Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1909-01-01
Tar and Good Roads.

For long time there have been Ell
forts to find some treatment which,
without much expense, should give
macadam the qualities distinctive at !
present of solidly paved roadways.
Surface doctoring where the road was
out of place, as macadam
roads always are in the very heavily |
parts of cities, encountered
failure every time it received trial
The necessity for frequent repairs with
stone was obivated scarcely at all. But
where roads are not plain mlshls IL
would really seem that some substance
which will exercise agrip on the stone
particles and give surface lnlmlcai 10
dust, mud and other forms Of wear and
inconvenience might be employed win
results more or less good. Make the
roads waterproof with substance much
used for waterproofng purposes; IN
brief, roof them. To this end crude OIL,
tar and oil or tar preparations nave
been applied. Oil, as an experience ol
Charlotte with it moi long ago would
indicate, is simply short-liYed dust
layer and, for the rest, more OF a nui-
sance than anything else. Nothing
short of modern streets was Charlottes
need, but oil certainly did itself no
credit in its trial here. Among the
worlds road-builders tar has better
reputation and more friends, and yet
the use of tar is, likewise, attended by
serious draw backs. AT a recent Eu-
ropean road congress opinion on this
subject was very much divided. We
set forth the various contentious as
gathered from cable dispatches.
Tar, its strongest supporters agreed,
can be SUCCESSFULLY laid only under ideal
conditions. The road surface must be
perfectly dry and as nearly even as pos
sible. A damp and uneven surface
means quick peeling. But many OF
the delegates declared that notwith-
standing every precaution which might
NC bdhCll LII ltS ldNOI teti L. ~ POOi -
pedient, usually leaving the road after
short time in worse condition than
before. s'In prolonged period of wet
weather." says a summary of the anti
tar peoples views, 'sthe tar mixtures
dissolve into foul, corrosive mud that
ruins everything it torches. In dry
whether it turns the dust into an irri-
tating chemical powder that inf1ames
the eyes and the mucous membrane
A tarred road is dangerous for automo-
biIes, as it facilitates side slipping, and
for horses, which slip about pitiably on
tarred inclines. Several road survey
ors have called attention to this point
in papers read before the road congress.
The system has been given long trial,
and has proven unsatisfactory in every
respect. 1t is high time that the
spreading of tar poultices on the road
should be forbidden by the authorities.
People with tar for sale have exploited
the public quite long enough" Only
small part of this indictment need be
true to condemn star poultices" very
effectually.
Tar in such forms is at best an ex-
tremely doubtful proposition for road
surfacing. 1t appears to have display
ed unquestionable merit only when ac-
tually built into road, whether one
layer deep or more. The bitulithic pro-
cess, as its name indicates, produces
kind of stona-tar. Regular bitulithic
pavement being too expensive for uni
versal use on streets and for country
roads, the question arises whether
something not greatly unlike the btu
lithic top layer cannot be built into OF
onto macadam at a cost comparatively
small They are one or more processes
we believe, which are said to meet this
condition. If they can do what Is
claimed for them, the apparently de
monstrated failure of crudely applied
tar will no longer inspire special regret
in any enthusiast for the cause OF goot
roads.-Charlotte Observer.