The Paducah evening sun., 1910-01-04

road work, as lt Is true in all phases
of life's work, that a large number
of the people sit on the fence by the
roadside and criticize the other half
a patriotic duty of citi-
zenship, refusing to take any part
whatever in the work unless they
can get some fat job, or, as they
term it road pie" If the bare
and naked truth is compelled to be
told, a great majority of lamenta-
tion and lusty-lunged kicks against
roads usually emanate from disap-
pointed road job hunters; men who
pay but little taxes, many of whom
pay no poll taxes, and who spend
most of their time on the counters
of a country store industrially whin-
ing out a TRADE of ignorant abuse
against the imaginary court house
ring" This is usually the fellow
that talks so long and so loud about
taxes being high-often the case,
the man who evades the payment pf
taxes.
Once IN while we find an objec-
tor who Is a man of means and who
may be possessed of a good farm,
but who refuses to manifest any
public spirit, if his pocketbook is
affected. There are, unfortunately,
too many such men. l want to give
a ludicrOus instance. A certain
man, living upon a road near the
city, and who is a man of consider
able means, proclaimed with much
noise the necessity of a road being
opened up through his farm connect
ing the Clinton with the Mayfeld
gravel road. l was much impressed
with the splendid argument made by
this gentleman. So much so that /
caused steps to be taken for the pur-
pose of opening up a road through
bis farm and so ordered the road
supervisor. / little dreamed that any
oposition would be encountered
from the ardent advocate of the
new road. But to my great sur
price the county was compelled to
condemn the right of way through
his land and to pay him the sum of
S225 for the same. l had come in
contact with Yankee methods by
which one may be worked. but |
never was so thoroughly and well
worked before. This was not all
The road was popular one and
needed to be grayeled. Although a
most estimable widow living upon
the same contributed her share to-
ward the graveling of the road. this
public spirited CD citizen refused to
contribute one cent. A space in the
road abutting was left ungraveled
and has remained so for several
years, with the hope that this gentle
man would relent and do his share.
IL was, however, vain hope. Only
the other day. believing that il
would be unjust to allow the road
to be unfinished because of his mig
gardliness. you authorized me to
have the road completed, and in a
few days 1t will be done This man
has violently opposed the admins
tration because he did not get this
done before. He also thinks the
taxes are too high. He thinks the
gravel roads have not been properly
built. He thinks the steel and con-
crete bridges viii fall down in a
year or so. He also thinks that the
sanitarium is too fine a building and
place for the unhappy poor, and. he
lastly, but by no means "leastly"
thinks that II is a shame and a hor-
rible outrage and piece of extrava-
gance that flowers are permitted to
grow in the court house yard. This
is not an exaggerated type of citi-
zenship, here and there TO be found,
though happily but seldom seen.
Afterwards, in 1905, when the
people began to understand the con-
ditions under which a given COM
munity could provide itself with
gravel roads, and from that time
until now, the county had as many
petitions filed by citizens from diner
ent localities for gravel roads as it
could conveniently handle, without
being driven to the necessity OF Dor
rowing large sums of money. Dur
ing those three years, over 80 miles
Of gravel road were constructed ac-
cording to the plans as heretofore
detailed, and with the mileage OF
1903 added, there is a total OF lVo
miles constructed under this cooper
ative plan.
As before stated, the one objection
of narrOwness of the roads prevent
ed as good a road being built as
should have been. But eonsiderini
the amount of repairs, and they
have been indeed, comparatively
slight, the roads have been very sat
isfactory for public travel. To be
sure. it might be urged that not as
much gravel was used as possibly
would be the case in street construc-
tion. But in case of the country
roads the depth of the gravel was
not required to be so great as in
cases of streets, for the reason that
we have better drainage for roads
than the city has for her streets, and
for the other reason that they are
not as much travelled as are the
streets. We found. after test that
was entirely satisfactory, that a
gravel road constructed by the use
of two yards side by side would last
seven years without any repairs be-
ing necessary, scarcely at all. How
ever, all roads graveled we're care
fully and properly graded and
crowned before putting any gravel
upon the same. In many cases the
roads were rolled, after being grad
ed, before spreading the gravel.
Wherever the roads were rolled. the
effect was easily seen after the
gravel was put upon the same by
reason of the uniformity and even
ness of surface of the road after be-
ing graveled. And, as has been fire.
quently advised by our road super
visors one Of the essential pieces OF