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Show WORLD OWES DEBT TO THESQ Macadam, Pioneer of Good Roads, ancj His Contemporary, Telford, Worthy of All Gratitude. The first great improvement In hlghj way construction within modern times, was effected by John Loudon MacadamJ or McAdam, who was horn In Ayr) Scotland, In 1756. This great Scotch engineer was the Inventor of the roadj malting system known as "macadamize ing," which is still In general use, although al-though vastly Improved. Macadam died in 1S36, at the ago of eighty. When he was born the turnpike roads of England and Scotland were in an incredibly bad state. Macadam and his contemporary, Telford, were the first to check the prevailing chaos and to bring scientific methods and regu-lar regu-lar system to bear upon the building, repair and maintenance of highways. Macadam was engaged chiefly In the repair of existing roads rather than ,the construction of new ones, and th8 improvements which he inaugurated were of great and lasting benefit, not only to his native land, but to the world at largo. Telford insisted upon a foundation of broken stone in road building, while Macadam insisted that this was unnecessary and that the subsoil sub-soil would carry any weight if adequately ade-quately drained and kept dry by an impervious covering. |