Year: 1873

MI. EDIToR was pleased 10 s


vour article last week on the subje


ofa good roads" For several wee


past the usual salutation has been {
meeting q fellow-plodder, mudC


roads," A good many persons ha,


lately told me that the roads we


muddy" or bad" when ! knew


Just as well as they did. And no'


20 see those bright words, goo


roads," at the head Of your sensIb


article, cheers me with visions I'm ii


future) of solid pike and travel at 81


miles an hour once more. Every bod


knows that the roads In Hancoc


county have been almost impassabl


Iince the frost went out Of the grounC


;ut every body does not know whs


Ale inconvenience has cost In dollal


k1d cents. l wish it could be figured


and every mans loss could be set


array opposite his name, l think the


convention you spoke of would 500


be called. Aud in that convention


the farmers would speak of their los


in not being able to get to market
Just when the highest prices ruled


the miller would dolefully relate how


he lost by having to let his mill stand
Idle the merchant would not forget


his dull days and idle clerks; me.
chanics would have their complaint,
and even the minister (the country
parson 1 mean) would recall his
small congregations, and his light
quarter-salary, and muddy, splashy
travelling. Indeed, hardly know
who wouldn't have some trouble to
relate, and all would be charged to
the bad roads. And, if the whole &C
count was footed up, 1t would amount
to thousands of dollars-enough to
build many miles Of good roads.


But now comes the question, /" Can
it be heIped?" Aye, that is the
question With generally level sur
face, low-banked streams, a deep,
spongy, rich sol, tracts OF timber
land, no gravel to speak Of, stone In
convenient for much of the county,
hauling expensive, and eoery body at
tending to his oDn business, how are
we ever to have good roads? Some
body do tell, quick! Mr.. Editor, you
gave the nail one pretty good hit,
almost on the head. But l tell you,
sir, that one of these days the sun
will shine, the wind will blow, the
mud will dry, and in few days the
roads will be called good again. And
then who will listen to your idea of
underdrsining' the roads 4? Hal
hs! Mr.. Editor, you will be too moon
shiny for our practical folks, while the
drv weather lasts. They will have
other matters to attend to.


But seriously, sir, drainage and
plking are our only hopes for good
roads in most of this county. Not
the kind of work that is generally
done, however. Much of the road
work done now is an injury. The
"two days. and the road tax are
often misapplied, or half-idled away.
And deep mud bed is often scraped
on to the road for horses and wagons
to mix and re.mix as often as it rains


Now, if the people will it, they can
have passable roads nearly the year
round. But, according to. your sug-
gestion, there must be concert and
liJeraltty. We must be willing TO In
vest in wagon roads as well as rail-
roads. Either by heavy tax or labor
levy let there be ten times the work
done on the roads that is now per-
formed. The county is generally
sufficiently undulating to permit the
flow of water, if channels are only
made. Ali the surplus surface water
of Hancock county can be run off.
And there must be system. Let COM
petent engineers make q survey;
place the result in regard to bitches,
grades, DO, on record in the several
districts; make supervisors OF men
who have good judgment, and will
work, and apply the labor to perfect
as far as it goes. Pay men for what
they do-not according to time spent.
Letthere be salaried superintendent,
"A practical, common sense man to
examine all work done, and accept or
not according to his judgment. Then
let there be one or two tile drains laid
in the middle of the road, SO that
when the pike is completed the drain
will be from two to four feet from the
surface, lengthEise with the road.
Then, let the farmer come with his
team, plow and scraper, and scrape all
the surface or soil from where the
ditch is intended to be-not on the
road as is always done in this county
but on to his field or anywhere else
except on the road. Then plow and
scrape the solid earth up on TO the
road until deep bitches are made, and
real pike is built. Wherever there
is low place through which water
can flow to the adjacent stream, let
culverts intersect the tile in the road.
This Undertaking, ditching and pix
ing will cost money and labor ; but if
one hundred Thousand dollars were
thus expended it would repay four
fold in short time. And yet l do
not expect to see much better roads
here than l have seen. Judging the
future by the past, l suppose the
people Of Hancock county will 60 on
mixing mortar for the next generation.
There are scores of places where the
road might have been made good
with few hours work, years ago; but
one would not do it because another
would not, and the other did not be-
cause be did not like to work unless
the pennies all came into his own
pocket.


But in conclusion, Mr.. Editor,
please keep the matter before the
people, let them know how heavily |
they tax themselves by not making
good roads, and perhaps when the
present generation get rich and die,
the next will take hold of the matter.


A. r.