Lancaster enterprise. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1891-1905, August 16, 1899, Image 4
ALLIANCE DEPARTMENT.
J. F. NISBET Editor,
METHOD OF ROAD MAKING.
The Claying ot Sand and the
Sanding of Clay on Kicliland's
Roads.
To the Killtor of Tho State.
Since the publication of your
editorial comments on road work
in this county 1 have received
several inquiries from various
parts of the country asking for a
detailed account of our method
of working clay and sand roads,
and the average cost of said work ;
so if you will kindly permit me,
I will avail myself of your columns
to make a general reply to
all such inquiries.
The road to be worked with
sand and clay composite should
be lined of!* the desired width,
which is usually 22 feet from
ditch to ditch, then deep ditches
should be cut to catch the sand
and water, and also to compel
vehicles to keep in the road and
thus prevent them from breaking
off the edge of the clay. Thiow
the dirt to the centre of the road ;
leave the clay in the bottom of
the ditches (if there is any there)
for the top of the road. Then
grade the clay hills, covering
with sand for about 8 or 12 inches.
Do not throw out t ie sand in the
road, for the deeper the sand
under the clay the quicker it will
abeorb and draw water from the
top surface. Put the sand on the
clay whilst it is wet and boggy
and until it has about the consistency
of a sun brick. The quanti
ty of ttie sand to be used depends
on the quantity of the clay. Kaolin
or chalk will not do, for wo
have experimented with it and
find that it will not pack hard,
and it absorbs w? or. Where
there are no clay lulls on the
road?and that is the case in some
sections of our county?we haul
clay from the nearest mounds on
the roadside, and it gives me
pleasure to state that land ownners
in such sections worked by
us have readily and generously
allowed us to haul the clay oiT
from their lands free of all charge
and I have no doubt they would
do likewise in any part of the
State,
We have tried sand on clay
roads and met with as much sue
cess as we have in working clay
into sand roads, an 1 whenever
clav ir<*ts b u'irv .>
suspend cla\'ng sti?? 1 ami will
sand the clav, lor then it will
work without picking the clay,
which is an t \penso wh; di should
he avoded whenever possible.
Now i word as to the cost. I he
est ill. tie given you sometime ago,
viz : ifisO per mile, ;< npproxim ?te
ly coir rt, hul it is proper for to
say th"it iu e tiui t ug the cost we
do not irclu I" the cost of our
chaingnng plant, f--r that we regard
a* in the natur of i permanen:
invo-tmeiit. We Merely
t ruoi i om.i i s
Could not ex pres.-. . lie rapt ure of A nnie
K, Springer, of lltiu Howard M.,
Philadelphia, I':., when she found
that l>r King's Ww Idseovery for
Consumption ami completely cured
her of a hacking cough that for many
years had made life a harden. All
other remedies and doctors could give
her no help, but sic- says of this Koyal
r'liro?"it Qimn r?*mnv??il t lm tin in ???
my chest and I can now sleep soon dly
something I fan scarcely remember
doing before. I feel like sounding its
praises throughout the Universe." So
will every one who tries l>r. King's
New Discovery for any trouble of the
Throat, f'hest or Lungs. Price GOc anil
$1.00. Trial bottles free at Crawford
Drug Store; every bottle guaranteed
fi
estimate the actual cost for main- I
tenance of the convicts, the feed I
of the mules, and the wear and <
tear of road tools. With an aver- j
age force of 50 convicts we can <
make four miles of composite i
road per month. True, we have j
not thus far done so for the rea- i
sou that the chainganu has had .
to be occasionally employed at <
emergency work in other direc- '
tions, but if employed exclusively l_
iu making composite roads 50 ;
convicts can make four miles per <
month at a cost as above estimat- l
I ed. i
We desire it to be understood |
j that we do not claim, and have <
' never claimed, that sand and .
j clay composite will make as du- |
rable a road as a properly con- ;
structed macadam, and it is |
proper to say also that ours has i
yet to stand the test of a contin- <
uous rainy season, though it has j
been tested by some heavy sum- ]
I mer rains and stood the test ad- |
1 mirably. All that we do claim for |
I our sand and clay composite is ^
| that where, as is the case generj
ally throughout South Carolina,
| financial conditions do not admit
of macadam road building, the '
next best thing is the sand and 1
clay composite, for it makes a 1
I -a. i 1 ii 1 1 1 .
j smuutii, iinru ruauueu ana COS18 ?
less than the repairs alone of the I
macadam would cost. Whenever
the people become thoroughly I
alive to the necessity of good j
roads and are willing to tax ,
themselves to build them, then
our roads, especially these adjacent
to cities and towns, could be
macadamized, and it seems to me
that such a law as that recently
passed in the State of New York 1
would then be an advantageous
one for us here in South Carolina, i
That law requires the State to i
j pay 50 per cent, the county 35
per cent, and the landowners on ,
each side of the road that is to be
improved 7 1-2 per cent of the ,
cost of the road improvement.
I started out merely to answer
inquiries as to the manner of
building and the cost of construction
of the sand and clay composite
road, but having drifted somewhat
beyond that point, let me '
go on a little further and say that
in my opinion you are wisely agitating
the reduction of State
| farming and the increase of conj
vict labor in works of public util\
ity such as this of road making,
j As is known of all men, the free
I labor system of working roads is
, a miserable farce and a dead failure.
Let the counties have all the
j convicts they need on the roads
I and then we can build them
scientifically. We can then repair
I i
(and build bridges, keep the roads
in thorough repair, do need sani-i
tary work near the cities, drain
off fever breeding swamps and'
put a stop to the constant drain
upon county revenues which has
grown up under our present
makeshift system. Let us abolish
jtho free labor system entirely,;
make the road tax compulsory
and apply such tax to the payments
for iron bridges, which,
would be permanent structures,
obviating the need of wooden
one* which have to be constantly j
repaired to the great expense of
the taxpayers.
It has been urged in some
.quarters that it would be unwise,
: to turn over the bulk of the con11
victs to the county authorities, as
j A l it 14.H i l l I, lIMMfUKR.
Will often cause a horrible Hum,
, Scald, Out or Bruise. Hucklen'a Arni,
ca Salve, the best in ttie world, will
kill the pain and promptly heal it.
Cures Old Sores, Fever Sorea fleers,
Boils, Felons, Corns, all Skin Eruptions.
Best file cure on earth. Only
2flc. a box. Cure guaranteed. Sold by
Crawford Bros., liruggist. 5.
the cost of maintenance would be
too great. It is even'said that
;ounty chaingangs cost more than
they are worth. Is this so? If our
county of Kichland may betaken
is an example I answer unhesitatingly,
no. The chaingang system
svas established in this county in
July, 1895. Our tax levy for all
jounty purposes for 1890 91 was
J 12, mills; 91-2, 3 1-4 mills; 92
J, 3 1 4 mills ; 93-1 4, 3 1 1 mills;
)4 5, 3 3 5 mills; 96, 3 3 4 mills
)7, 3 1 1 mills; 98, 3 1 2 mills;
)9,3 1-4 mills. So you will see by
i comparison of tax levies for the
past eight or nine years that our
jounty taxes hare been no higher
?indeed for some portion of the
times have been lower?siuce the
adoption of the chaingang system
than they were before, and yet
more and better work has been
lone on roads of the county since
its adoption than had been done,
I venture to say, in 25 years he
lore. It is true that the levy
from '90 to '95 produced a surplus
over and above tlie annual
expenditures of those years, and
that this surplus has been since
expended in the purchase of
machinery, chaingang plant, and
macadam work and court house
and jail improvements, so that
the expenditure of our past sur
plus does not in the least affect
the point I wish to make, which
is that a chaingang does not per
se increase county expenses. The
weak point of the system is that
the gangs are too small at pres
ont to cover much territory, and
people grow impatient for its
coming to their doors.
The acerage per diem cost of
maintaining our chaingang (ex
elusive of cost of plant) is 20 ets.
per capita. I am told that in
some counties it costs somewhat
more, but this is the average cost
to us as our chaincanir bills will
show. Now this, lot it bo ro
membered, is the cost for our
present small gangs. The larger
the gang the less tho per capita
rate would be, as is shown at the
State penitentiary, were, accord
ing to the report of Colonel Neul
made 6ome years ago, a thousand
convicts can be dieted at It cents
per capita.
No sensible man advocates the
abolition of the penitentiary. It;
is and always will be a Statei
necessity. All tnat the friends
of the good roads movement ask |
is that instead of farming so ex
tensively with convicts more ol
them should be put at work on
our public roads. Is such a desire |
an improper or an extravagant
one t
(lood roads and good bridges
are well worth working lor. and
Tht* Slate has spoken with no un !
certain sound in favor ol havim:!
them. Whilst continuing vour(
advocacy of such needed improve
ments let me hope that you will
keep up tlie light against the liar
row tired wttj;on, for, as has heon i
wcdl said by a writer on the suh '
jeet, "Next to water the greater J
enemy of all pood roads is thej
narrow tiretl wagon,v for it lortii"
ruts which make a trouph for the!
rain, which instead of runnim: oil'
to the side as it should remains
to sink in the roadway and soften
it. '1 ho wide tire, on the con
trary instead of forming a rut i
rolls and hardens the road sur
face, and such experience as I |
have had in road makinp has con |
l ti.ni :i a.. i:?il
viiiucu uiu mat ji iiio >viuf iirt'U
wagon should entirely supersede
the narrow tire, the expense of
road repair will he very materially
reduced. S. LI. Owens.
Co. Sup. Kichland Co.
Columbia, Aug. 12, 1899.
%
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