The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-17

Nv UCC1 Atk1OO
Such work has a tendency to retro
gression rather than progression.
While it is true that the exigency of
the case or the shortage OF. money
may compel the construction II road
work that may have no value in future
Improvement. 1t il very seldom that
such work will add to the cost of
future improvement If the future is
considered at the time of construction.
Water is the natural Enemy of roads
and seldom will n community be found
IN which the road builder will not
have to combat this destructive ele-
ment in some form. Even in the arid
regions the sudden downpour of rain
that occasionally occurs renders long
reaches of road impossible. by erosion.
consequently drainage nay be called
the foundation of road Improvement,
and until the water has been provided
for, there is no permanent road inn
provement. In our prairie states.
where most of us arc Interested.
thorough drainage may safely be said
to solve one-half of the road problems.
Hence. work properly spent in drain
ING Is an Improvement that will be re-
CURED regardless of the nature Of
future traffic or materials used in the
superstructure. In swamp or wet areas
should be encouraged before
roads. for the reason that drainage
means an Increased income from the
land which makes the road tax less of
a burden to the land owner. Drain
age of itself improves the roads and
permanent bridges and %culverts con-
not he economically constructed until
tho drainage systems are completed.
Many of the rural road men arc not
aware of the fact that the building of
Il nlgh road across wet Ian is only Il
make-shift for drainage, that a good
tile or open ditch would remove the
cause for the grade. that water stand
ing along a road grade s%aturates the
foundation of the road to the level of
the standing water and then is raised
by capillarity to the surface Of the
road and in the end destroys the road
regardless of its surface covering.
Study Local Conditions
To secure a road which has the re-
quired qualities. it is necessary to
have a solid foundation which will
not become soft by moisture or de-
stroyed by erosion and then an inn
p%ervious covering that will shed the
storm water and carry 1t to the side
dltches. h securing of material for
the covering is the bone of conten-
lion among road builders and is the
problem h a confronts many of our
agricultural communities. 1t is here
tina local conditions should be studied
and the road builder use his inge-
nuity and experimental abilities to
find at hand a material hat will an
swer the purpose and be within the
p~ocketbook of the district. Various
are now used M approach
in greater or less degree the ideal road
%surfacing materials, according to the
locality where they are used and the
care in construction and maintenance.
Common earth by developing it's
pudding properties and keeping it in
good shape with the King road drag.
A mixture of sand and clay.
Burning clay on the road where fuel
is plentiful.
Shells along the coast.
Gravel and coarse sand as it is
in natural banks.
Broken stone Of the more
rocks.
Wood in the form of planks for clay
roads. and sawdust. bark, straw, etc,
for sand.
Oil and tar as Il binder on sand,
gravel and broken och.
Such materials, while they are not
what might be desired. yet have
it should be clearly understood
that the method of treating a road
With n II OF these materials in
n locality may not be satisfactory
in another; consequently The. necessity
of careful. experimental work with
surfacing materials in new locali-
ties.
Another item of road education in
districts is a method of
systematic and thorough maintenance
for roads. like nearly all other
works of man racl1ira constant ro,,,;r
or h e rapidly disintegrate. The sue
cess of many of the cheaper road sur
facing materials depends almost en-
tirely on the care with which they are
If a community can be
educated to properly prepare a road
bed by draining and grading, and then
i'll a proper system of maintenance,
the road problem is practically solved,
for the road will be surfaced by the
as there is a demand for better roads
than natural conditions afford.
How to Interest Communities.
To interest h agricultural COM
in IA Improvement often
appears a hopeless task. That better
roads are needed is readily admitted,
but how to pay for them is the stumb-
ling block. After watching the road
problem for a number of years it is
a. oplIlASu Ia IIlduy vi Tie IOdO en-.
thusiasts and agitators make a mis-
take in advocating a sudden change
from a pioneer road to a high-class
macadam road at one step. with the
esult that the expense frightens h
land owners. The average farmer lis
tens to a description of a European or
New Jersey road, compliments the
speaker on making an interesting talk,
considers the price of such roads be-
yond his ranch and promptly forgets
the whole matter. To get him inter-
ested 1t is necessary to get him to
thinking over his own road conditions,
and to do that, it is necessary to point
out to him some facts.
Perhaps the first step in rural dis
tricts would be to place the present
a cash payment-not that the labor
system Is wrong. but that it has serv-
ed its time and should be replaced by
a better method. The labor system
has done excellent service in the i'm
provement Of pioneer roads. and is the
only method hat can be used in a
newly-settled country. but. like the
log house. it should give way at the
proper time to a cash system. When
the time comes that roads should be
built to accommodate the load, there
is practically no further improve
ment by he labor system. for differ
ent methods may be used.
The arguments against the labor
lows:
The roads are not worked at the
proper season of the year as the farm
er cannot cave his field at the sea-
son when road work should be done.
There is no general plan of work.