544 AXNIAL RErOKT OF THE Off. Doc. 



we won't help you. Tliat was the general sentiment of the neighbor- 

 Lood. As I had sold all by horses and had nothing but my automobile, 

 1 went ou( on the market and rented a team. I ])aid my money and 

 my neighbors charged me lor the use of my learn, (he sauie people 

 who used the road that I did. 1 put that drag to work ajid after a 

 few houi's I got the road smooth, and tilled in the ruts, and a lot 

 of the mud got into the larger holes and those too, practically filled 

 up, and in consecpienco everybody used that road. And then tliey 

 said, "Well, may be there is something in that road drag. We will 

 withhold our judgment for a little while and see what it will do 

 further." 1 stuck to it and dragged the road in the following Sjjriug 

 from the beginning of March to the beginning of May, and that road 

 was as nicely crowned as could be, the side gutters were clean and 

 smooth and the road was firm all over, and after every rain, instead 

 of the mud being three to four inches deep, and having big side 

 puddles and dangerous deep holes, it was simply an inch or two and 

 dried olf in a few hours. 



Well, that worked a miracle. Farmers that drove that road there- 

 tofore would get stuck with coal teams and lumber teams and when 

 they went to the railroad station with their oats, wheat and for 

 supplies generally, and they would get stuck in the mud, and after 

 dragging the road, they didn't get stuck any more. That is what 

 I think we all can do. If any of you men are dissatisfied with the 

 roads anv more than I was and vou cannot get the local officials to 

 fix them for you, get a drag. Get a railroad tie and hitch your 

 team to it. You have all seen pictures of this road drag. If you 

 have not you can readily find out by writing the Public Koad De- 

 partment at Washington how to rig one up. Hitch your team to 

 that drag and try it yourselves just once, within a few hours after a 

 rain when the road is moist, but not too soggy, and see what it will 

 do. You will be satisfied that it will be a good investment. 



That is what I am getting to. The very fact that you yourself 

 would do this sort of thing will not be looked on with favor by the 

 nien whom you have elected as your road officials. They will think 

 it will reflect on them, and it does. It will make them active and 

 try to get the road in better shape. They will inquire about it; 

 they will learn about their duty, and that is really the solution of 

 this country road problem. We are not going to get all this State 

 aid at once. And su])posing we did get a large sum of money, what 

 are you going to do Avith it? W^e have road officials. I am one of 

 them. The fact that we get ten to one hundred thousand dollars, 

 does not mean that we are going to get roads faster by that appro- 

 priation. Now, the fact is that the course of things is to plan how 

 with the dollar you are going to get a dollar's Avorth of work. We 

 will learn that by studying your duty, and this is really the solution 

 of this road problem, and as you learn, the su])ervisors will grad- 

 ually take more interest in their duties. People are not going to 

 fall all over themselves to work unless you want them. It is a good 

 deal like calling the doctor at night when there is no money on 

 hand for the fee. The doctor wants to be sure first he is going to 

 get his fee. And as we hear and read so much about State aid and 

 State appropriations for our roads, please don't forget that the 

 State, while it will do a great deal, cannot do it all; and don't 

 forget that we in each of our local townships can do a great deal. 



