Rensselaer Union, Volume 3, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1871 — From Bishop Lures [ARTICLE]

From Bishop Lures

Messrs. Kuitoks: > It Is a common complaint that during certain seasons ot the'i year our roads are almost ifljpassu-j bio. This is in part owing to toe uaturo of the soil and the absence ■ of the’necessary materials, and in ; part nUo to a want of force to work them. Notwithstanding this, I ’ learn that a petition is to be pro-! sented .to the County C'ommissibners at their next session in March praying, regardless of cost and , practicability fer an infliction on the community of tin additional burden in the shape of a new road, to run ou the section line due south from this jdace to Remington.— Some people arc death on straight lines in theory and on paper. I confess they look very nice and tempting, but arc often the contrary 'in reality. Those whdin practice do not know when prudently to turn aside, generally have their skulls dashed in or their necks broken. I tni«t the petition will not l.e granted, for many reasons, some of which I will enumerate: This road, which is not at all needed and would be used hut by a few, can not he constructed except at a great cost. The ground thro’ w hich it must pass, is, for a long distance, so low that it will require a vast amount of filling up to make it even passable; but at whose exexpense and by whom is this to be done? The County would have to build, and continually keep up, two additional bridges. Should cve*r a passed, (as ha* already been done by several States, and will no doubt be done before long by this), that nit public highways t-hall bo kept up by a direct tax, what a heavy additional burden will be enTailecl by this road upon tho community. Besides, it would in a great mcas ure destroy the object for which the farm was purchased tor an Orphan Asylum, Such an institution should he in a nice, retired spot, with ample grounds and groves for each sex to play in, such as tire children now have on each side of the house; hut the opening of the new road Would throw them immediately upon the public highway, to the great detriment of the children in the institution. Every one also, knows, that the farm is especially adapted to the raising of stock. The ontl«t for the cattle into the main pasture, the barns and stables hiust be where the new road would run. r l hut this would he a great inconvenience is evident. Moreover, -several fields

have already been laid off, hedges planted and other improvements made on the iartn, which would be Stetroyedr Another very serious-objection re, that the premises jvould be entirely too much cut up with public road# running within a short distance of each othet, and along which fences would have to be built and forever kept up at great expense. The two miles ol fencing along the new road would alone cost from 6COO to S7OO, but as shell aa enclosure requires renewing every seven or eight years, the fence alone would be an expense to the institution of at least £ 100 a year, and more as lumber becomes more valuable. Fencing material has uutil now been so easily obtained that it has hardly been taken* into account; but this no longer be the case; to keeji ’up fences will in future tie cr.C P* the heaviest expenses which the farmer will have. I Lfli 22 TO five thousand dollars would not cover the actual damages which would be done by the road to the Orphan property.

What will bo the corresponding gain for such large damages? A few rods in the length of a road, which when opened could at best be travelled only one half of the time in the year, and which in fact very few would take. Every one remembers the excellent condition of our roads last year; still the stage and nearly all the other teams continually took the old road to Remington. As it is by far the higher and drier route, aud on this account can be gone over in less time, it will always be much more used than the other. It is, therefore, in my opinion, far better definitely to locate the present route from to#n to the south end of Mr. lane at once, and to put the same in as good condition and repair as possible, leaving to the public to decide which of the two roads from there to take w hen travelling either north or south. Yours truly,

J. H. LUERS.

Wm. Conner, who killed John Thornburgh, last summer, was last week found.guilty and sentenced to nine year* in the penitentiary. *1