Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-11-28
HIGHWAYS OF EUROPE
Old COuntry'S Greatest Lesson To
The New.
GOOD HIGHWAYS PUBLIC NECESSITY

IOpServatiohS py wen NHo"h Ne"s-
paper Man on Subject that is OF
Tremendous Importance to the Peo-
Pile of this Part Of the Country. 81.
Wade H. Harris in Charlotte Observer.
Florence, Italy, Oct 0--Every mile
Of the way from Glasgow through Eng
land to London; from Amsterdam, The
Hague, Antwerp and Brussels, in Bel
GUM: from Paris through France to
Basel, and thence through the Alps
md the Italian valleys to this point
Italy, did l think of North Car
>lina's governor and his soft roads
| highway commission, and harbor a
consuming desire that they could be
with this Southern party on its Eu-
copean trip. They would have been
! siven some new ideas in road con-
struction and maintenance and would
have graduated in the school of good
'oads construction.
People in our country have often
| heard Of the fine roads in Europe, but
| hey must have an opportunity to see
| :hese roads and to travel over them
n order to come into an appreciation
IF just how far behind this country is
i he United States in the matter of
good roads. Here all roads are good.
There Is no such thing as a gap Of
9ad road. as in our country. Every
farmer has the same standard of road
Is his neighbor. There is established
responsibility for the construction of
every mile, of road and for the repair
Of every foot, of it., The European
countries do not waste money in the
| building of good roads and then per-
NIT them to degenerate. 1t is the
system of maintenance that is perhaps
responsible for the fine roads in Eu-
rope.
Throughout France piles Of repair
| material are regularly placed every SO
Feet along the highways. This ma
:erial is not scattered over the surface
leeding repairs. 1t is handled by hand
ind packed home with hammer. The
.epair system varies with the type OF
road, but each is effective. There are
no negligent supervisors or township
| boards over here. Responsibility is fix
I'd for the upkeep of every mile of
road; there is no running to boards Of
commissioners with complaints about
bad conditions of the highway and no
shifting of responsibility by commits.
;ioners to township authorities. If
! lahging were the penalty for neglect
IF road repair work in this country it
| s doubtful If better roads could be
secured.
The type of road varies, but each
Dad is of durable construction. Per-
| laps the most solidly constructed roads
ire those Of Scotland, where the
standard material is the whin stone,
| with which that country aboupds and
which lis used in the construction of
buildings of all sorts in both city and
country. 1t is very ine-grained
stone and is impervious to moisture.
The roads throughout Great Britain
;ary in construction only in character
| If stone used, the material in one To-
cality varying in quality from that in
| another.
In Holland whose surface is below
| Jea level and where building material
| might be expected to be scarce, the
highways are constructed on rocks
! gathered along the coast or imported
| from other countries and Holland has
"oads of the character of that between
Greensboro and High Point.
France is covered with roads that
resemble great ribbons of white run
ming between rows Of trees. with no
wash" or gully visible anywhere.
The roads throughout Europe arc
indicated by these rows of trees each
set out on opposite sides Of the road
and at distance apart ranging from
12 to 20 feet. The trees are of the
larch and poplar for the higher
grounds and the bushy- headed willow
for the low places. They have slim
growth and do not shade the roads,
but give them ornamentation.
1t should be noted here as another
feature Of the roads of Europe that
they are perfectly drained. In some
places the drains are as close together
as 10 feet and where the drains them
selves, are found liable to wash out,
they are paved with stone. Grass is
another protection for the European
roads. Every embankment is pro-
tected from erosion, by heavy coatings
of grass. Every ditch-s!dc carries
grass to the waters edge. TIL. drain
age Of the roads in Europe is regarded
as the one matter of utmost import
ance, and the carpetinG Of grass is
considered an essential.
But the uest perfect type Of high
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