114 BuKKAu oi Farmers' Institutes. 



If we would organize County Good Roads Leagues and adopt 

 the money system of highway tax, would not the cities accept 

 that as a sufficient guanantee that we were in earnest in the 

 matter of road improvement? Would they not be satisfied that 

 we mean to use every dollar that comes to our hands in the best 

 possible manner? 



We can learn something from our sister states engaged in road 

 building. Massachusetts whose area is about one-sixth that of 

 this State, has built within the last seven years 300 miles of 

 macadam roads at a cost of |3,000,000 or |10,000 per mile. New 

 Jersey in the same time built 440 miles at a cost of $2,200,000 or 

 $5,000 per mile. Thus in these two states, with an area of less 

 than one-third that of New York, there has been expended on 

 roads by State aid |5,200,000, and they have for their outlay 740 

 miles of permanent roads. What has been done in this State 

 for road improvement during that same period? 



In 1S93, Governor Flower in his message to the legislature 

 said that from correspondence with the town clerks of the State 

 he had been able to compile statistics showing that there was 

 being expended annually in this State under our system of high- 

 way improvement the sum of |3,000,000; that same ratio for the 

 last seven years amounts to the enormous sum of |21,000,000 

 which has been expended in this State for the improvement of 

 our country roads, and what have we got to show for it? Prac- 

 tically nothing. It is difficult to understand what such a vast 

 sum represents. Think of it, enough to buy Cortland county and 

 have money enough left to buy grain seed w-ith which to sow it 

 this spring and pay your hired help until you could sell your farm 

 product in the fall; almost as much as that hugh stone pile, 

 the State capital, cost, which many thought was a needless ex- 

 penditure, but for which we have the finest capital building in 

 the United States. But for our $21,000,000 expended for highway 

 purposes we have not even a pile of stone, unless it be in the 

 middle of the road, where we have to drive over it. Little wonder 

 that the farmers are beginning to cry out for some better system 

 of highway improvement! Our wagon roads are the great high- 



