Rensselaer Republican, Volume 28, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1896 — GOOD ROADS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GOOD ROADS

There appears to be a growing Impression to the efferit that a road is a° place of passage from one point to another, and . that if it is anything short of that the ones accountable for Its condition may be held* responsible for the trouble that may be occasioned by Its faultiness. Passengers^injured in a railroad accident, occasioned by a defective roadbed or an imperfect rail, are very sure to sue for damages and to recover liberally. Any one injured, by a defective sidewalk can usually make a town or an Individual pay smartly for It. The spirit of the law seems to be that a railroad must be a railroad and in a condition to properly carry on its work in a business-like manner. A sidewalk must be kept in a safe condition for people to walk over it. Now, what about a road over which personsin vehicles must travel? Must it be a real road? Oh, no! Most any old thing will answer. It differs from a sidewalk and a railroad. They have to be what they pretend to be, but a wagon road may be simply a streak of mud or stones or anything else. No one appears to be responsible for the condition of the public road. It is supposed to just run wild and look out for itself. If any one is Injured or his vehicle is broken, it is the result of his own folly in presuming to use a road for traveling purposes. But the times change, and we are changed with them. Folks are beginning to apply the same rules to county governments as they do to city governments and private corporations. Accidents on public roads and bridges caused by defective conditions of the same have to be paid for by, the county. It is just.’ Good roads are cheapest In the long run. The reign of King Mud should be cut short.—L. A. W. Bulletin.

How to Work Country Roads. Much has been said and written about country roads and the proper way to construct them to Insure good ones the year round. But much of It applies only where gravel or crushed stone can be obtained with which to make a road bed unaffected by rains and standing water. In many sections of the country gravel can be had by hauling it from creek and river befls, and where it can be so obtained or purchased at a low figure the best possible use of time ahd money is In securing and spreading this upon a road bed previously gf#ded into the proper forni. If the gravel Is dumped upon a perfectly flat surface It becomes mixed with the soil during wet weather and soon is lost. The first thing to be done is to grade the road. The graveling or macadamizing can then be done at leisure. The upper Illustration shows the best form of the road. The dirt from the ditches at the sides is carried to the middle and left in a rounded form, highest In the center. Care must be taken to ipake the sides slope all the way from the center to the bottom of the ditches, or the water wrll stand in the sags and percolate into the roadway, making it soft and muddy. Make good outlets for these ditches tp carry the water off and keep tlfe road dry, and also that they may serve for outlets for tile and for all other farm drains. Keep the surface of the road smooth find free from sods, for those traveling” will irou maker martyrs of themselves and bqinp over the rough places to wear them down- if the sides are smooth. Leave the sods at one side. They will decay in a year or two. \ large amount of road work can be done in a short time with comfort to man and beast, by using one improved road graders. Four men with their teams make a good force; one man and team for the plow, the others for the grader. It will pay any town handsomely to invest in the most improved machinery for road work. When grading the road, be careful not to get the grade too wide. - Make It just wide enough for teams to pass. It will flatten out with use and wet weather. Water will less easily stand ou r narrow road. A great aid in keeping the road dry Is a row of tiles on either side at ,the outer edges of the grade. These should not be laid too deep, for the surface will become packed so that the water will not readily soak through. But if the glade Is tlie*proper form the watef will run off the'surface so rapidly that comparatively little will soak in; and as the tile and laying them add largely to the cost of the road they may usually be dispensed with. In the summer when the farmers aqe busy with their crops, the roads are usually, dry and any kind is good enough. The low price for which farm lands sell Is due in a'large measure to the poor highways. With better roads the value of the lands rapidly Increases. Examples of this can bo found in every county. Farms located along good, hard roads are in constant demand at prices far Jp excess of those situated at a distance from such roads. , Wherever other work will permit, farmers can well afford to give a few days’ work on the roads Instead bf feeling It a hardship to have to work the time required by law. Work them thoroughly, each neighborhood for Itself. The labor and time spent will return'one hundred fold In the increased value of property arid in the ease and comfort of traveling.—Farm and Home.

Roads Mast Be Roads.