The National tribune., 1909-02-18
ROAD BUILDING IN CUBA.

Not often, IL ever, mas one nation
been as magnificertly benevolent to
another alien in race and language,
as the United States has been to Cuba.
Not only did we free her from an in
toIerable oppression, stamp out the dis
ease that had scourged her, and pro-
tect her during her first efforts to gov
ern herself, but we have done work
of good which is comparable to any of
those which preceded it. The Provi-
sional Government established by the
United States, with Charles E. Magoon
as the head, has done something which
makes inconceivable for the prosperity
and peace of the island. This was
building excellent macadamiZed roads
which run thru the island from end
to end with lateral branches reaching
to the principal points on the coast.
Some of these roads follow the old
crude efforts at road making by the
Spaniards and Cubans, but for the most
part they follow the old cart tracks
thru the thickets. These were barely
passable in dry weather, and entirely
useless during the rainy season. The
old roads were simply the trails origin
ally marked ont by the cattle, and then
beaten out better by trains of pack
mules. There was no strong tendency
to seek the shortest routes, there were
no bridges over the streams, and the
freshets continually washed out the
palm logs that the natives put into
the streams when they had to make
a crossing.
Governor Magoon set his engineers
to work to plan and build the best class
Of modern highways. Now the road
almost in an air line runs from San
tiago de Cuba at the extreme end Of
the island to Los Arroyos de Mantua
in the west. From this great trunk
along the coast. The roadways were
first graded so that the incline should
nowhere be more than six per cent.
The ground was plowed up and shaped
to crown in the center and on top Of
this were placed six inches of broken
stone in pieces as large as a mans two
fists. Then came four inches of broken
stone the size of an egg, and the final
covering of fine surfacing stone. The
whole was compacted by heavy steam
rollers. The roads have a uniform
width of "a feet. with the stone sur
facing covering Is feet. All of the cul-
yerts are made Of concrete with the
bitches on either side Of the road carry
off the water readily, and the swamps
were drained where necessary. Every
Is miles there is road house in which
live the caretaker and employees who
have to maintain that section.
Owing to Governor Magoon's honest
management there was a surplus in
the treasury, and this could be used
advantageously in giving employment
to the people in building roads. The
construction of these roads will be of
inestimable benefit in many ways. The
first and greatest is that it will en-
courage the people to cultivate the
ground, since they can have an easy
and cheap access to market for all that
they raise. The next benefit is in the
way of peace. Under the old regime
with only mule paths thru the thicikets,
insurgents and banditti could raid
towns and plantations with the greatest
impunity, since they could find refuge
from punishment in the impenetrablc
wilds. This is no longer the case. over
these magnificent roads cavalry can
rush at the first news of an outrage,
and hunt the banditti or insurgents di-
rectly to their lairs.