| Show ROAD MAKING IN CUBA I In war few things are more Important Import-ant than road making for upon roads depend movements of troops so important I im-portant is this and bridge building that the highest military school in France is called the school of bridges and roads Brigadier General Roy Stone of General Gen-eral Miles staff has prepared a manual on road making for > the use of troops in Cuba It tells what are the most expeditious ex-peditious methods of cutting military roads through such a country as the Americans are now marching through in Cuba General Stone has made a study of Cuba the nature of its soil vegetation and forests and of course of its topography He knows the country I coun-try personally In his manual he gives many diagrams dia-grams showing how the guava bush should be cut and bound so as to make fascines as the bundles are called In military parlance These bundles are laid lengthwise one row overlapping another like shingles Successive layers r lay-ers of this makes a very I serviceable road for troops to pass over this > of course in swampy ground The general plan for road making in Cuba is laid down as follows If the road Is an Important one It should have about 16 feet of travel way and to allow for ditches on either side line grouridl should becffarM nt o j 1 least 30 feet wide Running through a wooded country the advance or clearing clear-ing partyshouldba equipped with axes machetes bush scythes and a few forks and should be instructed to cut and clear away all vines weeds and I small undergrowth and to bind up into bundles all small bushes i less than an S inch in diameter at the ground these 1 bundles to be kept for repairs of roads I j If there is heavy timber the second I gang equipped with axes and saws I will chop out all trees leaving the i roots In the ground and saw the trees Into such lengths as will allow the logs to be hauled or rolled oft the roadway The manual is said to be very complete com-plete In every respect It will surely prove of great service in Cuba and it I should be of value in all new countries where pioneer work is to be done as road making is the first essential to developing de-veloping a country I |
