The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1910-09-01
PEEHHAJEkT VALUE
Or GOOD ROADS,
SYNOPSIS OF SPEECH DEL;VEREp
HERE July 2S BY GOVERN
NENT ROAD E%PtRT.

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set { = r..,.,- l-...-.~.& Ter" ~.
rhmsL.., =. =. M E:as...H :
he Government expert ROAD buiiavr
Sho accompanied he Columbia Da.-
Is K cor. party in K, :o@atE-,a-
county campaign IL 60: roa.s
Iurirg In month e July.
NJ. N;nsiov.'S remarks wy p:ac-
tical an Inspiring. touca:ng a sub
ject that should vita!.y concern eve
ry citizen ard Taxpayer Of our
county. We had intended to publish
this speech before, but the pressure
on our columns has been So great
that we had to keep it in SOAK" Ua-
til we could spare the space. Il .as
kept all right and everything ne Said
is as important and practical as the
day the words fell from his lips.
Exhibiting his model of the split
log drag. which has teen used to
grea, advantage in many counties OF
this State, Mr. Winslow thus describ-
ed its construction:
This split log drag. he said, was
supposed to be about seven feet
long and eight inches in diameter
and is constructed of split logs placed
thirty inches apart. Nothing save 8
saw and an axe and other ordinary
tools are required to b uild
this implement, which is the inven-
tion of farmer and not of roaG
expert. The history of the invention
of the split log drag was very inter-
esting IS told by Mr. Winslow. A
farmer by the name of Ward King.
while sitting on his porch one day,
noticed hog out in the yard wal
lowing in a clay-hole. Mr. King OBJ
served closely and saw that after
some time the clay-hole became wa
ter tight and water would stand in
it lust as in a vessel. After some
thought this farmer decided that
this proposition of clay and water
would be applicable to roads, with
the aid of proper tool, or drag, so
he set to work and evolved what is
known as the split log drag. People
laughed at him, but he persisted and
finally met with success. The road
at first was ditched on both sides.
then the drag carried over it num-
ber of times; thus the road, which is
very much like sponge with open
pores, was gradually and systematic
ally closed until it became quite
hard and water tight. All people
who know anything about roads
!kneGy that when a road is water
tight it is good road and cannot be
improved upon. Mr. Winslow stated
that there were over two hundred
of these split log drags in use IN
York county in this State. This drag
is constructed at a cost of not more
than $3.50, and will drag as much
as a mule can walk in a day. Reck-
oning the cost of a team at S5.OO a
day, then the cost per mile for the
road would be 80 cents.
MIR Winslow said that he was
pleased with the condition of the
roads in Williamsburg county; that
they were better than ninety per
cent of the roads he land his party
had travelled over. He laid emphasis
on the necessity of having the roads
wide enough. He stated that if the
people of the county wanted rural
free delivery service the roads would
have to be kept up to a certain
standard; that the Government was
at present considering the advisable
ity of making the rural routes in au-
tomobiles, which would enable them
to make quicker deliveries and more
of them day, but unless the roads
were put in and kept up to a certain
standard, this would be impossible
and that unless improvement was
made the rural routes would finally
l. .lol;,L,J oltooofbor If tho form.