No 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 545 



If you want to mix up with the road officials, if they get obstinate, 

 mix up with them. That will not hurt. See that there is some sys- 

 tem injected into their work. Find out if they have a map of the 

 roads in their township. Suppose you inquired in Harrisburg if 

 there is a map of the city and the people would say, "No, we don't 

 need any. We are going to save that expense." You would not 

 think much of the town. If upon making inquiry of your road 

 officials you should find there is no map of the township, how are 

 they going to do Ihe best work when you cannot figure out where 

 the roads are. There is a point I want to emphasize: As you men 

 go about the township, make inquiry of the road of&cials as to things 

 of this sort, see if there is a map and if not, see that they get onej 

 Where are they to get one ? We have the State Highway Department 

 at Harrisburg. You can get it. It won't cost the township one 

 cent for it. If the road officials see you are talking of them and 

 that if they don't move you are going to move them, they will move 

 and you will get jowr roads. 



Now, with the map you can begin to devise a local system where- 

 by the roads that radiate into their central points, — ^take in my 

 OAvn county where the farmers deliver their milk each morning, or 

 near a railroad center where they drive for their lumber and sup- 

 plies — all these sections on that map could be well drawn and the 

 system can be devised whereby certain sections of road will be let 

 out by contract and the man that takes a contract for the job will 

 bo held respimsible for that section. The suj)ervisors can arrange 

 to pay him good money and 3'ou will get your roads. Now, gentle- 

 men, these are some of things we can do. I am not interested in 

 this road matter any more than simply because I had to make my- 

 self interested in it for my own good. If I had not been interested 

 in it I would have had to give up my automobiles long ago because 

 I could not go out there. Don't wait until the State has to do all 

 this, because the State cannot do it all. 



These are just a few points in passing, gentlmen. This subject 

 is very big. The supervisor has a great deal of authority. He is 

 an autocrat if he wants to be. If you are blocking up a side gutter 

 where you want to drive in with your hay team and you are spoiling 

 the flow of water and you are damming it back you will compel that 

 water to flow on the road, and if the supervisor comes along and 

 says, ''Mr. Jones, you want to open this ditch ;" and you say, ''Well, 

 you can't open it; this is the way it has been for a good many years 

 and I want to use this driveway, and I don't want you to open it." 

 What are you going to do about it? The supervisor can just do exactly 

 as he pleases. He can open it or not open it. The nicest way would 

 bo to say, "Mr. Jones, that watercourse must be opened ; if you do 

 not want to get a pipe and put it in there, let the township put that 

 pipe in for you and you pay the bill for the pipe and the township 

 pav^ the bill for the labor. Otherwise the township is going to open 

 up that ditch and you won't have anything at all. What are you 

 going to do." The man' may say, "I am going to sue you," If he 

 does sue he will not get anything because the law authorizes and 

 em])owers the supervisors to open up Avatercourses and remove any 

 obstacles from them. 



35—7—1910 



