Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1921-05-25

than 500 miles of Vermont roads in
one week, traversing 10 of the IA
counties and touching about 70 towns,
besides driving over both Massachu-
sets and New Hampshire roads.
While unable to put the trip into the
inimitable Peregrinations" style of
the Rutland Herald, or devote the
space that paper gives to the travels
of it's editor, mere mention of few
observations may be worth while. In
the first place the roads themselves
are not as bad as was expected from
the reports read in some of our news
papers. It's mighty poor advertising
Vermont lis getting from some of it's
papers, and undeservedly. There are
bad stretches of Vermont highways,
but such pieces Of road hardly deserve
all the publicity. Bad road is en-
phasized today because there is so
little of it. A few years ago one
said, "There is fine piece Of road
over in Hardwick." Now so much Of
the road is good that one says. "There
is a poor piece of road in Irasburg."
AS a whole, however, one can but
say that Vermont's selected highways
are splendid roads to tour. The worst
strip of highway which pretended to
be a highway which we struck in
Vermont was the road leading through
South Burlington. We drove this
road last fall and also again several
years ago, and then as now, it must.be
classed as chad" road. Some of the
next worst road to travel was in
New Hampshire. Of course the road
from Bennington to Brattleboro, es-
pecially on rainy day and following
rainy night, would not be called
"good" road A half million dollars
might make it so, but the 40 miles
was made in reasonable comfort and
without chains. Preparations be-
tween Rutland and Manchester indi-
cate that there is to be many miles of
splendid highway there. The same
preparations were found on Massa-
chusetts main highways, but the worn
out macadam there was an abomin-
alton. And leave the main highway
in Massachusetts, for bit if you will,
and you will be glad to get back into
Vermont. We were rather surprised
at the smooth road into Springfield
and north in Windsor county. It is
noticeable that the northern part of
the state guards it's road sides much
more thoroughly than the southern
counties. Here heavy guards are the
rule, there the exception. In southern
Vermont the main lines receive more
and heavier traffic probably tina the
roads in northern Vermont, but OBJ
servation clearly shows that in the
past their roads have not been built
with proper vision. By comparison
they are narrow, crooked, and not as
we'll graded. In our opinion, hun
dreds of miles of Vermont roads would
be greatly improved by thorough hon
ing or dragging. It may be hard en-
the patrolman team, but it does the
business Of smoothing up the. road.
You can tel when you strike thor
oughly hened piece of highway. It's
4 simple process. Why is not more of
it dine? Another thing. Cut the
bushes beside the road. Many a bad
curve would be much safer if few
bushes were cut. The season is not
much farther advanced in Bennington
than in Barton. The fruit trees are
further advaced, but farmers are no
further along with their work. Yer
mont is great state, the charms of
its varied scenery are unsurpassed,
it's roads are comparable, it's people
hospitable. See Vermont first.