38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



before it could be disturbed, and after it had been disturbed 

 it was carted away and a cement concrete base was put down ; 

 when all that was necessary to accommodate the proposed 

 improvements was to put on some small stone saturated with 

 a little tar to lift up the inequalities of the old Macadam road 

 and put the asphalt upon the top. thus saving- thousands of 

 dollars in the handling of this work. I have also seen a bus- 

 iness pavement laid on a residential street and a residential 

 pavement laid on a business street, simply because the resi- 

 dents who were on that street wanted a smooth and pleasant 

 pavement, when common sense would have suggested the re- 

 verse. I have seen sprinkling carts going through the streets 

 with a heavy vertical spray of water pouring down upon the 

 Macadam, and with every stream that was poured on to the 

 pavement was washed away hundreds of dollars' worth of 

 good wearing material, making a permanent injury to the 

 pavement. It seemed to make no difference in the volume 

 of water whether the street lay in the sunshine or in the 

 shadow, the lever never was closed, and the cart passed 

 along, and every man who knows anything about a pavement 

 knows that when you make it so wet and damp in the shadow 

 it rots your pavement. 



I have seen streets which have been improperly laid. I 

 have seen streets altogether too narrow for the business they 

 are called upon to carry, when any business mind vrould 

 have suggested that the concentration of travel required a 

 more permanent pavement than that already laid. 



So it goes all through this question of pavements. What 

 we want all over the State of Connecticut, whether in the city 

 or in the town, is practical men to handle this matter. You 

 say, " How are we to get practical men to do this work ? " 

 My answer is, " The laborer is worthy of his hire." You 

 cannot buy a gold dollar for eighty cents. You will have 

 to select your men, select them with reference to their quali- 

 fications for the office you desire to have them fill. When 

 you get a man who has the necessarv- qualifications for such 

 work, clothe him with full official authority. It is not neces- 

 sary to get a man who is wealthy, so that he will be removed 

 from any pecuniary desire to use his office for his own en- 

 richment. We don't believe in plutocracy in America. 

 Neither is it necessary to secure a man who has no ambition, 



