Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1910-05-31
Good Sense as to Good Roads.

Some one asked the writer the other
day where he found the meanest roads
in the state of Maine. The questioner
had just driven from Fairfield village to
Waterville town, and be was little hot
under the collar to think that highway
traversed as much as that is should be
allowed to remain in as poor condition
so late in the season. We told him to
cross the bridge at Waterville and start
for Clinton on the east side of the Ken.
nebec, and after he had crossed the
Winslow line and got into Benton he
would forget and forgive the authorities
in Waterville and Fairfield, not because
the road was impossible, but because il
was carelessly and negligently allowed
to be as poor as it is. Incidentally we
dropped several rather uncomplimentary
remarks about the roads in the good
town of Benton, and in the midst of our
most earnest utterances who should
drive up but our genial friend, Mr..
Davis, the Mayor of Benton, and we
were compelled to repeat what We said
about his roads in his hearing, much as
we disliked the task, when 10, and be-
hold, Brother Davis fell right in with
our denunciation and declared that the
town ought to be indicted, not because
IL had not built boulevards from one
end of the town to the other, but be-
cause it had neglected to do few little
things that would have improved its
highways so greatly. For instance we
passed over miles and miles of road in
that town that could have been made as
smooth as a trotting track by the free
use of split log drag with a single pair
of horses. The man whose duty it was
t. attend to 1t was waiting for the mud
10 dry up SO be could do the work with
out muddying his boots, when as mat
ter ofe fact the work should have been
done twenty-four hours before, when the
soil was soft and plastic and the high
humps and ridges could easily have been
scraped into the holes and hollows.
Now if Benton and it's worthy town
officials, highway surveyors and all, we're
the only sinners in this respect We
should not lumber up our columns with
this tale of woe, but we should HE our
selves to the grand jury room and have
the town indicted as public nuisance,
but the trouble is, Benton Is only one of
q whole lot of towns 10 the state of
Maine who are equally guilty.
AS we have proclaimed over and over
again, it isn't because the towns do not
build expensive macadamized highways,
Or solid stone boulevards, but because
they fail to do the little things that cost
very little but mean very great deal.
To illustrate. Last Monday the roads
running along the eastern bank of the
Kennebec and Sebasticook rivers through
the town of Benton, were in miserable
shape A single pair of horses and one
man in one days time would have made
hem away above the average of country
highways. The same was true on the
same date of the road running from the
Winslow line through the town of Vas
salboro on the river road, to the Angus
"a town line. The selectmen knew of
he conditions in both towns, but do the
best they could, they could not find
team in either town that could be in
iuced to hitch out and lend hand
Surely with these facts staring us in the
face it is very evident that there must be
, reform in our present system of main
.enance of highways if not in construct
ing them.
We believe the only practical way Of
highways is the same sys-
tenn employed by the railroads. Have
section men in charge OF different dis
tricts and let them be furnished a horse
aud a dump cart. A good man and a
good horse will keep long stretch of
road in decent repair after it is once
constructed, but no horse and
no dump cart is sure to result in con-
fusion sooner or later, no matter how
we'll the highway was originally built.