ltvf: sincK breeders. 133 



needed all the time. Suppose we are dependent upon poll tax paid in 

 labor ; the sentiment of the district is with the commissioner and he says 

 we ought to get out and do the grading in the early summer or spring 

 time: if we are dependent upon poll tax paid in labor, the farmer, being 

 a very busy man at that period of the year, cannot possibly do it ; and con- 

 sequently it has become a habit so long in vogue and so long in use that 

 it has become almost second nature with us that we give our roads a 

 periodic working once a year, and as Mr. King has very forcibly ex- 

 pressed it, it is like undertaking to raise a crop of corn and doing all the 

 cultivating in one day. Is not that right? Whenever you have to de- 

 pend upon labor paid tax you cannot do otherwise. These are two im- 

 portant principles that cannot be put into use when we depend on that 

 character of revenue, consequently it makes an estoppel right there and 

 we cannot make progress so long as we use that character of revenue. 

 And these things being as bad as they are, the fact of the inefficiency of 

 the teams and all that being as bad as they are, that is not the worst. 



There is another thing to it yet. There is another estoppel, an ab- 

 solute bar to progress and that is this, so long as labor paid revenue is the 

 standard the money put in with it is depreciated and brought to the level 

 of the labor standard, it is not worth exceeding forty cents on the dollar. 

 We were in a position to appreciate the force of this when we were pro- 

 mulgating the bill, expounding it and endeavoring to get an increased rev- 

 enue; endeavoring to get the people of Missouri to vote an increased 

 amount that may be applied upon the roads in the several counties. A 

 few years ago, in '95 or '94 probably, when that proposition was sub- 

 mitted to the people of Missouri, they said "No!" and said it with empha- 

 sis. They said "The money that we are now paying for road purposes 

 is squandered, and we will not permit their getting the use of any more 

 money to be squandered." Why was it squandered ? Because it was used 

 in connection with the labor standard and so was worth 35 to 40 cents on 

 the dollar. In 1900 when it was shown to the people that there was a 

 possibility tliat the additional amount of money would be used so that every 

 dollar expended would produce one hundred cents worth of value ; after 

 importuning them, after making road speeches in many parts of the 

 State and going to conventions and institute work and writing papers and 

 urging the farmer to vote for it, he did vote for it and by an overwhelm- 

 ing majority the constitutional amendment was adopted, allowing a levy 

 of fifteen cents additional revenue on the hundred dollars for road and 

 bridge purposes. And I want to say to you that so long as you retain 

 in your road management, this principle of using poll tax in labor and 

 making labor the standard — so long as you do that, progress is absolutely 

 impossible. If you want to make progress in your county, if you want 



