The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-07-09

At the home farm in southeastern
Nebraska, writes Prof. C. f. Chase OF
the A. G., there Is a stretch OF road
one-half mile in length that we have
dragged for seven years. Only once
during this period has this road been
worked with anything but the drag.
Two years ago the side bitches were
cleaned with the common road grader.
A2eareful record of the time taken to
keep this road dragged has been Kept
and for the first five years it runs as
follows: Two trips-for one man and
one, team requiring one hours time for
a single dragging is the basis taken.
The first year we dragged it Is times,
the second 10, the third II, the fourth
IL, and the fifth IA times, or II drag
gings of one hours time during five
years. This at SOC an hour for man
and team is APO a year for the half
mile. For a mile it would be $3.50 an.
nual cost of maintenance. Another
road in the immediate vicinity cost
less than $40 per mile annually.
The soil is not quite as heavy as Red
river soil but the rainfall is a little
more than 80 inches. A case is noted
in Public Roads Bull. As. U, S. Dept. of
Agri'. where the cost of similar main
tenance of roads in Arkansas was $11
per mile. State Engineer Gearhart. of
Kansas puts the range of cost for
dragging at from 81 to $40.
The cost for North Dakota should
not be over $40 per mile, while in most
cases 1T would be much less. the cost
depending upon the character of the.
soil, the rainfall, traffic and grade. AS
an average for all dirt roads I would
place the annual cost of maintenance
at $3.50 per mile or $500, TAO to drag in
a satisfactory manne the roads in
North Dakota one year.
The total expenditure on public
roads of North Dakota outside of
towns in 1911 was $691, $40. If prop
erly organized and if the people were
educated we could properly maintain
our earth road with present road fund
aid have $230,800 left for bridges, new
construction, etc.
The question of organization and
legal procedure is a most difficult one.
l well remember when a youth of IA
years, merely large enough to drive
our team of old steady mares, it was
my privilege to work the road and pay
our road tax. This road work was a
great delight to me at that time be-
cause usually the neighbor boys of my
ago worked with me with an equally
SNfS1StiI tCo1li u Olu plug nOTSeE. W.
neVer worked the old horses hard for
TWO reasons; one was their hide was
tough n they wouldn't, and the other
they couldn't work hard if they would.
nay Older brothers could handle a Gull
tlVator OF" a ploW so they worked at
nome. AS ] recall the roadboss occu-
pied his exalted position on a spring
seat in the shade of a large cotton
wood the greater share of the time.
/ IN eVerf npIPSG Wa thn,& 49,. Ill.,
unhitched at the proper time and drew
the full wage of team and teamster.
We didn't believe in it but others did
that way.
AS far as I am able to learn, there
Is no law in North Dakota especially
for the benefit of road dragging,
The office of public roads recon-
dragging. The Nebraska legislature
passed a law to go into effect Aug, /,
1913. This is not unlike the patrol sys-
tenn. The substance of this law is as
follows:
The graded roads in each county
are to be divided into road dragging
districts by the county boards. One
person in each township is to be ap-
pointed superintendent of dragging
and is to receive not more than $3.50
per day.
Roads shall be dragged whenever
necessary and all the sections of the
highway shall be dragged at once.
County boards may levy a tax of not
to exceed one mill for road dragging.
Where. four horses are used on an
eight-foot drag the rate of payment is
75c for each mile of highway dragged
both ways. Where a seven-foot DRAG
and two horses are used, Soc is the
prescribed rate.
On rocky highways or stretches of
road that cannot be improved by drag
ging the county boards are not re-
| nuired to mt the act into effecto