204 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ing ;the Governor to call upon the President and the Governors of other 

 States to send a certain number of expert civil engineers to meet in con- 

 gress in the city of Indianapolis at an early date for the purpose of con- 

 sidering all matters relating to road construction and maintenance, with 

 the view of submitting the recommendations to the proper authorities. 

 And that this committee be empowered to take such other action in fur- 

 therance of this interest as in its judgment is necessary. 



Mr. Mitchell: There is nothing that will build up the agricultural in- 

 terests of this State so fast and so permanently as good roads. I at- 

 tended the national convention of Good Roads Associations in St. Lotiis, 

 and also the Illinois State convention. I think the people of Indiana 

 ought to see that our national legislature makes the bill now pending a 

 law. If that is done it will compel the National Government to pay one- 

 third the expense of building roads, the State paying one-third and the 

 county in which the road is built the other third. That is nothing more 

 than other roads have done. I think our present law is good in regard 

 to roads. We have built one l^undred miles in our county in the last 

 five years under our present law. Men who were the most bitter enemies 

 of road improvement when we first began noAV want to extend the roads 

 faster than the law will permit. The law says we shall go so far, then 

 pay off the debts and begin again. I think that is a very wise law. i 

 think it is a laudable effort to start right in improving the roads of our 

 State. The president spoke of the roads of Scotland and England. One 

 point has been settled there long since, and that is in regard to the Tel- 

 ford system of macadam. That system was a mistake. That system has 

 been abandoned for the Macadam system, which is used universally all 

 over Great Britain. The contractors here ought to have a uniform size 

 for the stone. There are roads being built in Gibson County today in 

 which the stone is not uniform. That is a mistake. Have the stone 

 broken to a tiniform size, then cover with good sand or cement and you 

 will have the proper kind of road, a road it is a pleasure to travel over. 



THE ST. LOUIS FAIR AS A PROMOTER OF NATIONAL PROS- 

 PERITY. AND ITS OBJECT LESSONS TO MANAGERS 

 OF STATE AND LOCAL FAIRS. 



HON. J. E. M'DONALD, LIGOXIER. 



Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen — While I may not be equal to the title, 

 I can give you the ideas I gathered from an inspection of the great 

 World's Fair just closed. Of course, we all know that the greatest ad- 

 vances mankind has made have been by copying what someone else has 



