Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1910-03-25
Road Building and Road Dragging.

0I W OuuOdtDO1, luC oJOOSm "
good roads is the greatest civilizer
The truth is, l think, that the gooC
> roads have great weight in market
ing our stock and grain at all times
The people have been found ready Il
nay taxes for permanent improvement
u they were confident that the none
would be judiciOusly spent.
State Engineer Gerhart said: 'Ou
, great fault is that we have no organ
lied way Of doing our road work, ant
We should narrow down our work t
the responsibility of one man in eacl
county; there should be rigid system
OF overseeing road work. Taxpayer
DO not get $10O worth of work fol
$lO0 worth Of money. Sometimes les,
than 40 per cent get into the roads.
think he has this about 20 per cent
600 high in some instances.
In road building the first esSentia
thing is to clean or burn said road
Stake it out straight in line not less
than one mile in length. for the fact
O Is, the longer the road the easier it is
worked. Then plow a straight furroV
following the flag; throw the dirt in
not out. Get started right in building
your. road, and you have the battle
half won. With the proper manage
nent you can have your dirt centered
at each end and the middle. By this
means you avoid all possible delay in
stopping and making a turn in the
middle of the mile, or at any other
place between.
with the grader blade eight feet
long we can move at an average
about seven feet of dirt at a time
and keep the grader at full capacity
all the time. We find that it does no
pay to cut more dirt than the grader
will carry, therefore keep the dirt
moving and do not let it drop back
over the mold-board. Heavy soil can
not be moved e fast as light soil, and
30 adds expense to grade. At the
rate we receive pay for work on the
road, man and team. we could move
dirt for about $1.OO per running foot
with the grader. We mean by this
that a road 30 feet wide, will cost
about $4,000, not including tiling. Al
ways place thing in road before grad
ing is done.
II do not see the necessity of wait
Ing and cutting out grade, and put
ting in tiling after grade is built. It
Is practicable and profitable to use
ten head Of horses In grading, instead
Of eight, which has been the practice
for so long for the simple reason
that with ten head you can keep your
machine moving all the time and with
much more ease, which in a days
work would more than pay for the
cost of the extra team. l believe the
best power for road work is an en-
CINE where it is practicable to use It,
as you can get all the power needed
and it is more compact and steadier,
and | believe a road built with an en-
CINE is worth $1,000 per mile more
than, it costs to build the road, for
the simple fact that it packs and
firms the roadbed which cannot be
done with horses.
"In the proposed plan of the new
Santa Fe trail we are going to use
the engine in finishing up grade, and
will pull a heavy roller behind the
Rrader-the heavier the roller the bet
ter it will be. Hitching a roller on
behind to one side, and roll ground
in in finishing up grade, which prac
tically makes a roof so to speak, to
drain water in the ditch. When this
Is accomplished, with a little fore
thought, care and practice Of road
dragging on this grade, you will have
a good road for all time to come
"I have said before that this roac
movement has come to stay, and
want to emphasiz that am not
r'booSter" to increase taxes on peopk
as has been stated upon the streets
but to first spend the money which
we have for that purpose, and to ge
somewhere near dollar for dollar ou
of your money.
"The total amount Of money tina
has already been collected for 1911
for actual road work, outside OF gen
eral funds, amounts to $1O,O9456
Then add to this the estimated pol
tax of $500, and the amount tina
has been pledged in this county 10
road work, which will easily amour
to $1,000 that 1 have heard OF, tc
gether with the $4,5OO now estimate
to be in the hands Of the TOWNSHIP
. treasurer would make grand tots
Of s19,594.56. This is outside OF
great amount of June collections tina
are yet to be made.
"Under the new road law the none
that is collected now, three tourths {
it has to be expended within the di'
trict that it has been collected Il
which. I think you will agree wit
me, is a good law, if rigidly enforce'
Also the law reads that you cannC
work roads before the first OF Apr
nor after the first of October, excel
In repairing roads. | am thankl'
thtat the man who drew UP that IA
doesn't live in Pawnee county.
"W. R. Goyt Of Oklahoma said, Il
pend 80 per cent in draining yol
roads and the other 20 per cent
maintaining them With the raj
fan we have had in the past It vi
not exceed 20 per cent to mainta
them when properly built. A VII
road is hard to keep the water OF
and therefore is harder to maintai
The cost is much greater to build
wide road than a narrow one. In 0ul
ing a narrow road you have a gre
many advantages over the wide gra'
in various ways, but it Is very ca,
To add to narrow grade. If you ta