Our Country Roads

Tt is Interestlag to notie thai whlli Bome unimportant difterences exlal aniong Bnropean countrlee in the de taiis of management and malntenanci of public roads. these countrles ar practlcally unanlmous in their poUcj of placins the important roads un tier the direct management of the gen eral governmenl and of paylng th( expenses of construction and matute nance of the general íiinds oí the state The result has been most aalutary The splondid facllities for the moTlng of travel and tra ff ie over tliese improved roads, has prowd the wis dom of placlng the important roads nde.r the care of skilled englneera and "workmon, and the object lesson thus taught has borne fruit in the wonderful improvement of the provincial roads, wbtch are maintained undei management of the local anthorities It is no uncommon thing in France Baden, Germany, Austria or Italy to nee loads, weighing In the aggregati írom three to four times the load hauled liy the ordinary farm tram in our country, whlle the distances freqoently traTelled by the Enropean draft hors' with tlics ■ immense loads are so much greater than the mum attemptod by the American farmer as 1íi be almo&t bevond belief. Thousands of milos of these roads exist in all parta of Eb and so jealnusly are they regarded that no policy of stal" government seems to be ln favor which does uot include a proper care for the country roads. Two-whceled carta are in very common use among the farmers of Europe, just as they are in some parta oí our owu country. They hitch their hcn-ses one before the other ln "tandem" Btyle, and most of their heavy loa ds are haiiled in this way. Now lot me show yon a picture of an. American tandem "work team wlth an American load on an American public hifïlnvay. Here you have it. (We didn't have the plate of this; the picture is of a two-wheeled cart Kiink hub deep in the mud of a "road ?"- Ed.). The picture was taken wlthln five miles of the public buildings of one of the largest cities in the United States. The load contains only 400 bricks, which is considerably lesa tlian a fair load for one norse on a good road. The team has stoped to "blow." and and doublé time is wasted in tliat way. These are the roada that make business unprofitablc. They wear out horsee, harnees and humaaity, kill patience, and keep you at the public house, when a better road wonld enable you to qulcken your trip and save expenses by dining with your family at home. Tour oíd frisad, Horace Greeley, used to enliven hls argument for better roads by relating the story of a farmer -who took a drove of hogs a very long way to market, and found the delays and diffieulties o! his trip to be so expenflive that he was corapelled to dispose of his hogs at a con.-clrralile los. On rrachinff home one of his enterprlsing neighbors, who had some thought of trying the porkraislng business htmseU, asked him how much h ■ had cïeared In his enterprise. "Well," he replied alter some refleetion, "I had tho company of the hogs." In Austria, ne&T Vtenna, Tvhere the material for good road making is not found to bo conveniently at hand, the goveroment offered a vfry Bubstantlal reward a few years ago for the disoov.ory of a solio and suiialile sulistance which miglit be ttsed in the improvement of the roads. The Austrians employ several thousnnd road cleaners regnlarly, togethei' wlth a snitable number of Inspeotnrs anl maintain a syBtem of continua! repair, clearing off the duet and mud as fast as it accumulates, and repairing the slightest defect in the road, so as to prevent the formation of ruts. Tn Hungary the state roads ïmder tho manaconiont of the istry of public works, while the county and parish roads are kept up by local management. In Ba varia the govermnen't roads are made and kept in repair at the oxpenso of the state, the money hoing voted by the leglslatlve bodies of the Lantag. To prevent these roads being cut up, a stringent law is nforced against the use of narrow wheel tires. and the width of tire to be used is laid down as follows: two wlheeï wagon with two horees, t inches; two wheel wagon wltb three or four hoTses, 6 inches; four wheel wagon with horses, 2 1-2 Inchee; four wheel wagon with three or four horses, 4 inches; five wheel wagtnn with iive to eight horses, 6 inches. Carts having more tlian four horses, and wagons having more than eight are not allo wed ïipon the public roade, oxcept by special permission obtained from the authorities of the provlnce. Fruit trM-s are pkwted akrag ili sidvs of the road onder favorable conditions. and these are given jnto the care of the roadmen with penniBSlon to exhibit at the various fairs, where prizfs are awarded for excellence of the samples. I have heard American farmers say that they were opposed io having the public roads put in charge oí civil engineers; that they had no d to lie ■■scieniiíií" and were opposed to ".seiiTitiii"" management of the public roads. I think I have heard you say this. Lm rae teil yra in. the most friendly way in the world that you could not. fco s;i-e your soul, help being Bclentific. Yaa are scientlfic when you paint your house, pul lillow on your boots. ;_, your wagon-axe!, hone your razor, smoke your hams, fumígate your heaery, or taks p pp ruiint for the stomach ach". That patent ineubator of yours is a perfect marvel "í scienee. lt is not wise to tliink a man ia more selèntlflc than you are, slmply because he may know b thtag or two in nis partícuhir lint' of business which you ilo nol. lic might object to vuur knowleflge for the saine roason, íor in many things your superior wisdom inakes you nore BCientlilc than he is. Besides, your average clvU eagineer is likeiy to be one of the bost fellows in the world; and if lic i.s worth his sah you wlU find him wlde awake. practical and lnteresttngj democratie in hls ways, plaln in hia dress, and wlth a, head fnll of gpod senaO. Ho is always looking for ideas, and he Avill concede your superior knowledge of farmins and be filad to learn of any v.aluable httng you may teil him. He may not know t he differenee bet ween timothy and muilen stalks, hut he can show you how to build a road as good as the best in the world and one tliat will last for forty geoerations. He will teil you that it needfi something besWes horse power, axelrreaee and profanity to mov.e a cd wagon íi'om farm to market; tliat the harder .and smoother your rond is nrade the shorter your distance beeomes from farm to town, and the tass power wlll be requlred to haul your produce. Did yon ever wonder why jt i-i tliat the prent railroads of the country are eonstantly lmprovlng thelr road beds. adoptinir iniproved rails and emptoying "sectton gangs" to conBtantly keep thelr tracks in the bes1 condition ? I wlfl teil you wliy It is. Years aso it was found that the cost of runolng a great railroad line was decreased by erery lmprovement wliich tended to lessen the fcradea and make the track smooth and hard; and the best engineering talent In the world has been employed to bring railroads to their present condition of excellence. Twenty-iiye years ago, before the adoptlon of the long, solid-faced ste'l rail, the power reqnired to move the rolling stock was considcrably greater ihan at present. In 1870 it cost the new York Central Railroad Company about one and one-sixth cents to move each ton of freight over one mile ol railroad. Tais seems a very small sum, but as small as it may appear it was rcduced in 1889 to about five milis. Other railroad linos show a corresponding decrease in running expenses, all due to the lmprovement of the tracks or road-bed. Tlie practical conclusión is this: A good road-bed pays; it saws power, shortciis dietance and time, inerei apeed, ineuree comfort and safeiy. and is, I ii whatever way yoü state it, a good iavestment. Now, the wagon liy wlneh yon haul your loads to market bears the name relatlon to the road that the railroad var bears to thè steel track; the ear and the wagon are both vehicles, and in the er d.iys of railway traffie, railway cars drawn by horsrs ]ust is strect cars are ïiow drawn iu the cities. The ordinary strect car, drawn by twn horses, weigb.8 5,000 pounde; the open car used in summer win seat 50 passenge, weághlng ".- 000 pounde; total, l'.OOO pounds, or six net tone, and this load is drawn y a team at the rata of six miles ui liour. without difficulty. The wheels of your wagon are made round and true; they turn apon axels as sniooth and well lnbricated as those oï a car; your hora ■ are as good as those cmployed in the street ear Berand yon have êvery faclllty i movin.íí large loada quickly and cheapy. except the single retjuirement of a g-ood road. of course l l nöt in■ ]nl to argue that wagon loada eau be hauled upon a high-class road as cheaply as npon the steel railroad track, but I have shownTyou enotiRh to eonvlnce you that th-3 ordinary dirt road is in no way iittd for your business and that a wonderlul ■out.rast existe between sueh a road and the wtóü made higiways oï other countai's. AuotJier thing which your engineer will teach you is that work to be loi'.c cheaply must be done in a Bysematic way; that the cheapest way o care ïor a road an.l to. keep it in epatr is to place it in charge of some terson who will be held responslble or lts condition tóiroaghout the enire year. In your township the roads mended or "worked" once, or nt tl' mos! twice a year, and for the balance al the season are neglecttJ. Even when the warm weather of spring has dried up a considerable )rtion of the road so as to make it airly passabte, great mud lióles are oiiiid Iierc and there in which the armera ïrequently become stuck with ieevy ;o.ids, causing no end oí delay nnd trcrable.