The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-06-02
GOOD ROADS AT
Low EXPENSE
Not Necessary to Build Permanent
Roads if Highways Arc
Attended Too.

The great enemy of a road is water.
and the great preventive of poor roads
is to keep the water away, not only
from the middle of the road, but from
the sides for a few feet at least
Every road should have bitches at the
sides to receive and carry the water
away and not into the road The road
should be slightly crowned and there
is nothing equal to the road drag for
this purpose. We should remember
that the whole tendency of travel on
the roads in wet weather is to make
ruts and bitches running parallel with
the roads and to break down or hol-
low out the road. These ruts soon
fill with water and instead of being
carried off to the side, it is carried
along in the road to the low places,
which soon become almost impass-
able BY keeping the roadway crown
ed and the bitches on the sides open,
the water is drawn out of the road in
stead of being carried to the low
places in the road.
Water always seeks it's lowest
level, and slight fall is sufficient to
carry the water from the roadway
into the ditch. The road drag should
be used right after a rain and even
during the rain, for it not only
crowns the road but fills the ruts with
dirt, which is heavier than water, and
thus gets the water out of the ruts
where it can drain away to the sides
Hrap hn
leaving it in fine shape to dry quickly,
and this frequent plastering of the
road has a marked effect in fitting it
to withstand the action of rain and
water
There is a great difference in the
condition of roads that are frequently
dragged and those that are not No
dirt road can be kept good without
frequent attention of this sort, but it
pays and pays big.
The cost of hauling farm products
to market over poor roads is several
times greater than it would be over
good roads. Also a road is much like
chain, no better than its weakest or
poorest section. If eternal vigilence
is the price of liberty it is also the
price of good roads in this country.
A good road practically brings the
farmer half way to town, while poor
road doubles and trebles the distance.
Good roads add largely to the value of
the farms of any neighborhood.-
Montevideo, Leader (Minnesota).
A farmer was asked how far he
lived from his market town. THAT
depends" he said, "If there was a
good, even a well kept dirt road, my
place would be about five miles dis
tant. But as it is J. live about 20
miles from the market most of the
year" That was good way to put
the question of distance. 1t largely
depends on the condition of the road
The Jefferson County Union is be-
coming of the opinion that we have
been making mistake in the build
ing of such expensive macadam roads.
1t will cost too much money to put all
the roads in that condition, and even
if it was done they wear out, under
this fast automobile travel, in about
five years. Note how quickly the rock
road on Madison avenue and the one
on the Bussyvi]le road went to pieces
Now why? Well, because public con-
viction at present is all for building
such a road and paying no attention
to it afterward.
If the same money were put into
well graded and rounded dirt road and
the same kept dragged right after
every shower, we would have fine
roads at all times of the year, get
them for quarter the cost per mile,
and thence could have four times as
many of them. There is where we are
coming to on this country road ques-
ton. For fact, John Porter of Oak
land is about the only man outside OF
Commissioner Royce who has COM
pretended how to make a good, solid,
dirt road Ride over the road from
Oakland Center to Cambridge and
take in the lesson. Get the road drag
into your mind little more permant-
ly.-Jefferson County Union.