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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1898-6-23, Page 2"WE WANT GOOD ROADS." By A. W. Campbell, C. E., Road Commissioner of Ontario. The Great Need of This Country is (lood Roads—flow to Build Them Economically Explained by an Expert—Useful Hints and Diagrams to the Road Builders of this Country. (Co:stinted front li'age 3.) drawing the earth put of the ditches BROKEN STONE. with a :weeper • so that these sheet - There are localities i.n Canada where dere taus turned. outvvard merely wide good. • gravel is not obtainable, but en the graded roadway without inter - where stone cart be had, either as bed tering- with the drain, If, however, rock or as field boulders. Some town- • t1a.a5e ditches ere sharp and deete the ehips heve used stone broken by hand, leaseried earth may drop down so as but a stores crusher, with a soreen at- to obstruct 'the water in whichcase tachteent affords, a muell cheaper it will have to be thrown across the method. . arena to the roadside by band -a pro - The atone should be separated into Deeding seldoxn necessary. grades according to size, the coarser stone to be placed in bottoni of the road, and the finer a the top. This Usually a, sufficiene depth of grav- el tvill be found upon these roads, re- quiring only thet the °entre shoulcl grachng ef the, stone is done by means be raised by cutting off the sides. After of the screan atta.chraent. If the tbis is done, as above deserihed, a light stories are placed. in the road without °eating of clean gravel to fill the ruts being graded in this manner, the small- and depressions and restore the orown er stones wear more rapidly than the will frequently make an excellent lead.. larger and a rough surface results CONSOLIDATING THE MATERIAL. Large stones at the surface, moreover:. - ehe road covering should be solid are more apt to become loose, to roll and compact in order to shed. the wate under the horses' feet or the wheels. a country road there should. be Under present methods, the grav- For er* el or atone is dumped in the centre of placed in the roadbed, 1st, a layer of stones such as will pass throu gh a 21_2 the road. and left as it falls, a mound of loose material, avoided bY the users of inolcring; 2nd., on this a layer a stones the road until late in the fall when the such as will pass through a one inch muddy and rutted state of the side of ring; 3rd, on this a coating a soreen- tbe road. compels them to drive along Ings -that is, the dust and chips creat - this mound. Gradually it is flattened ecl in crushing-. down and, after a year or so, during Care must be taken in choosing' the • stone to be used. Some limestones whiela time it has been mixed largely with the soil beneath, it assumes the make good. metal; but linae.stone a a shape of a road. The utility of roads slaty nature, or limestones which de - made in this wey Is largely wasted. cay rapidly on exposure to the air should be rejected. Sandstones are It, aa,d, s ronet be made for traffic, not brittle and do not unite well in the ; it. road. Granites, which, axe found in This loose stuff absorbs the rain as acanY ports of Canada, make good road it falls even before it is cut into ridges metal. Trap rock is the, best obtain- by wheels and the feet of horses. When able. Gneiss is very frequeetly a it has been cut into ridges it acts as a receptacle to hold all the moisture its' good. rook The letter with other surface will receive. In this way the hardstones, are frequently found as whole surface and foundation of the boulders scattered over the southern parts of Canada. In using field bould- roa,d is softened, is readiajr cut up and ers, care ro.ust be taken to reject such destroyed. The best remedy for this waste in stones a.s are evidently softened by ex- The is to spread the road met - under Rocks which crumble readily . al to conform to the required surface under successive blows of a hammer ; of the finished road, and then ther- m- which show iron stains when broke o a, en. should. be discarded. A little ex- ughly consolidate it by the use of heavy roller. It can be largely reme perience quiokly teach a judiclaus died also by taking proper care of the roadraan to detect boulder stone which is unfifor road. purposes. road, if a roller cannot be had. By t There raust be suffieient body of raking the loose material into the ruts ' broken stone to consolidate into a - and wheel tracks as fast as they appear, com pact layer. A sprinkling of stones nearly the same end will be accomplish- ed but less perfeotly, and requiring a, . over the surface is useless. It merely longer time. The'first vehicle passing im.pedes travel on what might other - over the road does comparatively little wise be e good dirt road. Six inches �f broken stone is the least which injury; it is when ruts have been form - should be used imaking a durable ed. which hold water, and other wheels n follow in these tracks, that the great - roadway for any purpose; and it should est damage is done. be the aim of 001112CilS to thicken. this covert:3g es circumstances will per- A SMOOTH SURFACE. mit. It is evident that a smooth surface PLACING THE ROAD METAL. is essential. to -a good road. A rough To know how gravel or stone snould. surface is necessarily such, as will ire- • be placed. on the road, it is necessary pede the flow of water. Ruts run - to have a knowledge of why it is plac- ning lengthways with the road forro. ad on the road. This is a matter to trenches to cut off the flow of water which very few of our roadmakers have frora the centre to the drains. To given slightest attention, and. very few could give an intelligent answer to the question. The popular idea is that the stone makes a sort of carpet for a while; in a short time it will be forced down into the soil to form a bottom; on this more gravel or stone will have. to be placed; and that this process will have to be continued inde- finitely.. until a. good road is made. There is even a very general. belief that it is not necessary to drain a road; but that the only means of ac- complishing the desired end is to pile an gravel year after year; and that water, unless it actually floods over the top of the road, has little to do with the matter; and that so long as • the actual surface of the road. does not get wet it does not matter how boggy it may be underneath.. In the intelligent construction of a road, the intention of the gravel or stone coating is to form a wearing surface and protect the soil under- neath. Of course, gravel and broken stone cannot as a matter of fact, be entirely impervious; but so far as the ooaliag of these materials does pre- vent the water passing through to the sub -soil, it fulfills the greatest por- tion of its mission. To accomplish this to the greatest • possible extent there are several points which it is neeessary to pay attention to, lst, the road muse be crowned or rounded up in the centre; 2nd, the ma- terial. must be as compact and ae solid as possible; 3rd., the surface of the road must be smooth. CROWNING. By having the road crowned or rou.nded up in the centre, water is at once thrown to the sides where it can be carried away in the drains. If the road is flat on the top, ox if hollow, as many road.s of Canada are, water stands on the road, soaks down through the road covering, and softens the soil loeneatti. Then the trouble begins. There is nothing to support the gravel, so that when a loaded vehi- cle passes over it the wheels are forced down through the grevel and into the sail. The soil is plowed up, mixed witle the gravel, and the serviceability of the road is largely destroyed, The means of providing a proper crown must depend on eirctimstances. For an average country road on. vehich O grading naachirte is used the hest, method will be to first round up the • natural soil giving it a less crown th,en it tntendea the finished road Weal have. This completed, pees the grader over one aide of the centre, cutting oaf the tep and, turning the laceenect dirt to the side; then pass the grader back along the other side, turning the loosened dirt to the side. will leave a flat surfaele in thel amen of the roadway, along each gide of which is e shoulder of loose earth, forming a shallow trench. Tn this the gravel should be placed, spread with o reiinded surface eel the loose dirt et the sides levelled off to coliform, to the shape of the roadway. Old gravel roads are totrunoely flat, iri ridges. with agitate shoulders at the edge of the (litotes, In this ease, the better plan is to diet off these shoulders throwing the loosened earth (Mtwara. Tho ditches are asilaIla very tide a,nd, flat, the rated havIng been graded by AN EASILY MADE STONE CULVERT. -Cross-section. such roads ramn. is alweys an injury. With roads properly built, on the con- trary, a good dash of rain will flusb way the dust which has accumulated; and which if it remains on the road in time of steady rain and slush, acts as O sponge to absorb moisture and soften the surface of the road. elEP THE ROAD DRY. laeep the roads dry, and with very lit- tle attention they will remain good. roads. A little moisture does com- paratively little injury. Against some moisture it is impossible to guard. But with proper precautions, the e.xcess moisture can be removed before great damage is done. The means to be tak- en with regard to the actual surfare of the road have aiready been co.m- mented upon. THE OPEN DRAIN. The open drains at the sides of the road. should be sufficiently deep to hold water in times of freshets, and should have a sufficient fall to Merry it quickly away. The fell should be uniform, not a series of rises and fails, knolls and. holes. Moat important of all, in view of the neglect which it receives, the out- let must be ample, and taways free from obstruction. it is useless to dig a. drain without providing an outlet for the water, a thing very commonly done. The water merely stands in the trench, soaks into and softens the road. - bed. Unless a drain carries the water OM ay; it is useless. •FOUNDATION. The importance oe keeping the road- bed dry, cannot be too thoeoughly im- pressed. Clay in thick beds, when dry, will support from 4 to 6 tons per square foot, of surface, according to the quality of the clay. 11 only mocler- etely dry it wilt support only from 2 to 4 tons per squere foot of surfate. If the clay is wet and soft it will yield to almost any load, Gravel, if well oompacted, forms a math stronger roadbed, is less yield- ing to the action of moisture and for this reason, even fot a thin surfaee coating, strengthens the road some- what. But the real strength of the road roust he in the subsoil. Vegetable inottIds and taluvial sate are weak, hav- ing a sustaining power of wily bnie- ha,lf to one ton per sgeare foot; and for this reason It is well to remove tomb ectils, seeming, if peesible, agretrel. day or sand fotindation. UNDERDRAINING, an order to keep the rot:ell:6d drY, and seoure e strong roundel:ant it is are - (latently advisable to use tile under - drains. Owing to the wealtening effeet of Teeter oh clay, also to the retentive tiature of olay, that eoil is usually raost. IU need- ef underdrainege. In gravel and sand, water is not ordinarily so de- struotive Unless when acted upon by trost at the same time, these latter soils usually provide better nateral underdraieage, as they xiee more per- ous, and ertificial meene of underdrain- age are usually less necessary. Unclerdrainage may be had by means of commou field tile. It is useally best to place ttrO such drains, one on each eide of the roachvay underneath the open drains. One tile drain placed undertaeath the centre of the roadbed is sometimes used. The extra cost of two drainis largely reduced, however, by the lesser cost of exoavation, since, on the majority of road allowa,nces, deep open ermine now exist, and the soil is softer and more cheaply handled than that in the hardeued centre of the road. It is very unwise to excavate end soft- en the hardened centre of the road whet': it can be avoided, es settlement is very slow. At the same time, two drains are more effeotive, carrying away water raore rapidly and thor- ou.ghly ; they intercept the soakage wa- ter from the adjoining land before it latteeS under the roaclbed. Any thoughtful farmer who knows the effeot of underdrainbeg in his fields will at one recognize its usefulness in roademaking. In the all, water will be rapidly removed from the bed of tbe road and. the destruotive action of frost lessened. In the spring, the frost will come out of the ground more quickly, and each of those periods in fall and spring are shortened, when, with the foundation and surface thoroughly sat- urated, the roads are not only impass- able on account of the mud., but are injured by traffic niore tban in all the remaining nine or ten months of the year. One year's statute labor with the annual appropriation, spent in pro- viding proper drains for the roads of the province would do more than can be done in. five years Wit], the present method of merely filling the holes which appear, with gravel or crushed stone. Tanderdraining and grading shailld be E EXETER TIKES eteSnse()Qonf abseisnuaakete7ealatit3sarljae"eibillenvtilligs the dota of each patimaster to turn out, say in the month of junta end to the extent. of Ms ebility, with the sta- te laber at his disPosal, Plow ua. the sales of the reed, in tae most. irregular manner possible and then With drag scrapers bring the earth towards the centre of the roara and there aump it so that each seraper full will stand. oet seaterately and alone, making the road surface as rou.ga and impassable. as poseible. `Wherever such earth is brought from the side a the grade it appears to be unwritten lew that it shall be done by gouging with the Scraper so as to leave d ressions and pockets, whice will hold ter. Where * a road has been gravellet, but ill the spring beeomes rutted, wita an occa- sional depressioh, offering an excuse. Lor repairs, it appears to be tbel policy of our roadmakere to fill up the ruts with the coarsest gravel obtainable. Wherever there is a slight depression they durap a load of gravel large en- ough to form a mouna. Should. these repairs force the traffic to the eedes of the road, the work is considered com- plete, except that it may be thought O further necessity to lay rails, logs, stomps, eta, crosswise on the sides of the roadway, obliging the travel to fol- low the centre or take anotaer road. It ie. absolutely essential to the main- ten.anee of a good cued. economical sys- tem of roacts that provisioa be made by the township for their repair as soon as signs of wear appear, However ex- travagant it may appear at first sight, to recommend that a man be constant - la employed to go over suoh a mileage of roads as he can attend to, devoting his whole time tothework, there can be no doubt that it would. in the end be the ro.ost economical plan. It is the same system pursued by railways in the care of their roadbed, and railway ocomripcoariatnitoensth:arse, n.oted tor their emu - A man con.stantly employed in this wa,y could fill up ruts and wheel tracks as soon as they appear, before water has been permitted to stand in them to assist in deepening them, A decay- ed plank would be removed from the culvert or bridge before an accident carried on sunultaneouslY. Unless was caused tbexeby ; a,nd before the drainedethe traffio during the ensuing weakening of the bridge at this point A. GOOD ROAD COVERING. -Cross-section. The largest stones in the bottom and the smallest at tha surface, free from sand and clay; and thoroaghly rolled. autumn and spring will usually leave a graded road as shapeless and rough as a pioneer wagon track can be. If drained, there will be a foundation for the gravel or crushed stone to resit on when applied. A porous soil, like a sponge, retains in its texture, by attraetion, a certain amount of water. When water in ex- cess of tbis is added, it sinks to the first impenetrable strata, and from there it rises higher and higher until it finds a lateral outlet; just as 'wa- ter poured into a pail will rise high- er and higher, until it finds an outlet in the side of the pail, or until it flows over the top. Underdmining supplies the necessary outlet for this excess moisture at a proper depth from the surface; it "lowers the water line." With plastic clays the process is slightly different. Clay will absorb nearly one-half its bulk and weight of water. In drying, it shrinks and is torn in. different directions. The fis- sures thus commenced by a tile drain become new drains to lead water to the tile, and so the process of contracting and cracking continues until a. net work of fissures is produced, and tbe stiffest clay is thereby drained. THE EFFECT OF FROST. The Injury done to roads by frost is caused eatirely by the presence of wa- ter. Water expands on freezing, and the more there is under a road, and above frost line, the greater is the in- jury. In freezing, water expands. The particles of soil in immediate contact with the water are first compacted. 'When room for expansion ceases within the body a the soil itself, the surface is upheaved. aVhen thawing takes place the sub -soil will be found honey- combed, ready to settle and sink be- neath traffic. It is therefore of the utmost importance tbat the soil should be relieved of the water of saturation as quickly as POSSIbla by underdrain- age. The impassable condition of most roads in Canada during the spring, of- ten axle deep with mud, is to he at- tributed. very largely to a wet sub -soil which has been honey -combed by frost.. MAINTENANCE. It is not merely necessary to make the roads good; they must be kept good. It is not sufficient to provide drains; care must be exercised to keep the drains open and free from obstructions. It is not enough to merely place the gravel or broken stone on the road as it ought to be placed; care must be taken to see that the covering is kept in place. at is not sufficient to build culverts; it is further necessary that the culverts be kept in order, It is folly to build roads properly if they are afterwards neglected and allowed to remain otie of repair. Every farmer knows that le the repairs of his barna, his outhouses, a,ncl his fences were neg- lected a.s is the repair of the roads, a great personal loss would result. Probably one of the greatest defects of tee present sesteno of road construc- tion is that the roads ere eott repaired when the need oa repair first arisee. • Unless in a very dangerous steam, work is done on the roads only once, a year et the time of performing statute lab- or ; ruts, bollovvs and other defects are permitted to remain without attention and when these defectcommenee, they increaae with great rapidity. Culverts are permitted to fall to pieces for want of repair at the proper time. Drains become obstructed, and the roadway is allowed to 1:e flooded and saturated for want ef a little timely tittenaion. Repairs are made once a year and that et a season when least requited, having a tendency to deetroy the rise- faloess of the road at the only time when our roads can be called service- able. 1V1hen the weather is dry for sev- eral monthe la mutter the orainary clay road baked by the siin, ia keet in propet sliape, la an exe,ellent roadway; • but call, novel eyetern-as 11 15eheok- mato Provai e tice -pr ov id ea oche rev ice. had caused other portions to be de- stroyed. An obstructed drain• would be opened before injury resulted 15. the roadway. Loose stones would be re- moved frent the road where they are rolling under the wheels and the feet of horses. Loose gravel and stone .would be kept raked into place -until it had become consolidated. By these and many other simple means the reeds would be at all tains. kept ia a more servieeable conditioo; and of greater importance, repairs would be made in time to save the road from injury which could not be remedied; and in tune to save mudi labor and expense in making possible repairs. Some municipalities have adopted the plan of employing a foreman and, a couple of laborers to devote theit whole time to the roads of a district or town- ship, and in such cases, a grader and other road machinery is employed. Whatever the -details of the system, the principle should lee the same through- out, that wear must be repaired as soon as signs of it appear, if economy and good Berates is to 178 had, ROAD GRADERS. A road grader is one oil the most ne- cessary ixaplements for a township to possess. To depend upon manual lab- or for the hest grading of 'roads, and the repair of others that require re- shaping is a useless waste of labor and money. Improved road machinery is as great a saving in roadmaking as is the self binder or the steam thresher in farming operations. To neglect to use a. road grader is as unwise as it would be to return to the old time eradle and flail. If every ratepayer took the same personal interest in the roaris that be does in his farm, no muni- cipalities would be without modern ma- ch -leery for road work. The grader in the hands of a skilful operator will do the work of fifty to seventy-five men in grading and levelling the road- way. • A ROAD ROLLER. A most valuable implement in road constructien is tie road roller. On town streets it is indispensable. To thoroughly consolidate the gravel or stone into a smooth, hard. layer, before it can be mixed up with the sub -soil, renders the surface coating more aur - able and serviceable in every way. A steam roller of ten toes is toe expen- sive for the majority of rural muni- cipalities, but in some instances town- ships could rent from a to‘vn in the district, which owns one. A horse roll- er of six or eight tons is less expensive and some municipalities may see fit to purchase. In the construction of broken Beene roads the loose stone con- solidates under traffic less readily than rdooeusg7vel, and without rolling re- mains for some time very leose and gli A STONE CRUSHER. Wberever good gravel oannot be had, where stone for crushing is obtainable, a stone crusher is most useful. Stone can be broken by this means at te price withie the range al every well-plopii- lated township, although a ver e expen- Sive work when performed by hand, A crusher can be operated ley the steam engine used for a threshing maehine which elm generatly be rented.. A orusber will prepare from 10 to 15 cords per day. A rotary screen attacbed lo • the crusher will separate the stone into grades according to size, reader to be placed on the read in layers, the coartle er in the boteorn of the road. • WAGON TIRES. It would seem as though' in every- thing the present methods in regatd to roadie in Canada ate contrary to good judgment, Gravel or broken stone le ettiMpe&l locaely without even sPreade Lila, on a badly graded, bedi.Y draillea ss ti'mb 1:t'ee aine tslire e aufs hese02ItU11aa(11111r- met. When Wale tires bave universally replaced the narrow tires whicai are now found ou fe,rin wagons, a great part of the read question will ho solv- ed. Narrow tires of two and one-half 'Pates in width bave only ene half of the bearaeg ea the road waieh wieuld be provided by tiree of proper width, referring to the supporting power • soils discuseed le the paregraph on ounclatilone," the effect a this is are apparent, By the use of a six •It tire, the roedWaY blout Yielding, twice tliis evToed"evlijeth ould support evith a three inch tire, Narrow tires eanool, be too strongly condemned. They cut and grind the road, plow and. upbeave it. Wide tires on the contrary, are a benefit rather than au injury to the road inesinuela es they act as rollers' to pre- serve a smooth bora. surface. In same localities wide. tires are objected to un- der the argument that they inc:-ease the dealt required to move the load. This may moot under certain oecas- ional conditions of very wet and soft roads. But. when wide flees are uni- versally used thrie objection will die - appear, as Me increaeed draft is due to the rats and mud caused by narrow tires. • (DIMENSIONS 011' ROADS, For the. average country road, a graded roadway twenty-four feet in width between the inside edges of the open drains, will be ample to accommo- date travel. For the average road, if the central eight feet is metalled with gravel or broken stone, it will be suf- fiment. The depth and width of the opeu drains will have to be governed by circumstances. Sufficient caeavity must be provided to earry away all surface water. The depth must be dependent also on the fall obtainable. With tile underdrains, deep open ditches are not needed to drain the road foundation. Tae use of tile does away with the deep and dangerous open ditches Which may otherwise be necessary. The crown of the road should be such as to give a fall of one, inclh to the foot from c,entre to the edge of the ditch. 11 Hills are among the difficult portions of the road te consi3ruct, and are a constant S011tree of expense for repairs. The reason of this usually is, that the drainage is imperfect. Water is brought long distances in open drains by the roadside, and poured over the hills, frequently to flood over the whole surface. It is not uncommon to find the centre of the toad over the hill lower than the open drains at its side - if there are drains at all. The natural result is that washouts are constantly occurring. For conditions of this kind the simple remedy is to dispose of the water beftere it reaches the hills, by con- veying it through the adjoining fields if necessary. The probability is that the greater amount of water has been carried in deep ditches past water- course after watercourse in order to dispose of it orvar the hill; thereb3i avoiding the necessity of constructing drains through farm land in the natter - al watercourses. The secret of success- ful dtainage with respect to roads, is to dispose of water in small quantities before it can gain foece and headway. Another common occurrence is to find water oozing from the surface of the road on hills. This is espedally no- ticeable after the frost leaves these spots. Tbs sulrfaceKY and is cult readily by wheels. Such hills should be &reined by placing a line of tile down each side et tibe road- way between the gutter and the pray - el carrying these underdrains to proper outlets. Cross drains should be laid in the wet spot leading to the side .under - drains in a diagonal course. Well con- caved gutters should be made an each side of the rotidway and at reguaar intervals catch basins should be placed bo arrest Me flow of water in these gutters leading it into the tile under - drains. The roadway on a hill should be well Drowned. This will draw the water quickly to the dwains at the side of the road,, instead of permitting it to follow the wheel troika, deepening them to rata. ! To Be Continued. • BRIGANDS IN ITALY. Brigandage still flourishes in It- aly. As Signor Romaninafacur, a well- known Deputy, and it dozen other men were going toward Gressette, ells oth- er day for the purpose of inspecting a, newly constructed acm.educt they suddenly met a man, dressed like a huntsman, who levelled his rifle at • them and ordered themto hell. They obeyed, whereupon the brigand com- manded them to empty their pockets. Strange to say, not one or them made the least resistance, and xis a result the brigand obtained a few thousand 'francs, Deputy Rox:namineracur's invol- untary contribution being five bank notes a 1002. each. Having secured this booty the fearless robber disap- peered and no trace of him lia,s since been found, mon the following day 'a. wealthy landed proprietor was stab- bed and robbebt by a brigand within a few Inilesof Rome, bat fortunately the police were near at hand, and they arrested the misoreant before he could escape. As tais victim is said to be mortally wounded, the chances are that the oehninalts career 1$ practically en.ded. TWO ROMAN BRIGAND TALES. lake Vein* Oir TIVildi and the Surprise of Signor nomanin. • Brigand's leave begun to appear again IXI the Roman Campagna, and reportS of the robbery of persoas taking trips cuteide the city walls tire becoming common, A young widow, welt known sodety xit Rome, has been the vie- tim of as embarassing adventure in consequeoce, She went for a day's outing to Tivoli, accompanied by a, gal- lant cavalry officer, who had. been courting her, and etayeet so late that she lost the last train baok to Itonae, After hunting around for some time her oompanion suce,eeded in finding an old-Casaioned post-caaise and a man to drive. They started late at night, but eater a few miles were stopped on the highway by five men, who demanded their purses and watches. Unfortunate - la thle officer undertook to resist. This angered the brigands, and, after ov- erpowering him, they stripped the two travellers of every scrap of clothing and pat them in the chaise and order- ed them to drive on. They reached the city gates after.1 oelock at, night, and, abere were inspeeted by tale Cas - tones House officers, who, after mak- beg etre that they were concealing no- thing contraband on their parsons, kindly provided the:xi with a few in- dispensable garments. Gossips got DEAF AND DTJMI3 CORPS., A deaf and dumb corps of the Sal- vation Army 'has been organized in Stockholm, Sweden. The maniere meet four times a week, and it is quite interesting to watch the movements of the fingers when au interesting theme 18 being discussed, • GOOD OUT op Patient-en:1 afraid 1 am poisoned, doctor. I ate what I supposed were metelereoms at a table-d'hote dinner, Doctor -Dia you drink' the wine that was served with it e , Patient -Yes, Doetor--Then you'll Ile ell Agile. The two poisons will ad: ast atitidatee to e,aelt other. hold of the story, and now the uaaluoky widow is known in Rome us the "Ven- ue of Trivoli." A different story comes fxten Gros- . sett', in the swampy lands near t15. sea, on the railroad between Rome and Lester, Grosseto lately had woler- works and. an aqueduct: constructed, but differences arose between the town authorities and the contractors as to the quality of the work, ana a com- mission was appointed to settle the difficulty, with Signor Romanin, Depu- ty in Parliament, as Chairman. Signor Romanho, with the other commission- ers, and some la borers..the party con- sisting of thirteen pereons, set out one fine morning to inspect the aqued.act. They had entered, a path six feet wide, running between the, aqueduct and the River Onabrone, when they noticed a young man with a. double-barrelled gun some distance ahead.. When they • got near airo he brought the gon up to his shoulder and quietly asked them to get together 7,000 lire at once or he would fire. The commission nearly thin led over backward, but, as no one showed any inclination to fight and the path was too narrow for fight, di- ptomacy was brought into play and an offer of 100 lire was made, The bri- gand, however, treated the offer with scorn. "You are very fine ' gentle- man," said lie to Romanin, "one of the deputies • who steal millions, Fork out what you have about you, other- wise I won't give you, time to say a 'Hail Mary.'" Ths depulies hastily poured out the contents of his pocket- book on the path., and was allowed, to go to die rear. One commissione-r after another was then called out to clo the same, but the laborers were spared. The party then withdrew a 'few hundred yards back, and, turning around, sawthe robber shake out their pooketbooks and take the money, "Not even 1,000 lire (6200) in the whole pack,. PHILIPPINES' IMPORTAN CE. angiand taut an aye OW An ease the lino - tat Stows Does ;Sot tteeneY labelette. The Spanish rule in the Pailippines ia a very frail thing, and it would, nat take Much to bring it to ruin, slays the Pall Mall Ceatzette, Although ilee Sven- lardss have held the arebipelago duce the end of the sixteenth century, when at Was taken in w1111 the reesa of the Portuguese dociinions, they leave nev- er possessed more team the mere fringe -the coasts of the 'greele islands ariell a fosINhavel. arpots yrerabeaelawcacosuntrh aaTi Ihlieeurnt. Trsezi lelt s tblie oe_f ga,n to impeet protective duties in or-. der to draw all the trade itto‘ her own hands, but the bulk of it still belongs to England and Germany. The native popuiation, laalgoly , of Malay blood, is independent. Around the Spanish set- tlements and. on the vast estates be- longing to various religious orders there is a half-breed population of Spat:isle and Malay and, of Oiliness and Malay of the braneheof the race called Tagalo. The last made the rebelliion, ana they have apparently been encour- aged by the outbreak of the war, with the United States to begin again. New we have only to look at this position to see that if the power of (Spain is de- stroeed. 'another apple of discord will be rolled on the table in tha far east. To suppoee that the Tegalos--a timid, =waxlike race who are hateti and des- pised by other tribes, and who are ak. valed in sympathies between the Span- ish and Chinese strains among them- eelves-coula establish a stable govern- ment in the Philippines, is an absurd- ity. The expulsion of the Spaniards would. throw the archipelago open to the enterprise of all the powers who are now busy with spheres of influ.- ence and spheres a interest, in China. The Americans assert that they do not intend to occupy the islands, and they may well be believed. -A.ny sach en- terprise on their part is highly ire - probable. But if they destroy what government there le, they will make pielynetcher iao,res-s.for somebody else to sup - 14 ie in the last degree unlikely that candidates ready to undertake the task will be wanting. America, to begin with, has a very real interest in the fate of the islands. They handle 70 per cent. of the import end 80 per cent. of the export trade. Then come the Germans, who have nearly the whole of wha does not belang to America. Commercial interests of other nations are trifling; but it does not therefore follow that none of thefi will be found. to look with the eyes of desire on the Philip- pines. There is Japan, with its am- bition to found a great island empire, which would. be perfectly ready to step into the vacant place; and no aoubt others could be induced to try the same adventure. In short, here is an- other element of diecord, thrown into the far eastern scramble, if the rule of Spain does indeed collapse. We say nothing of the elaance that the sight of her weakness may tempt some one to strike in before the actual collapse, is come. • It is, in fact, most probable that it will be through the Philippines that the rest of the world will 130 ‘dirrhaigcbged eion:persA e Spraaneirsilicanasnd Atorneibe- can conflict. Every commercial motive on the alert in China is • at hand to force them to keep watch on the Philippines. „anarchy in that region would give the mailed. fist of Germany an admirable excuse for descending on a desirable possession In eastern seas. It is not so many years since she quarreled with Spain over the Sooloo islande, which are dose to the Philippines. As for the Japanese, they' are at Formosa already, and have but a step to romke to the Philippines -with -watt likelihood of German good will we all know. Take it altogether, there is good reason to watch the Phil- ippines. barely 750, I am asbaraed to have had anything to do with you I" as shoutea at them, turned his back on them, and soon disappeared in the swamp thick- ets. The commission then went back, • picked up it,s emptied pocketbooks, and returned to Grosseto, refusing to con- tinue the inspection of any more of that aqueduct, • MESSAGES OF TRIUMPH. Isew :Famous saltine and etteternes nave Announced aiterte ai(torice. Caesar: alreni vedi, yid" (I came, a saw; I conquered.) . Sobieski: al came; I flaw; • G,c)d. con- quered." Turenne announcing the victory of Dineen over the Spaniards; "The en- emy came; was beaten; I am tired; good. night." Gen. Suwarrow, to Catherine of Rus- sia,: "Hurrah! Prague. Suwarrow." Catherine to Suwarrow: "Bravo,Field Marshal, Catherine." In these terms Suwarrow received his promotion. 'Sir Charles Napier, after Hyderabad and the capture of Scinde: "Peoctivi, I have Seinde." In the dawn of the day which was to see the battle a Meanee, he said.: "If 1' survive I shall scion be with those I love; if I fall 1ahall soon he with those I have loved." Gen. Desaix to Napcaegn at iVIarext- _ go: "The battle is lost, bat there is time to gain another." Henry IV. of France, at Ivry, 1590: "If the flags fail you, rally to my white game. You shall always find. it in the paths of honor and victoey." Lawrence: "Don't give up the shipl" Mershel Ma,c1VIahon, after the oaP- Lure of the Melakoff by the 'French during the siege of Sebastopol: 'afty suis; reste." (I am here. I remain here.) Sebastiani, after ihe massacre of the Poles in Warsaw during Lhe ineurrec- tion of 1830: "Order reigns in War - Ram are some other pithy short sea - Inge ab011t War that are appropriate at present, Demosthenes; "A 111811 • that runs away may fight: again," (Demosthenes had been charged with cowardice 10 tbroWing aaray his shield at the bat - tee of Clievonea, 338 B. C.) IVIarslial Saxe: "We are like eloeks -one think e of us only when ie rains." (aid of the soldier atter pettee was idec)aredO Alexander the Great to his disalfece ied, soldiers: "Go home and leave Al - extender to conquer the world alone." Wellington:• great, country can home no such thieg as a little wale" Mareehal. Ney; "aelory le not to be divided." Marshal Tones : "No one bat a pcatroon will boatte that he neveteknew fear." THE FatatEINIaTE OBSERVER, A woman never forgives the roan who forgets a promise made to her. Love is the chief bond of huma,n sym- pathy -riding a wheel is the next. man oftext goes into mourning for, hie wife by dyeing his white whiskers black. . Wh'y 15 it so few women like to give the name of their dreesnaaker to their friends The most exasperating thing fit to have it clear off when t you have dress- ed for a rainy day. Almost every sentiment, regarding women is bound to fit some of tbem as in variety the weaker sex especiatly excels. War has a much more emphatic sig- nificance wheu some really dear man you know marches away while the liana plays, " The Girl I Leat Behind iale," The girl who apparently plays tire- less games of golf, tennis, etc., and rides centuries on her ehainless wheel can never without awful fatigue even dust her awn room. A.DIVANTAGES. Golf is such an expensive game that: I really can't aaford to play, sighed Mrs. Q uive rrul, Thetis waere you. make great mis- take, said Mrs. Bowser, I have fou.nd it a great evemomy. I don't, have to keep e 11111$8 eny more, as the childcen are always oa the links with me e we don't have any more doctor's bins ; and aesides all that, I don't have to buy, any more expensive delicacies to tempt, my husbaticaa • appetite. He talks se mooh about las game at dinner that he doesn't know what he is eating. POIX110. Mr, Walker Daggy--Marbtr, we've got to hire e, nurse girl to take chaege of that howling infant of night's. MrS. Walker Daggy-riat, think of bbs expense Mr. Weaker Daggy-aleng the ex - pewee ! I'm in for peace at any pries I Rubber time on a cerriage add tWen- teafive per cent, in the durability of the vehiele, and decrease the cost of repaint fifty per cent.