davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31

discharge end Of the front runner and
by looping the other end over the rung
at the cutting end of the front runner.
This is a. very simple way of connect
ing the chain, but it has the disadvan-
tage that 1t tends to rack the drag to
pieces, and the method of connection
shown in figure 8 is therefore to be
preferred.
How to Use the Drag.
The principal factor in successfully
operating a properly constructed road
drag, provided that the condition of
the road is favorable, Is skill on the
part Of the operator. Such skill can
he obtained only by intelligent exper-
fence in the use Of the drag. and no
rules can be laid down which would
enable an inexperienced operator to
produce first-class results. The fol-
lowing suggestions are intended there
fore, to serve rather as guide to the
judgement than as criterion to be i'm
plicitly followed.
Under ordinary circumstances the
position of the hitchlng link on the
draw chain should be such that the
runners will make an angle OF from so
degrees to 10 degrees with the center
line of the road, or in other words. a
skew angle of from Is degrees to 30
degrees. 1t is apparent that by shift
ing the position of the hitching link
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31

into use. Railroad ties have been fire.
quently used for this purpose and
possess the advantage that they are
already cut to about the right length.
In selecting the tie, however, care
should be exercised to see that It is
Of sound wood and OF the proper size.
The drag Is made by splitting or
saving the log into two equal semi
cylinders, which are then framed to-
gether in the manner shown in figure
8. The better of the two pieces should
form the front runner Of the drag, be-
cause 1t 10 the one subjected to the
greater wear. Moreover, while the
front runner should always be placed
with the face forward, it is claimed
by many that better results may be
obtained by having the round part Of
the back runner go forward in order
to increase the smearing action of the
drag. The two runners are usually
spaced from about 80 inches to So
inches apart, and are connected in
ladder fashion by means Of cross
stakes or rungs.
The ends of the rungs are ordinarily
fitted into 2-inch auger holes, bored
in the runners, and are securely held
in place by means Of end wedges. The
auger holes are so arranged that the
runners when framed together, will be
displaced in O longitudinal direction
with respect to each other. The OBJ
ject Of this displacement, or offset as
1t is usually termed, is to make the
ends of the front and back runners
follow approximately the same line on
the road while the drag is in opera
ton. The amount of displacement,
therefore, should depend on the
amount of skew necessary to make
the drag empty itself. But since this
skew varies with the condition OF the
road surface, the proper offset to be
given to runners cannot be definitely
fixed. Under ordinary conditions an
offset of from about IL inches to about
16 inches will prove satisfactory.
In order to make it easy for man
to stand upon the drag and to shift
his weight properly when dragging
over a hard surface, the drag should
be provided with two 1-inch boards
parallel to the runners and nailed
down to the rungs. These boards
should be about inches wide and
their length should be slightly less
than that Of the runners of the drag.
The chain by means of which the
drag is drawn should be about feet
long and its links should be made Of
three eighths-inch steel. On light
drags two trace chains may be used
for this purpose. The hitching link.
which Is designed so that It's position
on the chain may be readily changed
should be made Of one-half-inch steel.
II desired, an ordinary clevis may be
substituted for the hitching link shown
in the designs. 1t is also we'll to use
a few half-inch links at each end Of
the chain because the wear is great
err at these points. 1t is customary to
fasten the chain to the drag by run
ming one end through a hole near the
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31

The object of such treatment is to
move earth toward the center of the
roadway and to laise it gradually
above the surrounding level. While
this is being accomplished, all mud
holes and ruts will be filled, into which
traffic will pack the fresh earth.
When to Use Drag.
The drag does the work when the
soil Is moist, but not sticky The
earth then moves freely along the faces
Of the slabs. II the roadway is very
badly rutted ard full of holes. 1t may
be well to use the drag once when
the ground Is slushy. This treatment
is particularly applicable before a cold
spell IN winter when it is possible to
have roadway freeze smooth.
A smooth road surface Is secured by
this method. Clay, when mixed with
water and thoroughly worked, be-
comes remarkably tough and imper-
vious to water. If compacted in this
condition 1T becomes extremely hard.
Another valuable result of dragging
is the reduction OF dust, for the par
ticles Of clay cohere SO tenaciously
that there is but little wear when the
surface is smooth. Dust on an earth
road is due to the breaking up under
traffic of the frayed and upturned
edges Of ruts and hoof prints. If the
surface Is smoothed after each rain
and the road dries hard and even. no
edges are exposed to crushing and the
only dust which forms Is that due to
actual wear of the road surface
There is ono condition, however, In
which special treatment should be
given to a road. Clay hills under per-
sistent dragging frequently become too
high IL the center. To correct this it
is best to drag the earth toward tine
center of the road twice and away
from it once.
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31
Figure 2-1erspeceive view Of split.Iog drag.

blade to cut more deeply. The length
OF hitch may be regulated by length
ening and shortening the chain at the
end which runs through the hole in the
blade end Of the drag.
If small wees are to be cut or fur
row Of earth 3 to be moved, the dou-
bletree should be attached rather close
to the ditch end of the drag. The
drag will now move nearly ditch end
foremost, and the driver should stand
with one foot on the extreme forward
end Of the front slab. This will swing
the drag back to the proper angle and
will cause the blade to plow. This
hitch requires slow and careful driving
In order to prevent the drag from
tipping forward. If the blade should
plow too deeply, as 1t may do in wet
spot, the driver should shift his weight
toward the back slab.
If straw and weeds clog tho blade,
the can usually be removed If the
driver shifts p weight to a point as
far as possible from the ditch or
blade end Similarly. II he steps rrsok-
ly away from the ditcr end. the load
OF earth may be dropped into a low
place or mudhole.
Some attention should be given to
the edge of the blade. In the begin
ming, the average earth road requires
no steel plates on the 5~-~ Tough the
drag will be better preserved If the
steel Is applied at first. Al the end
of a years work, il the d.. has
been faithfully done. steel plate will
be needed. If the twist of the log is
properly used, or the three-cornered
strip Of wood is placed under the blade
as already described a fiat piece
of steel will answer. In case the blade
stands perpendicularly II should be
slightly cupped when sharpened.
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31
The SptLog Road DragHow to Construct and Operate

what II known as "set back" The
holes should be inches In diameter.
Caro- must be taken to hold ~. auger
plumb In boring these holes In order
that the stakes shall fit properly. The
hole to receive the forward end of
the chain should be bored at the same
time
The two slabs should be held 80
inches apart by the stakes. Straight
grained timber should be selected for
the stakes, SO that each stake shall lit
snugly into the 2-inch hole when the
two slabs are in the proper position.
the stakes should taper gradually to-
ward the ends. There should be no
shoulder at the point where the stakes
enter the slab. The stakes should be
fastened in place by wedges only.
When the stakes have been placed
in position, and tightly wedged, a brace
inches thick and inches wide should
be placed diagonally to them at the
ditch end, as shown IN figure /. The
brace should be dropped on the front
slab. SO that its lower edge shall lie
within an inch of the ground, while the
other end should rest in the angle be-
tween the slab and the end sake
A strip of iron about L. feet long,
8 or inches wide and Ia Of an inch
thick may be used for the blade. This
should be attached to the front slab So
that it will be half inch below the
lower edge of the slab at the ditch end,
while the end Of the iron toward the
middle Of the road should be flush
with the edge Of the slab. The bolts
holding the blade in place should have
fiat heads and the holes to receive
them should be countersunk.
II the face of the log stands plumb
of the blade with a three cornered
bit Of a plane.
A platform Of inch boards held to-
gether by three cleats should be placed
on the stakes between the slabs. These
boards should be spaced at least an
inch apart to allow any earth that may
heap up and fall over the front slab to
sift through upon the road again. The
end cleats should be placed so that
they will not rest upon the cross
stakes, but drop inside them, while the
middle cleat can be shifted to either
side of the middle stake. These cleats
should extend about an inch beyond
the finished width of the platform. -
An ordinary trace chain is strong
enough to draw the implement, pro-
vided the clevis Is not fastened through
a link. The chain should be wrapped
around the rear stake, then passed
over the front slab. Raising the chain
at this end of the slab allows the
earth to drift past the face Of the drag
The other end of the chain should be
passed through the hole in the end Of
the slab and Is held by a pin passed
through a link. One and one-half
trace chains are sufficient.
In many logs the grain runs around
the tree in such a way that when split
the slabs will be in a wind If this
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31

For years The Pensacola Journal
has Been advocating the use of the
split log drag upon the hard roads Of
E.scambia county and OF Florida
With no other appliance can the
roads be maintained 80 cheaply or SO
effectively as with the log drag and
shis fact has long since been demon
strated in nearly every state in the
union.
In order to demonstrate 1t IN Escam-
bic county The Pensacola Journal
some time ago had split log drag
built and 10 now operating it at The
Journals expense on the road between
Gonzalez and Cottage Hill-a strip OF
|ahOut 4 Ia miles.
Everyone who travels that road IL
lnsited to note It's condition and to
see how the road drag In operated.
The drag was built according to spec
ifications furnished by the United
States department of agriculture and
those specifications. together with IL
i0strations of the drag. are published
In this page.
Specifications for Split Log Drag.
The specifications for building a
split log drag ars found in Farmers
Bulletin No. 81, issued by the depart
ment of agriculture and may be had
/ by anyone who will write for them.
The Journal takes pleasure, however.
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31

wind Is not more than 4 inches in s
feet, the timber can be used to good
advantages by setting 1t 50 that the
Made end OF the log shall slant for
ward when the other end Is perpendi-
cular. The construction of the drag
In this case is the same as given above,
but care must be taken that the holes
bored to receive the stakes are plumb.
No wedging under the lower edge of
the blade IL necessary in using such a
log.
How to Use a Drag.
The successful operation Of drag
involves two principles. whict, when
thoroughly understood and intelligent
ly applied, make road working with
this Implement very simple. The first
concerns the length and position Of
the hitch, while the secopS a--'- with
the position of the driver on the drag.
Each influences the other to large
extent. and successful manipulation
OF the drag is dependent upon an un-
derstanding Of both Of them.
For ordinary purposes the snatch
link or clevis should be fastened far
enough toward the blade end of the
chain to force the unloaded drag to
follow the team at an angle OF As de-
grees. This will cause the earth to
move along the face Of the drag
smoothly and will give comparative
ly light draft to the team. provided
the driver rides in the line of draft.
Sometimes, however. conditions are
met which require special treatment,
and in rolling country such condi-
tyons ara mt tnfreuuent Often a flat
place several rods in length or q seepy
spot needs special attention.
The distance from the drag at which
the team is hitched affects the depth
Of the cutting. Shortening the chain
tends to lift the front slab from the
ground; a longer hitch causes the
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31

The other mistake is in the use of
squared timbers, instead Of those with
sharp edges, whereby the cutting effect
OF sharp edges is lost and the drag is
permitted to glide over instead Of to
equalize the irregularities in the sur
face Of the road
The log should De Z or feet long
and from 10 to II inches in diameter,
and carefully split down the middle.
The heaviest and best slab should be
selected for the front. At a point on
this front slab inches from the end
that Is to be at the middle of the road
locate the center of the hole to receive
a cross stake and % inches from the
other end of the front slab locate the
Center for another cross stake The
hole for the middle stake will lie on a
line connecting and halfway between
the other two. See figure 1. The
back slab should now be placed in
position behind the other. From the
end which is to be at the middle of
the road measure 20 inches for the
center Of the cross stake. and inches
from the other end locate the center
Of the outside stake. Find the CEN
ter OF the middle hole as before When
these holes are brought opposite each
other. one end of the back slab will
lie Is inches nearer the center OF the
roadway than the front one, giving
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31

weight backward or forward, as the
case may be.
An intelligent and interested opera
tor will soon learn many simple ways
by means of which he can easily con-
troll. the different features of the work
which drag performs. and he will
also learn to utilize effectively every
effort which his team exerts. I'm
skilled or Indifferent operators, on the
other hand, may do actual injury to
a road by dragging 1t in an improper
way, and they generally waste large
part Of the work which their teams
perform. Cases are not infrequently
observed in which no care whatever Is
exercised to see that the team is prop
erly hltched to the drag or to deter
mine when the operator should ride
and when walk. Very often the oper-
ator seems to think that the drag is,
or at least ought to be, an automatic
device, and that his function is merely
to drive and ride. 1t Is almost need
less to say that under such conditions
as these, the road drag usually proves
failure
When to Use the Drag.
II is fully as important that road
be dragged at the right time as it is
that the dragging be properly done.
Furthermore, the difficulties involved
in prescribing definite rules for de-
termining when dragging should be
done are equally as great as those al
ready encountered in attempting to
define how it should be done. Only
very general statements concerning
this feature of the work can properly
be made here, and much must be left
to the experienced judgment Of those
who decide when the dragging of any
particular road is to be started and
when 1t is to be stopped.
The rule frequently cited, that all
earth roads should be dragged i'm
mediately after every rain, Is in many
cases entirely impracticable and Is also
very misleading because of the condi-
lions which it fails to contemplate. 1t
Is true that there are many road sur
faces composed Of earth or earthly ma
teriaI which do not become very mud
dy under traffic, even during long
rainy seasons and since such surfaces
usually tend to harden very rapidly
as soon as the weather clears up, IL
may be desirable to drag roads Of this
kind Immediately after a rain. Such
roads, however, would not ordinarily
need to be dragged after every rain
because Of the strong tendency that
they naturally possess of holding the;l
shape. On thu other hand, many --~r-
ieties of clay and soil tend to become
very muddy under only light traffic
after very moderate rains, and 1t il
evident that roads constructed of sucl
materials could not always be success.
fully dragged Immediately after rain
Sometimes, in fact, it may be neces
sary to wait until several consecutive
clear days have elapsed after lon,
rainy spell before the road is suffi
GENTLY dried out to keep ruts from
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31

forming almost as rapidly as they can
he filled by dragging. In many cases
of this kind, however. it is possible to
improve the power of the road to re-
sist the destructive action Of traffic
during rainy seasons by repeatedly
dragging 1t at the proper time.
Well-constructed sand-clay and top
soil roads should not often become
muddy after they are once well COM
pacted. They may become seriously
rutted, however, under heavy traffic.
during rainy weather and are almost
sure to need dragging several times
each year. Such roads should ordinar-
lily be dragged as soon after rain as
practicable, as otherwise the surface
soon becomes dry and hard, so that
it is necessary to do considerably more
dragging in order to fill the ruts
Furthermore, the material which the
drag moves will not compact readily
unless it contains a considerable
amount of moisture.
Gravel roads can be effectively
maintained with road drag only when
the gravel composing the surface is
fine grained and contains q consider
able quantity of clay or, earth Gravel
road surfaces in which this condition
prevails not infrequently get badly out
Of shape during wet weather, and may
sometimes require considerably more
attention than well-constructed sand
clay or topsoil roads. The time for
dragging gravel roads is unquestion-
ably while they are wet. In fact, the
best results are sometimes obtained
by doing the dragging after the road
has become thoroughly soaked and
while 1t Is still raining.
In general, il may be said that the
best time to drag any type of road is
when the material composing the sur
face contains sufficient moisture TO
compact readily after it has been
moved by the drag and Is not suff1-
emily wet for the traffic following
the drag to produce mud.
Conclusion.
In conclusion it seems we'll TO sum-
Marie few of the principal points
which have already been discussed at
some length.
First, the road drag is the simplest
and least expensive continuance vet
devised for maintaining roads con-
structed OF earth or earthly material
Second, the successful operation of a
road drag depends to a very great ex-
tent on the skill and intelligence of
the operator. Third, the time to use
the drag is when the material com
posing the road surface is sufficient
~ moist to compact readily under
traffic after it has been moved by the
| drag, and does not contain sufficient
moisture for the traffic allowing the
drag to produce mud. Fourth drag
ging cannot usually be so arranged as
to keep teams employed all the time
and it is therefore desirable to have
it done by interested persons who can
| find employment for themselves and
teams when they are not engaged in
dragging.
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-31

Director L. W. Page. Of the Office OF
Public Roads, has also contributed
Bulletin No. 6sT. from which the fol-
lowing Is taken:
An attempt win be made in this
paper to describe the best methods Of
constructing and using read drags and
Ito supply information concerning the
conditions for which such drags are
adapted. Since, under favorable con-
ditions, road drags may be effective
ly used in maintaining roads con-
structed of earth, top soil. and clay,
Tor gravel, a brief discussion Of the es-
sential features Of each Of these types
|of construction will also be given in
order that the purposes OF the drag
may be more fully understood.
Purpose Of tho Drag.
Properly used at the right time the
road drag performs four distinct Of
|fices. First. by moving at an angle to
the travelled way it tends to produce
|or preserve a crowned Cross section.
Second, II used when the material OF
the surface Is not compact and hard.
III tends to reduce ruts and other ir-
in the road by moving ma
|terial from points which are relative
fy high to those which are relatively
BOW. Third, when used after a rain 1t
hccelerates the dying out Of the ROAD
ly spreading out puddles Of water ana
thus Increasing the surfaces exposed
b evaporation. Fourth, II the surface
NJ 'er1al is In a slightly plastic state.
Dragging smears over and partially
keals the so-called pores which natur-
billy occur in earthly material, and
thus makes the road surface more or
sss impervious to water. The advan-
page of this smearing action Of the
rag will be more readily understood
I sample of ordinary earth Is ex-
hmined under a magnifying glass.
Such an examination will show that
ne earth closely resembles a sponge
pr honeyc NIB in structure. and the de-
sirability OF closing the open pores will
70 readily apparent
II used improperly or at the wrong
line, the drag may do actual injury to
road. Dragging q very dry road, for
Example, serves to increase the guam
lily of dust and may do additional
iamage by destroying the seal pro-
iuced during previous dragging. II,
Pm the other hand, the road is very
vet and muddy. the irregularities in
he surface are likely to be increased
Father than diminished by dragging.
How the Drag 10 Constructed.
The design shown In figure con-
plates the use Of an ordinary log of
tmber. such as may be obtained in
lmost every locality. The log
hould be about or inches in diam
Ter and from 8 to feet long, and
should preferably be of hard, tough
wood which will not decay very rapid
y when exposed to the weather. White
pax, burr oak, chestnut, cedar, hickory,
Walnut, or any similar wood may be
satisfactorily used. provided that it is
ven seasoned before the drag is put
The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917, 1915-06-25

aminations. This could be accom-
plished by putting petition before
the people for vote on election day.
am willing to help the good cause
if there are any volunteers. No
money necessary.-Lew PerIman.
BILLY SUNDAY-Can any of The
Day Book readers tell me In figures
what Billy Sunday does with the
money he receives from the public?
The people contribute the money,
so l think the people have a right to
know what he does with it. Many
are opposed to Billy Sunday on ac-
count of the thousands of dollars he
collects, but if he is using them in
the right way and would only tell US
just how, l think he would make
many more friends and get larger
contributions.
The people have a God-given right =
to know in figures what Billy Sun
day does with their money.-Mrs. L.
S. SpeIina.