We Can Have Good Roads--why Not?

In the present age of aggressive iinprovement, good roads are not only needed, but they are necessary to the industrial interests of the countr}'. The question, what will good roads cost, is provoking a great deal of discussion at present in all parts of the state. lts answer must be in a measure local, depending upon the demanda made upon the road in the locality where it is to be built. A road that would meet the requirements of one locality, would fail in another. The cost varies, perhaps, with the ideas of those having supervisión of the road building to some extent, but must be influenced a great deal by the kind of soil, amount of grading to be done, etc. The offlcers having the work in charge should determine by study, the kind of road best adapted to the requirements of their locality, and not build a road at great expense because someone else has. A road costing $10,000 per mile to build would, most likelj', frighten the novice in good road building; but good roads need not cost that amount. From the report of the delegates from the state, to the good roads parliament, at Atlanta, it will be seen that New Jersey, one of the pioneer states in good roads, expended from $5,000 to $8,000 per mile on some of the roads earliest built in that state, but is now building good stone roads for the country highways, 6 or 8 inches in thickness, and 16 feet wide, at a cost varying from $800 to $1,200 per mile. The statement is also made that, at whatever cost the roads are built, the people were satisfied with them, as the price of real estáte has advanced upon the assessment roll, so that the rate on the dollar of taxation has actually decreased. This would undoubtedly be the case in any country and in the southern part of Michigan $1,200 or $1,500 per mile, will probably cover the cost of building a road suitable for the purposes of ordinary traffic. The success of any road, no matter what its cost may be, depends upon the skillful ajustment of its grades, and the drainage of its bed. Most of our road beds were laid out with the object rather of meeting the imrnediate necessities of their time than with a view to future improvement. If we incorpórate these roads in a country road system, they must be made to conform to the requirements of such a system. Long, steep hills must be cut down so as to conform to the best practice in grading for the heaviest loads likely to be hauled over them. Or the road should be relocated if this can be done cheaper everything considered, than cutting down the hill. It is better that an individual or two shall be inconvenienced somewhat by the change in the location of a road, than for the public to pay twice what it is worth to grade a road over the original route when it is impracticable. In grading the road its drainage should not be overlooked, as this is, perhaps, the most important feature of a good road. Af ter the grade and drainage of a road has been completed, almost any amount of mony can be expended on the upper crust. There are too many methods of paving a road to admit of discussion in this paper. A method of sub-drainage, mucli used in Belguini, is to put a deep bed of ashes iminediately aboye the sub-grade ; this, it is claimed will absorb all moisture coming through the paving material and deliver it to the side drains without damage to the roadbed.