Bad Country Roads

The paUnnasters on mny of tbe country roads are now working out the road warrants. As usual many of them content themeelves with plowing up the sod and dumping the loóse sand into the middle of the road thereby making it eren worse than before. This tbey do annually and go home with the consclousness that they liavedone tlieirduly. All tbe reet of the yeur they are content to wear out their horses by whipping them with heavy loatls through the heavy sand. Even ihe coroplaints of their disgusted neighbors, and in fact every one who passes, do not stir them up to a sense of how far behind the age they are. In thiscounty gravei niiiy üe had for alrnost nothing, and when once put on a road bed it will last for years, requiiinfr but little labor each spring in repairs. Ot the roads leading out of town there are two good ones: the Saline gravel, kept by a coinpany, and the south Ypsilanti road, all but a quarlerof a mile in Ann Arbor township. This little bit is a disgrace to the neighborhood, and thoee who livebeyond and have to wade throuirh it cali it "Pauper Allty," not, however, meaning that the people living alongskle are paupers, for they are well-to-do farmers and could have as good rouds as their neighbors if they would only wake up ana gei out 01 me iu mi.j ..¦." - In the same way are the Uixboro and Whitmore lake roads The Dexter road is fair and with a little more care could be made as good as the Saline road. This is an old counry peopled by farmers above the average in means and it is a shame to have such roads. Farmers, stir up the pathmasters and in a few years you can have roads over which you can draw the heaviest loadsto market in eafety. Capt. Fee, wbo has long held the postinastership at Adrián stepped down and out a few days ago, and Willard Stearns, of the Adrián Press, stepped in as Fee's successor. Stearns had a sharp corapetitor in the person of Seth Bean, a young attorney of the place, and both equally warm friends of Congressman Eldredge. The contest was ended by "puiling atrawo," ou lumui liao U, ttilü OCOWIt who had been a country school master in his younger days, and presumed to know more about "draioing cuts,'} was the winner. Wonder why the "funny men among our exchanges have not availed themselves of the opportunity to get off a few puns. For instance they might have worked in Fee-mail or "The Adrián postoffice is no lunger a Feed ofiSce." Or the republicans thought they held the Adrián postofflce la Fee; or that a change was a Stearn Is) necessity. Or th at Stearns knew Beans; or that Bean was after Uncle S;im'8 Fee and didn't get it. Or, they might have said something like this : "It might have Sean;'' or, the Adrián postmastershlp is a Stearn tcheeler; or, con-Stairn-ation o'ercame the too .Feí-ble Bean; or, Stearn reality ; or something. Really, humor in the press is dying out. It will be remembered that the Episcopal conventioii lust, pcason took actiou in reference to establishinjr un Episcopal ilivinity school, aud it was thoujxht for various good reasons that Ann Arbor would be au excellent place for locating tne lame. But a rival has sprung iip. An Episcopal school is airead}' running in Detroit, and it is proposed to enlarge the curriculum of that insitiutiorj, wliiuh is known us St. Paul1 grammar school, for which a fund has already been started. In order to obtain the school Ann Arbor will have to bid against Detroit, a thing not easily uccomplished. It looks to an outsider as if Ibis city, with 1 tsextensive public libraries, with every advantaie possible to be oftered a student, 6oinet!mi}r beside a money consideration oiight to weigb in the balance. The Rev. Dr. William S Curtís, wlio died at Rookford, III., May 3Oth, whs b scbolar of large mental attainments. He was installed as pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor Oct. 26th, 1843, where lie offlciated uutil April 29th, 1855. During this time, 1851-52, he was for two years made acting Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy in the University of Michigan. From 1855 to 1863 he tilled the chair of Moral Philosophy in Hamilton College, N. Y., and was also made pastor of the College Church. He was then elected President of Knox College, 111., where he presided for fiye years. Many of our older cillzens well remember the very forcible and highly instructlve discourses he gave them, and the high esteem In whlch he was held by all of our people.