The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-01-31
PERMANENT ROAD BUILDING.

The DeFuniak Breeze and the Okaloosa News
Journal have been having some editorial differences in
regard to the roads in Walton county; the Okaloosa
News Journal LAID the blame on the Walton county
commissioners and the Breeze took up the cudgels
in their defence, the arguments pro and con, bring
Ing out some interesting points in road construction
work in this part OF the state.
1t is a fact that no one will dispute that Okla
loosa county has some of the best roads in West
Florida. And that Walton county is not so well
equipped in public highways.
The Breeze, while taking up for the county COM
missioners OF Walton realizes the Importance of the
information given out by the News-Journal. and
publishes the discussion in full The Journal is not
prepared to lay the blame In Walton county; we
have quite enough good road trouble on our own
hands over here but of the facts brought out
by the two West Florida dailies should be known
to every interested in road construction.
The News-Journal says that Walton county has
spent thousands Of dollars in the wrong way: Road
building is a science, the same street building
bridge, vladuct sewer water works; and the
building a sky scraper needs little engineering
skill. Walton county, like many other counties, has
suffered for the lack of scientific knowledge Roads
were rounded up, clay put on to be washed off by
the next hard rain. Many. many miles have been
built on that method, and the result is the county
instead Of having good roads has miles and miles of
road practically impossible, and the peoples money
wasted"
In contrast to this. the NewsJ Journal calls aten-
ton to the way the roads built in Okaloosa
county, under the supervision Of Engineer Davis of
the United States government:
$50 successful has been Mr.. Davis in hard road
construction that the State of Indiana preparing to
expend many, many millions hard roads, has Of
fered him position at salary and away above
what the United States government is paying him.
THE method in Walton county in road construc-
ton has been to round up the road bed and scatter
the clay on. On that kind of road the rains wash
the clay off. and the road is filled with ruts
and the clay has gone into the gulles and hollows-
the clay that the county has paid many thousands
of dollars to place the roads, under the direction
of men who never studied engineering one day in
their lives yet know all about road building and to
talk about engineering is like shaking red rag be-
fore bull
Now what has been Mr. Davis method on this
four. The road bed is scooped out and not rounded
up and the clay is dumped into the scooped out
place, eveled Off and there you are. The rains may
come-the harder the better-and the clay remains
protected on either side by natures embankment
And there it will remain growing harder and harder
as the years pass. The road now completed from
Shoal river to within few miles of Camp Walton
is like hardpan and smooth as a floor. It can't
wash off, and in the fills it protected on each
side by entertainments.
Mr.. Davis way has been endorsed by government
engineers who have gone every foot of it, and
pronounced it good. 1t will be that way wherever In
Gle Sam builds clay road Walton county's way is
the commissioners way, a way that has cost that
county many thousands of dollars. And the you
build the you're Off"