The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-04-07
WILL WORK EAGLE LAKE HIGH.
WAY DURING SUMMER.
Has Been at Business Fifteen Years;
Believes in Gravel; Offers vaIu-
able Suggestions.

awe SuSSSottouos
NJ. O'Brien of st. Paul arrived in
the city Saturday noon, having been
sent by the state highway commits
sion to keep up section of road
| during the summer. He is an expert
| road builder, and is well recommend
ed by George w. Cooley, state ell
gineer. In sending him, Mr.. Cooley
states that the purpose of sending
him is to demonstrate the value and
efficiency of a system of continuous
maintenance on roads by placing
! road patrol on certain stretch and
| keeping him on the job all of the
time. Mr.. O'Brien spent the sum-
mer of 1909 in Dakota county, doing
| ington county.
Mr.. O'Brien brought a number of
| tools with him, but will construct
planer, which he considers better
than drag. as it does nicer work.
| 1t costs but little more. He has been
engaged in this work for fifteen
years, he says, and does all of the
| work himself, generally without
| team. He will leave his family in
st. Paul
George M. Palmer, chairman of the
Commercial club good roads commit
tee, to whom Mr.. O'Brien was sent,
has decided to have him work on
the roads where the farmers have
themselves shown the greatest in
terest. He has therefore located him
on the Eagle Lake road to begin
with, and after that road has been =
brought up to perfection he will
place him on the Mapleton road.
locate him on some other road late
in the season.
The state highway commission :
pays Mr.. O'Brien, so the only ex-
pense is in providing him with a
team OCCASIONALLY, and such gravel as
/ he needs.
| Mr.. Palmer took Mr.. O'Brien out !.
over the Eagle Lake road Saturday
afternoon in his automobile, accom-
panied by County Surveyor Brooks
and representatives of The Daily
Free Press and Review. Mr.. O'Brien
was greatly pleased with the road,
| and said that it would not take
much work to make it perfect
[ road. A little smoothing, little
leveling of the gravel already on it,
and the hauling of very little more
gravel, and the road will be all
right, and needs only little rain
and a little travel in the center and
not on the sides He says that it Is
graded up right and he believes
| that the gravel OH it is of the best
| possible kind to make good road.
He believes in graveled roads above
all others. He can handle about
| six miles Of road at a time.
Mr.. Palmer succeeded in finding
boarding place for Mr.. O'Brien in
about the center of his territory, at
the home of John Mock, the road
! Overseer, who has had charge of the
graveling of the road. This is very
! fortunate, as the two men can work
! together, and be of great assistance
to each other. Mr.. O'Brien will come
W IlIS CITY wednesday W tdke up
his work His tools arrived Satur-
! day by express.
1t is hoped that those interested
| in road work, all over the country,
will visit the Eagle Lake road and
observe the methods used by Mr.
O'Brien in keeping the road up.
! Same Methods Can Be Followed.
| The same methods could be fol-
/ lowed very easily all over the coun-
| ty, and it would not cost a great
deal to have road patrols on all of
I the main roads, and it surely would
be a great economy to the farmers
who have to use the roads, and
also to all others who go over the
roads.
| Blue Earth county is certainly for.
tunate to have Mr.. O'Brien sent
here. The offer came without solicit
| tatiOn, and Mr.. Palmer was sur
prised when the offer came 1t was
due to the good road work that
Mr. Palmer and others in this city
and county have been doing. The
Eagle Lake road is also very fortu-
nate in having Mr.. O'Brien placed
! there, and the farmers will surely
appreciate what is being done for