The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1930-08-15
|.... Dissertations. -.
Along The Way
Roads And Streets
(By The EDITOR

Ddhotd anu d DDl OIL montana, |
think the highways through the
country and the streets through
the towns along the route follow
ed are an interesting subject for
discussion. 1t is evident that pub
lie officials and voters in the Da-
kotas are thoroughly converted to
the doctrine of well built and
completely marked roads between
all central points. Having spent
many years of my life among sew
eral different places in the two
states, it is easy to make a com
parison between the roadless days
and the present. l realized how
true it was that people in the old
days paid the cost of good roads
but did not have them. They hard
ly had a conception of what good
roads we're. Farmers spent a
whole day getting a 80 busheI
load of wheat to town, a distance
of Is to 80 miles. There was one
thing about those good old faith
full horses. they were better for
getting through those mud holes
and long miles of soft roads"
that wer merely ruts. If it rained
trucks or cars would have been
almost useless. We would have
had to have horses anyway to
snake out the cars. You carried
a spade instead of a spare, a sack
of oats instead of a tank of gas.
Wheat was hauled in sacks so it
could be unloaded if you got stuck
too bad. OF course there were a
few grades across the worst
places. Farmers did the work ac-
cording to their own ideas of road
construction, and the road super
visor gave credit in poll taxes.
But there were no gravel surfaces
and in wet seasons the grades"
we're almost as soft as the
sloughs. Bridges were few, mostly
you forded the streams. You car
ried your road map in your head
and if not well informed you fire.
.luently took the wrong trail, got
.ost and stayed over night and
.ook a fresh start next day.
Today's System
In place of this l found a net
work of properly built highways,
,ulverts and bridges, plainly num-
,ered and marked with directions
md warnings at every turn, inter
and junction. Nearly every
ut of it. graveled. OF course the
ong dry spell had had it's effect
nd corduroyed stretches were
ather common. The chap who dis
overs a way to overcome or avoid
his without the use of a binder
will make a name for himself.
In South Dakota all highways
re divided into patrol" sections
With the name of the man in
barge of maintenance on a large
ign at the beginning of his Sec
ion. The maintenance rigs were
II busy, some drawn by horses
ut mostly by tractors.
Little Towns, Good Streets
Even more surprising than the
God roads were the nice streets
1 just about all towns of over
90 or 800 people. Gravel seems
} be plentiful and in the places
f 1000 or 1900, oil or Tarvia is
sed to make a tough, water tight
In M town where they
ad Tarvia business streets, a
lace of LOO, I made some in
They told me they had
.ntracted for Tarvia on Is
locks of streets for $1,000. 1t is
My guaranteed for two years and
lay need repairs after that. 1t
insists of two coats of oily tar
18th a layer of good gravel be-
veen, applied by special machin-
and experts. 1t seemed to be
mighty nice surface after it got
way from the sticky stage, when
applied. / saw it both
avs. OF course this method calls
,r a good hard, properly shaped
preferably gravel.
McCone County's Good Roads
The only real bad roads en-
ountered were In the extreme
)uthwest corner of North Dakota,
long the Little Missouri river. Il
as fine to get across the line
ito Montana and find good roads
gain.
For a new, thinly settled county
limited means, McCone has a
good system OF graded
Not much Of them surfaces
but hard and serviceable at
early all times of the year. It's
dads are a fine tribute to the
,unty board and are worth more
ian they cost by making the
,unty accessible and in hasten
lg development. The McCone
ounty board has rendered the
,ople good service in the mat
NJ HIGHWAYS.