Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1915-11-04
COURT TO BUY GRADER
EARLY h THE SPRING
State Highwry Engineer Frank W
BuGfum Writes the Ledger Con-
cerning Roads in Country.
URGES A ROAD GRADER HERE
Says the Roads in This County, in
Places, Are Positive Disgrace
and Should be Remedied.

\
Mexico, Mo-
Dear Sir:
jefferson City, Mo-, Nov. 2, 1916:
When at Mexico the other evening on
tour of inspection of the highway
from jefferson City north through
Mexico, Paris, Shelbina, Shelbyville,
Edna, Memphis to the state line, !
called your attention to the fact that
the portion Of the road south of Mex
leo Road District on this highway
was positive disgrace to the State
Of Missouri, and especially for a
county as up to date on everything
except road work.
While your county has done great
deal of road work and has followed
the suggestion Of our Department
and built in the last thirty days en-
tirely across your county from Van
dalia through nearly to Clark, very
fine highway of which your county
should be justly proud, that portion
Of the road from Mexico Special Road
District south to Auxvasse is no
credit to the state Of Missouri, nor
in fact all the way through to New
Bloomfield, Except Fulton Special
Road District.
The New Bloomfield people, acting
on the suggestion of our Department
and from surveys that have been
made, have relocated the bad hill
coming from the bluffs north of JEFF
ferson City on the Missouri River
bottom. They have had crew of
convicts working grading the roads
between New Bloomfield and Jeffer-
son City so that the road from New
Bloomfield to jefferson City inside Of
1.-TWO weeks, the weather permitting,
viii be complete other than hard
surface. The writer has spent con-
siderable time going back and forth
over this route and while he does not
get prompt or proper encouragement
at the same time believes that we will
be able to get high grade road
through from jefferson City to Mex
lico, and especially 50 if the different
committees along will wake up and
mot sleep the balance of their natural
Lives.
The building Of roads is no great
thing if the people will get at it. They
look at the entire amount of road and
get discouraged when if they will all
turn out in neighborhood, it is only
a very short time, and when l say
short time, mean of short time for
a few weeks at the outside to build a
highway from one county seat to an
other. This has been shown between
Old Monroe at the lower end Of Lin
coin County. We expect to build en-
tirely across the county of Lincoln,
and have it completed inside Of two or
| three weeks, a road, large portion
of which is entirely new road and
over which a vehicle has never been
drawn, requiring large numbers Of
l cement culverts, the grading Of hills
draining Of land and things Of thai
kind. Now if they can do that in Lin.
coin County, you can do it in Gala
way and Audrain and counties north
and l hope that your Commercial
Club will appoint two or three mem
bers and let your Special Road Dis.
trict machinery commission allow
their machinery used for few days
down in that section and build that
road to your county line. The time
for having it done according to oul
Department would expire about Nov
ember 18th, and now having had du'
notice, you can govern yourselves ac
cordingly.
Yours truly,
Frank w. Buffum.