads man
and he has used the road drag with
wonderful effect. The roads adjoining
his magnificent farm of $40 acres we're
in the best of condition, and they were
made entirely by the use of the split
road drag. The hills have heen cut
down until the grade has been made
perfect, and the low land at the bottom
Of the hills has been filled up. Mr.. Dye
knows how to use the rood drag too,
for he hitched his team and took drag
out on the road and showed us how he
could cut into the bank and work the
loose dirt to any place on the road he
desired. The roads adjoining his place
are over the worst of clay hills, but he
has made them thing of beauty in
stead of a dread to the traveller. He is
keeping up over two miles Of roads, and
told us that aside from hitching to the
drag as he went to and from his work
i in the fields he had put in just two and
a quarter days of work on the roads
this year. He has found by experience
that the road does not want to be too
high in the center and he makes it just
slightly oval from shoulder to shoulder,
about fourteen feet and then cut down
the sides SO that the water is carried
off and with it all the loose dirt to the
bottom of the hill where he pulls it up
| to raise the low part of the road. Prof.
Mr.. Dye had the best piece of country
road that could be found in the state.
We wish his farm was closer to Leon so
that our farmers could drive over it
and see what can be done in the way Of
making roads with the split log drag.
We also crossed over the line in Wayne
county and viewed several miles OF
roads which are being worked under
the supervision of S. T. Massey, who
boasts of fifteen miles of splendid roads
in his township.
! If more of our farmers would follow
the advice of Mr.. Dye in the work of
dragging the roads there would be a
very marked improvement in the
road work. There is just as much diff
ference between his roads and the
average dragged roads as there is be-
tween the average dragged road and a
road which has not been dragged.
After thoroughly inspecting the roads
and the work of Mr.. Dye and his road
drag we took jaunt over his we'll kept
farm of $40 acres and it is certainly one
of the prettiest farms in Decatur or
Wayne counties, part of his farm being
underbrush and timber except enough
ioI SSoou ohdSAC anu ulc PdOoulOo loOhOSA
like a picnic park, being we'll covered
with blue grass. Mr.. Dye is a money
maker, commencing without resources
twenty years ago when he purchased a
rough forty acres for $619 and by hard
work and good business methods he has
added to the farm piece by piece until
he now owns $40 acres of fine land.
During the trip to Mr.. Dyes farm
Prof. Mcdonald, who has travelled all
over the state this year, remarked
that he saw bigger and better corn here
than in any other part of Iowa.
After spending several hours viewing
the road work and Mr.. Dyes farm we
went to his elegant new home and Mrs
Dye had prepared supper which was
fit for king. That the visitors die
ample justice to it after their ride anc
tramp goes without saying and it was
with regret that we tore ourselves
away and started on the return trip
making the journey of fourteen miles tt
Leon in an hour and ten minutes.
Fell Thirty-Five Feet and Lives
)