The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-12-28

SEQ 1d thus earetuliy oor-
sirpeset E peHsiye urdartnszins.
bat ores ~ K there fcr ii time.
apa comer 0yer a good
intFs asss cal 81 year.
8 The I1nte AS TOP "a nood
by IS arm INTO III hole III
the dixie ind to6si die principle ~
HFater-sear This sane principle III
plies to roads as well as 10 diket.
Once d channel is stared. destruction
Is sure to follow. A wheel rut cutting
into an unforeseen soft spot, or . ipatch
OF loosened stones may. II nnmended.
be the beginning Of hundreds Of do.
lars of waste. Nothing deterlorates 80
rapidly as neglected road, and few
things are SO easy 10 ma4ntafn In per.
feet condition if slight continual paine.
taking inspection is pilowed to rule.
In some southern states, especially
those in the valleys O.. the Mississippi
and Its tributaries. burnt-clay roads
have been used The process Is simple.
The clay road bed is piowed up, and
roasted over open wod fires. much as.
bricks are baked. The ''gumbo" or
"buckshot" thus loses q goOd deal d.
its water, and when mixed with IN.
cooked clay and then thoroughly roll
ed. forms a smooth and durable sur
face.
The Automobile Problem.
Within the last few years a new
problem has arisen in roadtbuildlng.
The automobile. with Is great fatteu-
ed ruber tires and t-s high speed,
sucks up the dust on the macadamized
surface, and even in its thirsty ac-
tton draws out the oenlenting powder
from between the stones, thus reduc-
ing the road 10 q ragged uneven state.
Lose, gravel means more loose gravel
and terrible water?wee... The roads
are literally being unnade faster than
they had been made.
Various remedies hast, been propos-
ed and tried. At the international
Road Congress held at Paris last DC
tober it was reported that a cement
or lime binding" may be added to
the roa't material as 1t is being rolled
into shape. This process has the rec
concentration of being cheap, and SO
far as VIC can now sa., tolerably per-
manent. A plan morH extensively us
ed in this country is to coat the fin.
ished surface with a ,ion1blnatton OF
coal tar and pitch, heated to two hun.
dred and twenty-five degrees, and
thoroughly proomed into the top
course OF the maca1a1u. AS quickly
as may be, layer Of spiinters Of trap
rock is spread and rolled into this soft
painting. The surfav4 tnus formed Is
water proof ard auto, proof. Trees
planted along the roadside tend to pre-
vent evaporation, and also act as wind
breaks, thus minimizing the dust nus
sanCe.
AS to the cost Of coed roads, various
local conditions maze 1t impossible
to give more than exceedingly gener-
al information. In some phases the
town o. county or state owns the tools
and machinery, and even the raw ma.
terial. In such cases labor is the only
expense.
A road expert has stated that dirt
roads sixteen feet wide can be con.
structe|1 for tire hundred dollars a
mile; and that every road in the coun.
try cau lie nacadamiztd for one thou.
sand dollars a mile. TWO or thret
thousand dollars, however, are fire.
quently spent. The EARRING process.
which pays for itself by prolonglng
the life of the highway, amounts TO SIX
hundred dollars additional for each
milo
The money spent IN good roads !.
money probably invested. The l%,
turns, except in the case of toll roads.
are mover direct or iii cash. Never.
theless they exist, and are to be rreck-
oned' in general prosperity and com
fort rise in the values Of real estate,
and Increase in business. The citizen
who contributes to the making OF
good roads is performing as valuable
a duty as he who POUNDS colleges.
Mo Excuse for Ign onance. =
Ignorance is no lo!,Eer an excuse
for bad roads. In the winter of 1901.
% a railroad train. carrying CON.
plete outfit for constructing roads,
travelled over four thousand miles
through Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Georgia Alabama and
Tennessee, building by the way sam