The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1911-07-20

to the county about every four
years to do other demonstration
work, until Marion county now
leads the State in road building
and a bond issue of 100000 has
been voted to continue the building
of sand-clay roads, the roads that /
wanted to build for them twenty
years ago.
Since l did this pioneer work the
united States government has sent
out to every section of civilized
world experts to learn the secrets of
road building employed by the old
est and wisest countries in the
world and to find a practical meth
cd of road building. Uncle Sam
did not look for information from
away down South in Dixie" but it
was here that he found it after
many years search. 1t has been
but one decade since the discovery
was made and the growth of the
Idea has been astounding. l have
now in my possession bulletins of
the road department of Agriculture
stating that work on earth roads
was work thrown away and was en-
tirely useless. These bulletins go
on to tell how to build macadam
road, corduroy roads with rails,
poles and puncheons, the same kind
of road that | had ordered thrown
away twenty years before. Now the
United States Office of Public
Roads is teaching people every
where how to build good roads and
sand-clay roads are coming in for
the greater part Of their attention
In Richland county, S. c., the
county in which is situated Colum-
ola, the capital of the State, the
people caught the sand-clay idea
about ten years ago and they have
done fine work. They had the ad-
vantage of a number of other eoun-
ties in that they had an immense
revenue from eight or ten dispen-
saries and had the use of convicts
on the road as well. They have
been doing some really fine work.
The adjoining counties, Marlboro,
Darlington and Florence, and Robe
son county, n. c., caught on and
went to work. These counties have
made wonderful success of it.
In this article l have tried 20
state the facts plainly and simply
So that the reader might have an
Idea of how the sand-clay system
got its start and what bitter opposi-
lion IL met with. | want to publish
the whole story in d mucn fuller
IL oiSSl q" hilS, Tile OIL
gin OF the system, the story Of NV
fight for it, the orders of the court,
Eetltions, etc, that enlivened things
In Marion county twenty years ago
The sand-clay road is here to
stay. 1t is fact that sand and
clay and water are the worst
enemies that "a good road has to
light, when they are not mixed in
proportion. When properly mixed
and shaped, they make the best
road in the world. 1t is the only
road in the world that will not wear
out. The more you use a sand-clay
road the better it gets. OF the
agencies that go to make it water is
the most important and the most
essential. You can make a road
with mud clay and water. In short,
you can leave out any other of the
ingredients named and make a road
but you cannot leave out water.
Moisture you must have, in order to
properly combine the mass For
this reason put nothing in the road
that will interfere with the work of
the water. 1t is my opinion that
the water, where possible, had best
come from beneath the road for
various reasons too numerous to
mention here. | know that this is
a feature of road building in which
other road builders and I do not
agree. The highest authorities, in
TACT, disagree with me, but | feel
sure that | can prove what | say,
and will stick to my assertion that
the most important feature is the
control OF the moisture. | venture
the assertion that one half of the
FUNDS used in road building is
! thrown away by unnecessary ditch
ing along the sides of the roads
/ The special demonstration which
got me into so much trouble was
done to show this very point--to
prove that it could be done without
expensive draining and side ditches
Now, If this same material that has
| been forming good road for twen-
~ years over this Marion county
bog had been on a sand hill or in a
place, the materials would have
been dissolved, cut up and turned
10 dust long ago because of the
lack of moisture necessary to hold
IL together. The proportions put in
that special stretch of road would
make good road anywhere else
1t can be readily seen, therefore,
that the proportion of the various
materials that go to make the road
must be varied according to the
amount of water that may be pres
ent. Sometime il is proper and
practical to drain, for instance, of
The sand is scarce and drainage
easy. The man who says that he
can build good road in certain set
proportions without knowing the
condition of the ground over which
the road is to be built and without
knowing the proportion of sand,
clay and water already in the soil
simply does not know what he is
talking about. Put him down as a
fakir. He must know just what
sort of top service he is dealing
with and all about the sub-grade
and foundation before he can form