The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-02-24
by Hi. BOWL

.. DECLARES EXPERT.
-, BY II. l.. EOWLBY,
Omitted States Bureau Bureau OF pub |
lie Roads and President America |
Road Builders Association. j
The old road draws with dip and pause !
Through lonelieat vale and down
From that highway whose broad dis |
Leads felix from town to town.
From the beginning to the present !
time 1t has been the highway that has |
made nations great The road IL the |
pioneer. Civilizati n follows the flag, !
but the road opens the way through |
the wilderness, over the mountains and |
across the valleys For the bearers of
the flag and the steady advance Of civ |
ilized influences. With the building Of
roads, savaeery has rctreated and DIS
appeared. forests have fallen before
the ak, new fields have sprung up and
cities grown to be linked in commerce
with distant markets by ribbons of
steel upon which speed the railroad
trains--those advanced carriers Ct
trade for which the modern highway
is the feeder. Savage man built 10
roads. nor had he any conscious need
Of them for his wants were few and
Individual in character.
From those prehistoric days when
man and mammal tired the paths to
tho ancient watering places near the
sites Of which in some localities we
find their petrified bones still mbed-
dcd, man has gradually risen IN the
civilized scale. His wants have in
creased proportionately and have pass
ed from the individual to the collec-
tive. The path no longer served hts
requirements. Roads became a neces-
sity. Wheeled traffic developed with
the Roman empire. but when and
where the first real roads were built
has never been definitely ascertained.
That It was long before the beginning
of authentic history is certain.
White we know little about the roads
that existed prior to the Roman em-
pire, we dc. know from records remain
ing that not only the Romans but the
Egyptians. the Carthagenians, the SUI
marians and other ancient peoples EN-
loyed much the same materials that
we are today using IN highway con-
struction. There is evidence that both
the Romans and the Egyptians used
IT,.
the manufacture and use of bricks.
AS early as ~ A. ID. the Romans used
bricks in England. Actual scientific
and quantity production did not be-
sin, however. until $50. when Alfred
the Great directed that bricks be pro-
cuccd under government supervision.
| The earliest recorded use OF asphalt
was by the Sumarians Il people inhab-
lifting the Euphrates valley prior to the
|ascendency of tie I3abylcnians. An
asphalt cast excavated at Logash near
the mouth of the Euphrates. dates
back to 1850 Z. c. AS mortar for
brick, similar to the filler now used in
brick city streets. asphalt was used in
tn" construct ion of the Tower CT
Babel One historian claims this same
substance was used about 1900 i. c.
to daub the basket which served to
iconceal Moses in the bull PUSHES wher
lth. children of Israel We're suffering
under bondage in Egypt.
1t was NabOpc !assar. king ct Baby
lion. who. about 500 Z. c., first uset
asphalt as II filler for brick pavements
His son. Nebu chatnexzar. continued
the practice. In the western heriis
| phcre asphalt MS used in anclen
times by the Incas. who established III
, elaborate system of highways in PERI
, land Ecuador. Thus we see that &c
/, mcnt brick and asphalt instead of be
4 in. Pre- ducts of exclusively modern
1 luse, really are World-Old material
t thy use of which has been handle
g |dcwn to us through the centuries to b
1 Improved on and adapted to civil'Ha
r tons growing needs. The same is tru
r. Ct stone. except that in modern usag
i. stone is crushed for use in road build
|. ling, whereas in the days of Rome
r greatness stone was used in the forl
G of large slabs frequently two fee
thick. Roads OF this type carried Cas
r cars armies forward to- conquest.
L. Herodotus tells us that in Egypt
e great king built magnificent roa
e across the sands for the transportah
l. Of materials for the pyramids, en-
e. ploying for this purpose 100000 me
n for period Of ten years. This roa
a. was built CT massive stone blocks al
re- was lined on both sides with maus'
in !.ums. statutes and temples. Trace
CT what may have been part OF IN
k, ancient highway are today found me-
lnl the great pyramids and comprise Wh
in is probably the oldest remains OF
or road surfaced with stone. Early hi
" Eating frcm the city Of Babylon abo
Is. o0(o Il. c. and running to Susa. Feb
&c ltana, Sardis and Nineveh, as havi
peen paved with brick. The ancie
ne Persians. Assyrians. Carthagenlal
by Chinese and Peruvians We're all
IT. nowned coad-buiiders. Their w'f1
n however, have passed away and t
wv records of their great achievements
lily now lost to mankind.
th Specimens of E:cman roads are 81
en- II, be seen in Rome and Pompeii.
no "App'an Way" or Queen or Roau
his begun by Caudius Appius about
,r- E. c., led from Rome TO Capua. a d
m. Itance CT 142 Italian miles. This RI
OIL was later extended to Rrundi 81,
sometimes called Brindisi, total
we lance of $50 miles. and was fina
ION compl eted by julius Caesar. 1t
ed. in excellent condition until 500 A.
life The "Flaminian Way" the second
ro the great Roman reads, was bes