238 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



some sense in giving old heroes a chance to glean a living 

 on the highway, and road superintendents would be 

 excusable, in a charitable point of view, for leaving small 

 jobs of work for industrious old gleaners to pick up. But 

 how about road making as a business, where the porous 

 work shows most contrivance to make work? According 

 to this European plan, American roads have places at the 

 present lime for several millions of government employees, — 

 or will, when they are thoroughly organized on the Euro- 

 pean plan. It may be observed in passing that a great 

 many people are running away from that European system. 

 Resident land-owners taking pride in their own roads might 

 do the work much better and cheaper. 



Looking charitably at our Eastern cities, it would seem 

 as if the gleaning plan was in full operation. Streets 

 arc opened and treated, not with a strong desire to show the 

 best possible road making, of stone or anything else, but 

 apparently, by constant changes of mismanagement, to leave 

 as much as possible of the people's substance to be gleaned 

 under the head of "maintenance." 



The question will arise, and will be presented sharply 

 for reply : Is this legitimate business, applicable to the 

 whole country, or are we spending our children's patri- 

 mony of good-will and the fruits of the earth for perishable 

 extravagances in road making? Can the two Dakotas 

 make a profit on " cighty-fivc-cent wheat at Atlantic ports," 

 that will enable them to lay down long lines of " Telford- 

 Macadam," with picturesque vistas of road-mending stations 

 for maintenance? Can we afford to make mistakes in letting 

 precious road-stone go wandering through the mud of any 

 part of our great mid-country? What is good for Dakota is 

 good for Massachusetts or Connecticut in this railway age. 



These questions answer themselves plainly enough in our 

 own minds. Thoughtful Americans will perceive that, if 

 we desire better roads anywhere, — as who docs not? — it 

 is our first duty to learn our road-making trades. Let us 

 have State surveys and topographic maps in every house- 

 hold, so that we can all see which way our roads should run ; 

 and, while these surveys are being made and new model hand- 

 tools, vehicles and machinery put in a state of forwardness, 



