The Winslow mail., 1914-10-10
GRADING OF COUNTRY ROADS
Great Care Should Be Exercised In Sc
lection of Material for Bridges
and CuIVerts.

One of the most serious wastes in
connection with our highway building
is the necessity which is often met
with Of destroying miles of gravel or
stone road-bed, hardened and cement
ed by years of travel but which is
found to be out Of line or out of level
with the requirements of the highway
as determined by the best engineering
practice.
When such road is too high it
must be excavated, at cost consider
ably In excess of that of ordinary soil
or gravel; and when too low, it is COW
cred by the new material, with total
loss of the original investment, writes
B. G. Marshall in Progressive Farmer.
The labor expended upon roads
that have followed the lines of least
resistance, after the manner of "The
Faith the Calf Made" may be found,
when these are relocated according
TO modern methods, to offer but
slight assistance In the establishment
of the permanent highway; but where
they are the ordinary dirt or clay
trails Of many districts we may con-
sole ourselves with the fact that they
never represented any very heavy in
vestment. The lamentable thing Is
the laying Of what should be perma-
nent construction under strictly tenn
porary conditions-the building of the
house upon the sand.
Even In tho annptioc uyhora
population and the amount of taxable
property are very small in proportion
to the road mileage, it should be the
practice to make any extensive i'm
provements or alterations only after
securing the advice of a competent
highway engineer. The temporary
employment Of such an official is quite
practicable; and the returns will be
many hundred per cent on the out
lay.
The loss on bridges and culverts in
a relocated and graded road is gen.
orally heavy. Most constructions,
even if found in fairly good condition,
are totally destroyed by removal. An
exception Is the corrugated iron pipe.
When made from high purity iron,
these culverts are but slightly affect
ed by rust, and can thus be rightfully
classed as permanent Improvements,
but they are also ideal for a tempo
rary location, as they suffer no dam
age in being dug out and relaid.
Brick, stone or concrete should only
be employed where the location Is
fixed for all time, and where also an
absolutely rigid foundation can be as
sured.
In America, we do vast deal of
work which has to be undone a few
years later We want results, and
want them quick; as a nation we
have the energy and folly of youth.
1t is highly interesting to note the
vast amount of labor on the farm,
the highway and in the stores and
factories which has to be performed
as result of earlier errors and mis-
calculations. We build barns and
silos and establish milk route; and
two years later decide that our cir
cumstances or our inclinations are
better adapted to fruit raising; and
an expensive dairy plant becomes idle
and useless. The storekeeper stocks
up on line that his customers
don't want and can't use and the
goods cucumber the shelves until they
are sold at a sacrifice. The manufac-
turer buys machinery and employs
experts to effect a minor improve
ment in his product and the next
year finds the article displaced in the
market by some totally different and
superior device. In several directions,
however, indications may be observed
of the rule of maturer judgment.
We are learning to conserve still more
valuable things than lumber and wa
ter power The waste Of time and of
labor is beginning to be understood as
sacrifice oF human life