The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1908-03-19
GOOD ROADS.
Address of.Mr. Curtis Hill, State
Highway Engineer, 10 the
Road 0verseers of Bates
County, Missouri.

County, missouri.
Mr. CHAIRMAN, GESTEEaES:-Fher,
are two kinds OF road agitators II
this country which We do not want
and one OF those s the man who wants
nothing but rock roads and the 9th
er who does not want any rock roaC
whatever. We want both and event
tally we will have both. We DOM
want all OF one or the other.
Thelarge per cent OF our roads are al
ways destined TO remain earth roads
The earth road problem is concern,
ing us to-day, and will be forever,
Is is OF Just "a much importance as
rock roads. believe | can say, IN
deed, 1t ia OF more Importance to us
unless 1t be on road leading out
two or three miles from your town
where a hard road Is a paying prop.
osition. People have got to make
up their minds on what they need,
whether they need rock or earth
road.
Your condition Is not one OF the
need Of rock roads to-day. You
have several years ahead OF you be.
tore you need to meet that problem,
The road has got to be out OF old
mother earth, and along with that |
might add, that the best road build.
ing material In the State of Missouri
to.dsy-or the two best-is earth
and good common horse sense.
We don't want to make our road
building a burden. Is should not be
a burden on anybody, and whenever
Is reaches the point OF being bur-
len, right there ls the point TO stop,
and get something else in the place
OF what we are using.
The time OF long distance travel
by wagon is long past and ourroads
are local proposition TO the com.
munity, and local investment.
The roads leading out from town
'orm the life system, as it were, OF
shat town and it Is the people living
around those towns who wish to use
ihose roads.
You don't care TOR a road from
here to Jefferson City. You don't
haul your produce that far. The
railroads take care OF that. II the
community wants one kind OF aroad
and Is willing to pay for It, it is their
business to do it.
The proposition OF road building
,s simply taking our surrounding
materials, whatever they may be,
rock, stone, sand, gravel, shale, and
making them into such condition as
30 make good roads.
Beginning, We have the earthroad,
she sand.clay road or gumbo road,
the shale road, the gravel road, the
rock road in various degrees OF ex-
pense, reaching in more or less de-
gree to the perfect road, and the per-
feet road Is a pike road that has a
root Q little tighter than the roof
here. You have got to keep the Va
ter of the road bed. The quicker
you can get 1t off the right oi-way
the better.
The earth road fixed TO shed water
good road, and II you give the
water half a chance, 1t will get away.
IN she construction OF these roads
the sand clay road which spoke
Of is a sand and clay or gumbo TO-
gether, making mortar to put on
she surface OF the road, because on
any road you have to have three
general principles, they are drain
age, wearing surface and the com
psctness OF that surface. That is
what sand does. II contains twenty
to forty per cent Of sand. By filling
this clay or gumbo with It you get a
mortar which, when 1t dries, forms Il
compact wearing surface. In the
same way the burnt gumbo 10 made,
az you will see along the railroads,
especially down in southern Gala
way, and largely on the NJ. K. & T.
railroad. They are building these
roads where they haven's other ma
terial and will get q good result
They will take stretch OF q mile o
road and lay on wood on the gumbe
and throw more ON II and then fir
1t and then spread II. This cost
them from three hundred to tweIv,
hundred dollars mile, more expen