The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-11-10

ironical that was returning from a
long trip to speak at a good roads
meeting Some overseer had scrap
ed all the loose sand he could get
hold of into the road. The road
was naturally sandy and it was the
worst move he could make; every
man who travelled that road for
many weeks paid tribute to the fool
ishness and incapacity of that over
seer. The man who scrapes a lot OF
sod into the middle of the road,
making narrow ridge that every
one avoids, may think he is build
ing good road, but no one else
does. 1t takes a lot of time and
wear and tear to make these mis-.
takes into road.
Good roads can be had in every
part of Blue Earth county if system,
brains and spirit of cooperation
are used 1t is absolutely unneces-
sary to have poor roads. There are
four essentials in the making of
good roads, and the natural order
Is drainage, grading, dragging, grav-
cling. Water is the greatest enemy
of good roads. 1t must be prompts
ly gotten off the roads or the road
bed will be soaked up and cut all to
pieces. Low spots must be drained
out and every facility afforded for
taking the water away from surface
of the road and from the sides
where it might soak back into the
road. Main travelled roads should be
laid out by competent engineer
to be sure of securing adequate
drainage and the best grades over
hills. The extra, cost will more
than be saved by following a well
laid out plan.
When the plan has been adopted,
every bit of work on that road
should be done in accordance with
the plan. In many cases a great
portion of our road work is done
in haphazard manner, with no
well defined plan. One overseer
next year new overseer does like
wise and the result is a distinct
loss and little is accomplished.
A road should be we'll rounded up,
not too much nor too little, just
enough to secure quick removal of
the water that falls on it, and
should be smooth, without ruts or
depressions. Most wretched work is
often done by men with common
scrapers, who leave the road rough,
uneven, full of bumps and holes
Should mason. carpenter or me-
chanic of any kind, do as rough
and poor work as many a road over
seer he would be fired" instantly,
and / think this should be the fate
of some road overseers. Why should
the public, who have a great inter-
est in the matter, be compelled to
suffer for the stupidity and incom-
petence of some Overseer, who cares
nothing about the kind of work he
does on the road. In these days, as
never before, the world demands eff
ficiency in whatever man does.
The question in these days is,
what can you do?" and the man
who assumes the duties and respon-
sibilities of road overseer should
certainly do all in his power to
make good.
Grading can be done, in most
cases, to great advantage by trac-
ton engines, pulling two graders
at once. On ordinary roads, whel 9
there are no bad hills, grading can
be done for $25 per mile in this
manner, and the road is left in
splendid condition for immediate
use. You would not think of
threshing your grain by horsepower
nowadays. There is as much differ
ence in grading by steam, where it
is possible, as between the modern
steam rig and the horsepower ma
chimes of thirty years ago. OF
course, this is not the case on hills,