The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-02-17

missioners being appointed for each
town. Up to this time the towns had
kept up the old custom of appointing
surveyors and receiving their annual
road tax in labor on the highways
The surveyors varied from ten &c
twenty in number in the different
towns. Each surveyor had unques-
toned authority. He was, in truth
monarch of all he surveyed" This
system however, led to a great lack
in uniformity because the surveyors
never got together to discuss their
problems in q mutual manner. Be
sides this objection to the system,
there was still another objection Of
incompetency Of the surveyors. Many
of them were hopelessly inefficient.
1t may be safe to say that many of
them held office much the some as
some of our officials hold office to-
day, that is, not because they are IN
efficient but because they are good
fellows"
AS to the matter of men working
out their road tax, that was a part
of the system which was attended
by many evil consequences. The
work was always delayed long after
it should have been done, because
those who worked on roads at all
would attend to their own labors
first. Moreover, there was a great
need of more "eye servants" in order
to obviate cheating and to insure good
honest service.
Out of this situation came some
slight improvements. A law was
passed by the Legislature according
to which leach town in the State
may at its annual March meeting
elect three persons as commissions
ers of streets and highways and
they shall have all the power and
be subject to the same liabilities tina,
highway surveyors are subject to by
the existing laws of the State" This
: law further provided an importan;
change. it held that leach town
which shall elect street commissions
ers may raise it's highway tax, that
is make its own assessment, and
make such tax payable in money"
Following along from 1873 to 1881
very little change took place in the
supervision and maintenance OF
= highways until the last decade of the
. nineteenth century.
Address by Prof. Barbour.
In 1891 an address was delivered
in the Farmers Course at the Agri
: cultural College in Burlington by
{ Prof. V. G. Barbour. Learned as he
Il was in the science of civil engineer
ing Prof. Barbour's address suS
o gested the crying need of a NOR
t. technical understanding of the sub
/ ject of road making. 1t suggested
g that the obvious defects arising from
Z the lack Of that training were wei
illustrated or every hand by the ig
I" norance displayed in the care of clay
u ey roads. rPof. Barbour lauded thu
{ European systems, saying that thu
: European roads furnished the bes
u examples of just observation an.
: tireless efforts in making permanen
: highways.
: Together with the subject of claye,
e roads, Prof. Barbour discussed sand!
= roads and roads through low we
d valleys. In most mastery way h
:. took up the details of drainage
Ii width slope browning, shade anC
u dressing. The whole address wa
g thoroughly scientific and technica
II and yet 50 easy of comprehension
u that it appealed strongly to the minds
" of the laity as well as those skilled
u in that science. In speaking of thu
best methods of building highway
j. Prof. Barbour made reference to TIT
method of Telford-Scotland' grea
4 road builder-and that of John Lou
y den McAdam--the great Englis)
= road-maker The methods of thes
5 men were put forth as the two bes
S types for permanent highways. D
Z the two, McAdam's method seemed t
have precedence over Telford's in tn
mind of Prof Barbour. Consequent,
= allusion was made to the Frenc'
q roads they being adjudged the bes
q in Europe-(The French, roads ar
S made after the McAdam style Ant
+ out of total of two hundred thous
and miles of road the surprisingl.
= large proportion of one hundred ant
II twenty thousand are macadamized)
~ In summing up his address Prot
II Barbour urged certain features i!
+ road-making which those of the pres
c. rent day can see have been adopted a
o the most practicable. In part he SAID
c the territory of the administrative
e unit must be enlarged, roads must b
= classified and last but not least, the,
= must be worked upon to some con
/. siderable extent by skilled labor"
= Town Commissioners
If In 1892 we find quite a marked
e legislative change in regard to high
e ways At that time an act was passed
which created Commissioner o
| / ,,oaol to,un U,bo Cn,n