NEW YEAR'S EDITION
4i
Medford Mail Tribune
COUNTY
SECTION
COUNTY
SECTION
4
tfOUTY-JTIKST YJSAJt.
mtlWOltD OUKOON, .MONDAY, JAXTARY 1, 1912.
No. 242.
Jackson County to Spend $1,500,000 for Good Roads
,
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(My V. W. Ilnimnn, County Hnnd
Muxtitr.)
.lui'lmnn county, luw, liy mi over-
whelming majority, voted to IHlio
$1,0(1(1,01)11 hnmU fur tliu construe
tloil lf It HnlMll lf H'IIIIIIIH)ll( high
way. A WMIII KH (tut validity f tl'
bond Ik imoHi'il upon, oniit.lruutiou
will begin under Hiiponlhlim r the
iMiiinly court anil n highway coiuiniM.
mIoh iiiiiiii'iI hv it ' "cstst '" ",,!
work.
JiH'kHiJM county thu l'"H "" "I"1''
in tliu good roads iiinvj'iiH'iil. If tin'
Mtipi-ciiiu nun I mn"'h favorably upon
lint bonds, iti example will bu grncr
ally followed li.V tli" tlicr counties,
llixl tllll ll".Vt fW .V'r Will WitlU'flH
triiiiirkiilnV IiIkIiwhv construction.
Tin' IiihI luilf century has been ho
noted for iU building niul develop,
incut of railroad Hint wagon rond
have been almost entirely neglected.
TIio selcneo of building permanent
highways iw mi oh! one. Tin- faunMii
Applnii way, lending fiom tin city of
Home to tlio Mediterranean sen, was
Imilt 320 years before Christ ami U
a good ami permanent roiul tmlav.
John Macadam, a Scotchman, after
whom the macadam road in tunned,
hull! permanent highways vr Kug
Intnl. lielund ami Scnitliiiul more than
a century ago, which Maud today an
a Mthxtnutinl monument to hi mem
ry. In Hid early part of the Inst con
tury onr own uuvvrtnuviit, with ntato
aid. hullt some iumnrtiuit roads
through Pennsylvania, Indiana and
Ohio. Those highways were con
structed to ai'i'oimnodalii the im
incline western luovn of emigration,
hut lliu rapid building of tlu railroad
kept ill lldvillll'C f Wl'HllTII Hl'tlk-
nient and iihnoM entirely monopolised
all other iniuW of trnusportutiou. lit
fact, thu M'opIc of thin country had
coiiio to rely ho thoroughly tioii
railway truiiHortntion that little
thought wiih (ivuti to any other incth
od of traffic 4
, Advent of Auto.
Tint advent of the automobile linn
changed all thin. The iwoplu now
rouliro (hut tliev ean travel with com
fort and safely over eoiintry roadw
almost rivaling the passenger tram
fUolf in speed; henoo thu long neg
lected scieneo of highways has be
come, we might say, tho vital and
most important subject of everv
populated district of tho I'mted
Stnlex, Stnte aid in hoiiio earn a
IukIi iih .f.'id.OOO.Otlll Iiiih Imeii appro
printed for the foiiKtruetion of per
maiiuut roadn. Thu eiihtem Htaten
have, for the pant 10 yearn, heen niv
ini; thin matter their undivided atten
tion. While the nutnmohilo ha Hel iih to
thinkiiiK, it in of minor hinifleaiee
when uompared to the iraffie carried
on by vcliiuleti drawn by niiiinnlH.
When wo take into account that the
niilroiulH of tins country mote about
two billion toiiN of freight annually,
the larger portion of which in first
trauhportcd by wiioiih, wo bejiin to
comprehend the magnitude of traffic
nor our liiKlnvnyH. A careful CHti
mate inude by novernmeut htatiH
tieiaiiH niveK tliu cont of moviuK
freight by wajjoiiH over our projienl
'Voud HyMtuin at 2f cuiiIm per ton mile.
For thu Hitinu (Hint railroad haul a
ton of freight ol) miles. Accordiii
to Genera! Stono'H repoit to coiikickh,
with i-oiiiIh oomitructed and maiii
taiued on hcieutifie priuclplurt, freight
can ho hauled with hornu power for
an uverii(,'u of HJ.fi ccutH per ton mile.
When we ootnu to connider tho dif-
ferencn between l-f cunln and 'J'i
oeiitH on two billion tons of freight,
wu lie-in to comprehend the immeuHn
Iohh to the people of thw country on
account of had and imperfect hiu'i
wayH, l'eople r.liicatcil.
Tliu period of education Iiiih paHHod.
Tho people urc. thoroughly awakened
to the advaiitageH of good roudH and
in nil NiiotioiiH of the United Status
Ihey are lihuril with their eoutrihu
lions. The people are ready to fur
iiIhIi Iho money. They Hay, "(live uh
Ihu roudH." In fact, demniid ban far
outrun Hiipply.
Thu road builder In confronted
with two perplexing prohleniH; l'iirit,
while the pimple want roadn, they
uru Htill inclined to cling to their old
and olmolutu inothodH of building
them, and, hocoikI, thu kind of rood
that John Mcudam gave to thr
woild Iiiih proven inadeipiutu for
wagon and automobile. Tho Meet til o
and the cork of thu IioiWh hIioo will
in time grind the himlcHt known rock1
to dust. lit the pant (IiIh dimt Iiiih
formed a kind of commit or top dress
ing whicli Iiiih improved thu road, but
today the automobile h picking mi
till diiHt by the miction of tliu nub-
mobilu tiren and blowing it out into
thu Holds; so tho problem of a binder I
Jy
m... I i if'iFBHIIwi
MB i 1 liBi i iriilii'linMBHMirrifl M i n hMllyTMflMTITTiWMBiM n itiitffTTMiiiiiivl j'jBi Jti M JiTEnrMr ' tniTnEjMMBBBW
JackNOiivllle piarry.
that will bo (IiihIIckh, uud Ktaud the
traffic of both wagon and automobile,
ban becomu a nubject that is just now
taxing thu iiivcutuu genius of tloj
world. There nro many kinds yf
binder tiiat will hotvo this purpose,
but in most ovory case tliu cxpeime
is prohibitive for country roads. Our
government at Washington has made
hundreds of experiments oil, tar, as
phalt and concrete cement, all of
which serve thu purpose if applied
scientifically, but what is practical
in cost for ouo community becomes
prohibitive in anothur section of the
country where fuiigbts have to be
added, It is, after all, a local prob
lem that every community must work
out for itself.
Jacloinu Koilunate.
Jackson county is perhaps in this
respect tho most fortunate county in
tliu entire country, having as it has
the best of basaltic rook, shown by
government test to be the very high
est in efficiency, and distributed so
thoroughly over tho county that
orushurri mny bo hot up at different
points, making (lie maximum haul of
material not to exceed five or six
miles. DcsidcH this, we liavo tho ma
terial right hero in tho lloguo river
valley for the munufaeturo of tho
highest grade. Portland cement, and
with cement mauufactiiied at home,
avoiding freight, wo can build a hard
Hiirfaoo road of our rock, bound to
gether with our high-grade cement,
Hint will bu second to no road in the
world, at a cohI that will bo well
within the bounds of reason and
economy,
While this article in being written,
there uru gentlemen from tho east
consummating plans for the building
of a largo cement factory right here
in our midst, so that we may look
forward with u coiisidorablo degreu
of hope.
Alt Want lloads.
Tliu county court, however, in con
fronted witli a more serious problem
than that of material, namely, the
Impatient desire of every district for
roads to ho built at onco nud our
faulty Hybtoiu'of road supervision,
Hullding wagon roads iIouh not differ
in principle from that of railroads.
Thorn must bo a thorough organisa
Quarry men at vvoik,
tion and complete equipment in order
to build roads with any kind of econ
omy. A curtain amount of work must
bu laid out and tluished before an
other is taken up. Our trying to
build roads in a dozen differont parts
of tho county at the same time divides
our effort, scatters our equipment
and results in Hittisfying no one, Wo
have ID road supervisors that have
spent in tho year 11)11 more than
f (10,000, and witli all due icpoet to
tho honesty and sincerity of thc.-io
gentlemen, (his money ban been
wasted. They have attempted to
patch up and build after tho old
fashion pieces of roads hero and
there that do not form, or never will
form,, any portion of a permanent
highway. Tho people must have con
lldeuco in tho comity court whom they
eluct ami let them formulate and
carry out feasible plans, and not bo
harassed by advoive criticism and
fault-finding. The people have a
right to know what their money is
being Hpent for. There tdiould ho a
report, made public at least once a
month, nhowing how much money has
been uxpended and how many yards,
rods or miles of. road have been built
for this money. It should not he a
question of personality. . For in
stance, when $20,000 has been ex
pended, the people should say, "Show
uh your road," and if the proper mile
age of good and permanent road s
loriucouiiug, nun simuui answer an
inquiry anil cnticiwii. Instead of hu-j
w
!f. 1
(iilffln Creel; quarry.
porvisors, we should havo men corre
sponding to (lie railroad .suction man
that will take care of, and keep in
repair, Iho roads a last as they aro
built. It i a well-known fact that
tho llrst year is the trying period for
a road that i.s uot llmlted witli a hard
Mirfueo binder, and at least until the
cement factory is built, hard sur
facing the mad would bo very ex
pensive. So as long as wo ijim com
pelled to build the ordinary macadam
road, wo must keep it in repair, fre
quently sprinkling it with water until
it has been thoroughly nettled and
packed by a winter's rain.
Itepalrs Xcccssary.
Thoro is, of course, a cortniu
amount of repair absolutely neces
sary in places in order to mnko tho
dirt roads passable until permanent
roads ean be built. Theso places,
however, should bo only repnirod
where absolutely necessary and tho
repair should bo a permanent piece of
road that will not have to be rebuilt
after tho first wiutei's rain, and will
form a portion of tho permanent
highway.
Two main arteries running north
and Houth and east and west through
t.lio county will, in a measure, servo
all the people. Oar efforts should be
concentrated upon theso main trunk
lines and tho people should be pa
tient enough to wait tor tho side lines
until thev can he built in (ho nronor
manner.
Our equipment, with a littlo addi -
1 mf& ,twrnfBtHOwKuMtnT wfM' ''Df JlrfBlffr3k' t 25 C aC jStSmfthtAifUtZ f,
fowSmffy
."jljmk-'
J A, . i . j.4oo4
'V. lV
,,,, Jfr7;
TyiH of roller used.
tiouul, will be fairly complete. In
fact, it is now the best m the stato,
and with a proper organization and
concentration of effort, 1012 should
make a great showing in tho roads
of Jackson county.
Xctvsslty of Itouris.
There is no state in the Union so
rich in undeveloped resources as Ore
gon, and no county in tho stato with
as large a tdiuro of rich resources
as that of Jackson county. Wo have
for the past few years been develop develep
ing: our fruit industry, but it is only
ouo of ninnv, and by no means the
most important, resources of this.
valley. As" wo have .stated before, we
havo material for making the highest
grade Portland cement tho building
material of the future; wo have clays
for the manufacturing of brick, tile,
pottery and table waro of tho highest
grade. We havo a day qui of which
a ware can he made almost equal to
the famous Havalin china. Wo havo
tho best of building stone, billions of
feet of lumber, and thousands of
acres of uncleared and uncultivated
land. Great minora! deposits coal,
coypcr, gold and iron.
Get Heady for J 013.
With the completion of tho Panama
canal there will be an influx of emi
gration to tho Paoifio coast which
should annually equal thu present
population of Oregon. California and
Washington aro awake to this im
portant period which is almost at
hand. California has made a state
appropriation of $18,000,000 for tho
building of highways, to say nothing
of tho various county appropriations
which exceed (his sum. Washington
to the north of us ia iiinkiug rapid
i HHr"'r
M5l ) C'tfil&jrfAUirriKlMlkJ
' ..' r i'-i
S .
r'T
Griffin Creek quarry, (ruction engine
leaving with crushed rock.
strides-, and if we wish to have our
share of pro.sperity which is surely
coming between this and 1913, vvc
must lose no time in preparing for tho
immense rush of emigration' that' is
sure to come. Tho railroads are
awake to this fact and are pushing
lines a rapidly as possible through
al! sections of California, Washing
ton and California.
The people at the October election
signified their willingness to furnish
tho money for road building by voting
in favor of a $l,f00,000 bond issue!
and there should bo no timo lost in
completing a perfect road building
organization.
$207,861 WAS EXPENDED
ON ROADS IN
1911
Following is the report of W. W.
llnimou, county road master, to tho
county court for the year 1011. The
report covers the year to December
1, thoro being but littlo work during
(ho tirst menth:
Machinery bought by road depart
ment during 1011;
Two woodsaw outfits, $090: two
small Fort Wayne rock crushers,
$3250.90 1 two Buffalo-Pitts hauling
engines and 14 seven-yard cars, $15,
015.95; two sprinkling outfits, com
plete, $781.53; ono No. 5 Austin gy
ratory crushor, complete, $3201.50;
ono Buffalo stonm roller, $3450; sov
en King gVndora, four drags, two
rcolnnintiou ditchers, $4284. Total,
$32,582.94.
Roads built during 1011.
Ashland road, 1.5 miles, rook 10
wide, 14 thick Total cost, plus 10
per oeut for machinery depreciation,
$7442.03; total numbor of oubio yards
crushed rook laid. 5832; cost por
oubio yard of rock in placo, $1,278;
cost per milo of completed road,
$3005.30; nverago length haul of rook
1 milo. NoteAbout 30 ner ent of
this work was dono on a G per cent
grade.
Ross Lnno road, two mllos. rook
12 feet wide, 10 iiichos thick Total
cost, pluB 10 por cout uiftouiuory do-
s.fc'
Macadam roads constructed by coun
ty, showing stages of
construction.
i
precaution, $0447.32; total number of,
cubic yards crushed rock Inid, 4132;
cost per cubic yard of rock in place,
$1,558; cost per mile of completed
road, $3223.00; average lengtk of
haul of rock, 5.1 miles.
Desert road, 1.5 miles, rock 1?
feet wide, 10 inches thick Total cost,
plus 10 per cent machinery deprecia
tion, $7839.64; totnl number of cubic
yards crushed rock laid, 2635.5; ot.
per cubic yard of rock in place,
$2,974; cost per mile of completed
road, $5226.42; averago length haul
of rock, 1.5 miles. Note Large cost
caused by poor quarry, the rock be
ing in boulders.
Prospect road, six miles, 40 feet
wide Total cost, cleared, grubbed
and graded, $8046.58; cost per mile,
$1341.09. Nete: This clearing was
done through heavy fir timber.
Derby road, 9.01 miles, cleared 30
feet wide, graded 20 feet wide; con
tract to Muney Bros. Co. Total cost,
$23,904.54; bridges, $2023.40; cost
per mile, not including bridge, $2,
267.90. Reese Creek road, throo miles, grad
ed 20 feet wide; force account work,
Muney Bros. Co. Total cost, $4,
289.85; cost per mile, $1429.95.
Flounce rock grade, 2.5 miles,
graded 20 feet wido; contract to C.
II. Natwiok Co. Totnl cost, $19,
417.81; cost per mile, $7767.12. Note
This is a new mountain road, with
heavy rock cuts.
Bridges built by road department
during 1911:
Uppor Rogue river bridge, 200 truss,
ono span Contract price, $8000;
survey work and inspection, $285.
Total cost, $8285.
Lower Rogue river bridge, 220
truss, one span Contract prico $12,
000; survey work and Inspection,
$185.52. Totnl cost, $12,185.52.
Big Butte creek bridgo, 80 span
Contract price, $3182.
Foots creek bridgo Contract prico
$1215; survey work, $10. Total cost,
$1225.
Central Point bridgo, rebuilt, 120
span Total cost, $4408.00,
Gold Hill bridge, 112 trus3 span
Contract price, $8184; extra work,
$2828; survey work and inspection,
$220. Total cost, $11,232.
Summary of road department ex
penditures. New roads-
Machinery $32,582.04
Ashland road $7,442.03
Ross Lnno road 0,4447,32
Insert road 7,839.0i
Prospect road 8,040,68
Doiby road 23,004.54
Reeso Crock road 4,289.85
Flounoo rock grndu .... 19,417.81
Tt' ,..$77,388,07
New bridges
Upper Roguo rivor bridgo. $ 8,285.00
Lower Roguo rivor bridgo., 12,185.53
Big Butto crook bridge., w 3,182.00
Foots crook bridgo . 1,225.00
Central Point bridco 4.4nn.O
Gold Hill bridgo 11,232.011
Total iH4n.An7.Ri
County supervisors $57,282.74
Grand total $207.801.0,1
$10,000 paid by public utibserip-
"On.
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