The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-02-02
ROAD IMPROPERLY
WORKED IS CLAIM
Mr.. Icona Poole Draws Some
Conclusions From Activities
Near His Home

10 the Editor: Please allow me a
little space in your paper. There is
much talk at this season of the year
about h roads. Let me give a little
OF my observation in watching the
working of the roads.
1t looks to me that our road people
have never learned the secret of road
building yet. Now / believe the crea-
tor of the earth knew more about how
to arrange its soil so man and beast
could stay on the top side, than all
the men of earth.
A little Of my observation runs
this way. | live in Wake county,
about one-fourth Of a mile from the
Wake and Johnston line, and have
been living here 26 years. Three or
four years ago, l noticed the Johns
ton county Q people UNDERSTOOD to
put up about o~ne-fourth Of a mile of
sand clay road les the Wake line.
| They had 20 or 80 convicts, mules,
wagons and carts, and hired a lot
more. They tore the earth up side
down. and piled, up a lot Of clay on
the road and a little sand on top.
About n year later Wake county
came in on the side of the line for
about one-fourth Of a mile sand clay
road. They, too, had 20 or 80 con-
victs. l gave them the land freely,
any they set in with mules and ma
chinery Of many kinds. They like
wise tore the earth up side down, too
the road scrape pillow, raked off the
top soil nicely to the edge, and placed
a road bed of clay in its place. Then
they dragged the top soil back on it
nicely and said goodbye.
Now that was a beauty to behold.
But one bright morning L noticed
down at the county line a mighty
turning about with mules. So l
walked down there to see what was
up, and they had their machine in
the middle of the road scraping off
the sand back toward the ditch.
That clay looked as slick as a bottle.
| said then the jig was up. But
l about two or three months after the
Wake people had built their road, an6
5 a few days before the good roads
t convention was to be held at More
head City, and Mr.. Warner and Mr.
: Pratt and some more people were tx
e go from Asheville to Morehead Cit.
through the country in machines
e noticed six mules and the road scrap
: pillow passing my house. So | walked
out to see what was up and they Wer'
S in The middle Of the road, sendin:
the sand back toward the ditch, an
I said again, the jig vas up. [ watch
ed carefully these two experiment
for Is months to see which did tn
best and which did the worst, an
after we have a few days OF rain Q
6 snow I think they both are the worst
and am now fully prepared tc say tn
50 jig is down.
have spoken time and again |
our supervisor about that little pieC
Of road. What a pity it was to spen
% so much on it n then let 1t go t
1T wreck for the lack of, perhaps, abo,
n one and and one-half or two hour
W. work with road plow, bringing bac
" sand and soil from the ditcIes. TT
~ supervisor says he has sent the ms
~ chine here to do that work, but the
nave never done it yet. It seen
r they are in q big hurry to get to tt
line and 9. still bigger hurry to g
back to the camp.
IN I have seen weeks at the time
the last IS months that l do not dal
to take out my machine on accOu1
of the bad roads-right here in
miles Of Raleigh On the Central Iils]
way. 80.
Now. Mr.. Editor, I am not writ,
g this against any man or set OF me
~ except he be a red mud man. L ma
been asked to make some conplal
o. several times, but / hated to do thu
be and kept hoping it would be ma
les better. A few days ago.. l motto
a man with cart hauling dirt in a r
a muddy place on the road, but t
,ty most of what he was hauling was t
same sort of clay that was alrea
ne there. SO it was no permanent Eot
A few more thoughts and then I q
on done. 1 believe in fair play to all t
to county, and at this season OF the ye
re- when all the roads more or less ne
re. attention, we should quit tearing
the hard places with plows, Guilty
tors and drags and go to rough plat
de. on all roads. I do not believe c
ev- people Will ever De inuuceu - ~
ing bonds for ROAD puiluAns 49, -
Of see some betteT anu Hioi0 1ao"lS
EN- vided funds and work all over t
county. They fully believe tt
have learned what it takes to ma
. good roads. Now I have been hVl
RI here at this place 26 years, beer TT:
cling this road over 40 years, and '
~. saw fatty that that the II a mile
vI road that 1 nave been talking alb
=" gets in worse fix, in the last
tn months, with its hundreds of doll
,ect spent on it than it did any OF
in time during the 40 years previous