River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1912-06-13
Dumping The Bumps
OR, WHY DO THEY MAKE GOOD
ROADS BAD?"

conditions In this state, or at least
in this section of the state-Fair.
Bad and Worst. The highways are
just recovering from the Bad season
which always follow the breaking up
of winter and lasts until the frost is
out of the ground, and are getting
into decent shape for general traf-
fic. But now comes the Worst
period, and it is truly a period to
highway traffic. The poor, inno-
cent roads will not recover from the
operation in progress until late in
the fall. Meanwhile wagons, bug
gies and autos. which cannot escape
usage during this season, will creak
and snap off springs, and the oc-
cupants will suffer slow and rasp-
ing torture.
When the law was enacted
providing state aid for road
construction vehicle users
generally rejoiced, saying,
now, if ever, come happy days."
and paid the increased tax levy the
more cheerfully with the idea of inn
proved highways in view.
But now the good people are
wondering how that state aid law,
and the promise it carried, kept out
of the joke book.
River Falls and vicinity abounds
in beautiful scenery, and the valley
boasts some of the choisest farms
in the state, but to a stranger ask
ing as to a pleasure drive, one
would have to confne his directions
to few of our city streets, with
possibly country jaunt of from a
half to three-quarters of mile on
bat one or two roads out of town.
The scenery and splendid farms
are still there, but the pleasure"
of the drive would be rudely in
terrupted by the road con struction
or rather, destruction, now in pro-
gress.
The system" used in this road
work is surely puzzle to the un-
initiated. Perfectly good roads, In
fact the best in the vicinity, such
as the Clifton road, the roads to
the lake, and the best parts of all the
main roads leading from the city,
are covered over with loose sod,
graded from the sides and piled,
| axel deep. into the center, or filled
! in with huge rocks, hauled uncrush-
ed from some nearby quarry.
There are bad places, bound to be,
in every road over rolling prairie,
but here these spots are either left
untouched or carelessly filled in
with debris. The placing of cul
verts and watersheds Is generally a
most careless operation, and they
are dangerous obstacles in almost
every instance. It does not sound
reasonable to lay the fault to the
farmers in whose vicinity the work
is done, for the farmer would natur
ally be the one most Interested in
good road construction, and espe-
cially so in his own neighborhood.
Nor can it altogether be laid up
against the highway overseer, or
those under his employ, for their
pay, which is generally, in the lat
ter instance, their poll tax, is hard
ly recompense for any great amount
of labor, and the work is called for
during one of the farmers busiest
seasons.
The fault seems to lie, rather,
in the directing of the expenditure
Of the road funds. Wisconsin au-
toists pay IS per year for auto
license, one of the highest rates in
the country, and a per cent of this
is supposed to be returned to
the community from which it comes.
River Falls and vicinity has as large,
and perhaps larger number of
autos, as any community in proper
ton to its population; and by the
same token it has about as poor a
| layout of roads as can be found. In
our neighbor. state, Minnesota, the
auto license is 81 so for three years,
and their road tax is no higher than
here, but the roads are a great deal
better.
The question is, what is bet
ter system. and how is it to be
procured?" What's the answer?
! Man develops methodical faculty
From this faculty he has reasoned
out the application of forces. He
has employed animals and the
forces of nature to work for him.
His care for the means he EMPLOYS
or his neglect of them is the
| measure of his success or failure