St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1913-11-08

have done, before so earnestl,
pleading impartiality.
An analysis of the remaining
twelve letters, nine addressed t,
DR.. Shaw, and three to Alder,
man C. P. Dunbar, shows still
less to dishearten us. One 0.
these was an unsolicited lette1
which Mr.. Dunbar received from
Birmingham, and which tht
writer openly admitted was sen
by him at the request of a repre-
sentative of the Barrett Manu-
featuring Co., who not only sell
but admittedly control the bust
ress of selling pitch, tar anC
other kindred products through.
out the South, and whose pro.
ducts are used in wood block
paving as well as in Tarvia.
This climates ten letters as hav.
ing been obtained, not by re.
quest, but through the efforts of
contractors who knew where te
apply for testimonials. This
leaves ten letters obtained in re-
ply to inquiries sent, and we
presume honestly sent and receiv-
ed, although we would not be
surprised to learn that some paw
ing representative had let drop
hints as to what towns had had
the best paving experience, and
what officer to address at each.
Let us see the result.
A correspondent of DR.. Shaw
at Mobile says wood block @. K,
bitulithic resurfaced pavements
voluntarily, and compliments
liberality Of Bitulithic people.
The official position of this cor
respondent is not stated, but he
evidently doesn't read the Mobile
papers, unless 20. K. means
ssOf for Kalamazoo, for the
Mobile papers say the wood block
pavement has departed for parts
unknown.
Mr.. Barracks of Baton Rouge
writes Mr.. Dunbar that bitulithic
pavement only seven years old
had been re-crowned last sum-
mer. He doesn't say whether
this was the same pavement they
tore up last year looking for the
water valves when the pipes
broke, and Baton Rouge had its
first dry experience during the
several days search. We don't
know thing about it, bat re-
member something in the papers
about such a search, and it would
be just like such a water valve
to hide under a paved street.
Anyhow, seven years is longer
than wood block would have laid
quiet and then deserved only a
crown.
The City Engineer Of Dallas,
Texas, first wires DR.. Shaw
wood blocks and bitulithi give
best satisfaction, wood blocks
for heavy traffic, and .bitalithic
for resident streets, and then
writes, not favoring either of
these pavements but giving brick
h, we'll our typesetters are
ladies.
The honest engineer at Beau
mont appears to have, been limit
ed to a report of wood block, but
kindly volunteered fuller infor-
nation. He says: I would not
advise this pavement (wood
block) to be put on any street
where there would not be suffi.
cient amount of traffic, the
heavier and more traffic the bet
ter the pavement will give" He
offers further information. I
wish he would tell us what to do
in the summer and winter. OF
course Beaumont has a heavy
traffic always, as we know, but
poor Opelousas is a farming town
and has heavy traffic Only when
the crops are moving in the fall.
Doctor, please ask that Beau
mont man how we can hold that
pavement down in the summer
and winter months when the
traffic is light and the rains
heavy. Maybe we could get
Mike to borrow from the farmers
five or six cane wagons TO each
block paved with wood, and haul
them up and down all the year,
weighed with extra wood blocks,
if he thinks that would serve,
until they were needed again
next fall.
The Commissioner of Public
Works at Laurel, Miss, states
that no paving has been laid
there but wood block, the town. s
first experiment, but while he
gives it a good name and even
said it had stayed as long Eight
Months without '1bucking" q
wonder who told him to look out
for that broncho paving). he
continues by naively stating
that the towns second order is
not out for sheet asphalt. But
why change? Laurel is a small