PARK AND CEMETERY. 
6G0 
only of La Crosse, but of the many 
other small cities in the LTnited 
States which are now in a position 
not unlike that which confronted La 
Crosse two years ago. 
The six points of most significance 
are; 
(1) The main reliance from the be- 
ginning was upon public action and 
public support. The people were 
taken in on the ground floor, so to 
speak, and made to feel that the work 
was not only to be for them, but was 
Plant for Examining Road Materials. 
Dust prevention and road preser- 
vation are almost inseparable sub- 
jects in the study of good roads so 
insistently demanding the attention of 
road engineers. Therefore, the bul- 
letin of the United States Department 
of Agriculture for the Examination 
of Bituminous Road Materials, pre- 
pared by the Office of Public Roads, 
and issued as No. 38 of that series, 
which contains complete descriptions 
of the methods of examination for 
that class of materials, as employed 
at present by that office, should ma- 
terially further the adoption of 
standard methods, a matter which is 
of the utmost importance at this time. 
These methods are presented in 
such a form that any intelligent per- 
son may, with a little practice and 
the proper equipment, make such ex- 
amination. With this object in view 
the bulletin describes the various 
tests in greater detail than would 
have been necessary for the use of 
to be done by them. The parks and 
playgrounds were put in exactly the 
same class as the public school and 
the public library and in renewing 
the appropration this year, the mem- 
bers of the city council showed that 
they looked upon them in this way. 
(2) The park commission has, from 
the start, applied the efficient meth- 
ods of private business to the admin- 
istration of this new city department 
and with similar good results. 
(3) Before a step was taken toward 
chemists, and illustrations are pre- 
sented of practically all the apparatus 
required. Also a list of the necessary 
equipment for a small laboratory 
about to engage in the routine test- 
ing and inspection of bitumens is 
given. The maximum cost, exclusive 
of platinum wire, solvents and chem- 
icals, would not exceed $300, and 
probably could be purchased cheaper 
by securing bids on the entire equip- 
ment from several drug supply 
houses. For the extraction of bi- 
tuminous aggregates, the recovery of 
the bitumen, and examination of the 
aggregates, an additional outlay of 
$123 would be necessary, but this ex- 
pense seems to be entirely within the 
means of most road commissioners, 
charged with the construction and 
maintenance of public roads. 
It is to be regretted that no stand- 
ard method for examining bituminous 
road materials have been generally 
adopted, as the necessity for such 
standards has become imperative. The 
execution, a complete general plan 
was preisared for all the parks and 
playgrounds included in the present 
system. 
(4) The cost of these parks and 
playgrounds for La Crosse has not 
been heavy. The council has issued 
twenty-year bonds for seventy-five 
thousand dollars and the one mill 
tax has yielded a little over twenty 
thousand dollars a year for two years. 
Even under the present law and the 
extra expenses inevitable during a pe- 
riod of heavy construction the annual 
cost has not exceeded fifty cents per 
capita. 
(5) Another conclusion justified by 
the experience of La Crosse, is the 
possibility, especially in the smaller 
places, of enlisting in the service of 
the community the most honorable 
and able men. If an unpaid commis- 
sion is created, free from political in- 
fluence, under conditions that permit 
of a large public service, it wffl al- 
ways be possible, as at La Crosse, to 
find qualified men to accept. 
(6) The final lesson of the La 
Crosse parks is their effect upon the 
civic spirit of the entire community. 
There has been a noticeable quicken- 
ing of civic pride and an awakening 
of interest in civic affairs which is 
worth all that these public improve- 
ments have cost in money and per- 
sonal work. 
ROAD BUILDING 
office of public roads has given con- 
siderable attention to this matter, 
both with respect to investigations 
conducted in its laboratories and 
through co-operation with certain 
technical societies interested in the 
testing of materials. While it is re- 
alized that the scheme of examina- 
tion presented is by no means per- 
fect, and may in the future be im- 
proved, it has nevertheless been of 
great service in classifying bituminous 
road materials and determining their 
suitability for use according to va- 
rious methods of application and con- 
struction. 
British Dust Problem Statistics. 
Consul General John L. Griffiths, 
of London, sends the state depart- 
ment a report of the work of the 
“Roads Improvement Association,” 
which has made an investigation of 
the dust problem in the United King- 
dom and the results have been pub- 
lished. The information was obtained 
MISSISSIPPI RIVER VIEW AT LA CROSSE. WIS. 
DUSTLESS ROAD-SURFACING AND 
