430 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc 



and simple. We talk (»f cost and we ask wbat it will cost to build 

 a mile of macadamized load. That depends entirely on the cliai--' 

 actei- of the material yoii have to deal with, and the length of haul 

 of material, and largely ou the requirements of that particular road. 

 It may be necessary for you to macadamize the road from ditch to 

 ditch in order to accommodate the traffic in that particular locality, 

 in which case possibly 30 feet of roadway would have to be mac- 

 adamized, while on another road only a single track would be nec- 

 essary, and 15 or 10 feet of well-placed macadam would be as ser- 

 viceable as the 30 feet on the other road. V\'e can, however, reduce 

 this to a question of cost per s<iuare yard, using a certain limit of 

 haul as a basis for our calculations. But these are questions, I say, 

 which are of a local nature. 



In the first place we should ask ourselves: ''How should a road be 

 built; what are the fundamental principles of construction under- 

 lying it?" Then let us answer that. Let us reduce the matter 

 to as simple a basis as possible, lay down our plans for building 

 roads so as to preserve uniformity m their construction and 

 to bring about some decent results for the expenditure that is 

 being made. We are talking about State aid and larger appropria- 

 tions for road building, but m^- idea is, and it has been my exper- 

 ience, that we have already had control of too much money, and too 

 much labor has been expended. The first problem to be solved, 

 is to lay down simple plans for handling and expending in a pro- 

 per manner the monej^ which is being expended on the roads, and 

 when we have completed our organizations and plans, to ask the 

 State's indulgence for a greater amount to be expended in order to 

 bring about results in the least possible time. I agree with Pro- 

 fessor Holmes that system, plans, united effort, concentrated ex- 

 penditure, and systematic and skilled supervision are what are really 

 required, rather than a greater amount of money, in order to briog 

 about good roads. 



Let us lay down the simplest possible plans; let each township, 

 each county, take up the question in the first place and say what 

 leading arteries in their territory should be made and maintained 

 as county roads, and let those roads be planned bv the countv cou«- 

 cil, made by the county council, and maintained by them for the use 

 of the whole county. Then let the municipal council or the township 

 council ])lan the remainder of the roads in I heir municipality, and 

 say how they shall be laid and nmintained; and the material to be 

 used in these roads, and the cost of these roads, and so forth, should 

 be in proportion to the amount of traffic which they are likely to 

 beai-. 



Ill the lirsi phice. ii [.l:m should be prepared showing what roads 

 are in each township; then these should be classified according to 



