Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-04-27
The commlssloner's Road Meeting.
VARIETY OF TOPICS DISCUSSED AT
THE COURT HOUSE THURSDAY.

VARIETY OF TOPICS DISCUSSED AT
THE COURT HOUSE THURSDAY.
Not much was talked but roads at the
meeting last Thursday at the court
house, which was the Oxford County
meeting held under the direction of State
Highway Commissioner Paul D. Sargent.
An interesting subject is roads, and there
was little tendency to digress from strict
business on the part of any one present.
County Commissioners Delano and Ham.
mond were in attendance, and road COM
missioners and other town officers and
spectators made up respectable au-
dience. The meeting was held in the
grand jury room.
Mr.. Sargent arrived on the forenoon
train, and began work Immediately, first
putting up on the wall q number of
charts illustrating road construction. He
then spoke in a conversational way for
about an hour, taking up first the matter
of state roads. The law relating to these
roads was briefly set forth, and the de-
tails of work then taken up.
The first point mentioned by Mr..
Sargent in connection with the work
was the advisability of making the state
road construction each year in the worst
place in the road. Having selected the
place, first look out for the surface drain
age. Then the understanding where
that is necessary. Then the shaping of
the sub-grade and the surfacing.
Various forms of culvert we're described,
including several of iron in q number Of
different forms. Drainage of the road
was insisted upon by Mr.. Sargent as the
! first essential, and thorough construc-
| tion OF the culverts of whatever form, so
that they would be permanent, was treat
ed as likewise essential.
After Mr.. Sargent had finished, the
rest of the forenoon session was devoted
to general discussion, principally on the
details OF permanent road work which
had been reviewed by Mr.. Sargent.
At the afternoon session Mr.. Sargent
called attention to some changes in the
state road law made this winter, the
principal one being that the towns will
not be required to set aside any portion
of their regular highway appropriation
for that work, but will make specific
appropriation for state road work, and
will receive from the state an amount
varying from two dollars for each one
raised in the smallest towns, to seventy
five cents for each dollar raised in the
largest towns, up to certain limit.
The amount appropriated by the state
has been considerably increased, and the
surplus which will remain after the
towns have had,'their aid may be expend-
ed by the state commissioner, with the
approval of the governor and council,
in the permanent Improvement of the
main thoroughfares of the state where
ever they need it most.
Commissioner Sargent said that he
thought it would be we'll to spend some
time considering the care of our dirt
roads, which make up the large part of
the mileage of our highways. Incident
ally he remarked that while road ma
chine was an excellent thing with which
to build dirt roads, in his opinion 1t had
been used too much in the care of them.
At another point in his remarks he had
thrown. out the suggestion that he
should consider it wise in many towns
to have one or two men employed to
spend their time caring for the roads,
travelling over them, keeping the culverts
and bitches clear, raking out the stones,
filling the hollows which develop, and
keeping them in shape generally.
An hour or two was then spent in
rather informal discussion. An inquiry
by Mr.. Sargent as to how many used the
split log drag, and what they had to re-
port about it, was not productive of a
md nnl
man, from Harrison, spoke up promptly
and admitted having made practical use
of it. He stated that it had proved an
excellent implement for caring for a
road that was properly shaped, and that
the expense of using it under ordinary
conditions was not far from a dollar a
mile, which Mr.. Sargent said he had
found to be approximately the cost in
most places. Others who had seen some
of the work of the drag said that it had
made a good road wherever they had
observed it.
Winter roads received share of at
tention, largely in the form OF a discus
sion of snow rollers. A number of
those present had either used rollers
themselves or had seen them used in
Uu6iT tOWuS, duu tuCit oPiuiou o00hSo w
be in general that snow roller, proper
" built. makes a good road, can be
drawn comfortably under ordinary con-
ditions by six horses, and the work done
at less expense than by other methods.
Mr.. Sargent cited the case of one town
where the average cost of winter roads
has been just about cut in half since
they began using rollers, and others
present stated that the roads had been
made at much less cost by them than
formerly.
Among those registered as present at
the meeting were:
A. Delano, Canton.
Henry ID. Hammond, Paris.
j. II. Russ, Oxford.
Frank A. Farrar, Paris.
William C. Stearns, Paris.
Hiram NJ. Berry, Paris.
R. L. Cummings, West Paris.
A. E. Cowell, West Lebanon.
E. II. Pike, Greenwood.