Reporl (/f State HigJncay Engineer. 45 



good results, as may he seen by reference to an article on ''Road 

 Demonstrations," now beino' prepared for publication in the Annual 

 Report of your Board. 



Road Records — Further, my policy has l3een to Iniild up the roads 

 as a road system and to obtain uniformity in methods and a system 

 of work, and in keeping records. Records of contracts and of the roads 

 themselves have been kept in a very careless manner, if kept at all. Wo 

 lind there is no record of at least one-fourth of our public roads, and 

 some of the records which are found could have but little standing in the 

 courts. One of the greatest disadvantages our engineers have in the 

 enforcement of the road work is the lack of any record of the roads 

 themselves. If the reader doubts this, glance at the one example given 

 below of many of our road opening records. It is a true copy of a 

 county record filed in 1881, and upon which I was called in for advice: 



■ ' Beginning at the and road wdiere the line between 



Hall and Jones intersects said road near the S. E. corner of N. "W. sec- 

 tion 34-31-26, thence W. past the house of Hall to the McCullough farm, 

 around the W. side of said farm, also on north side of A. Gillespie's 

 and McFaddler's farms on E. side of Turnback near the bluff to N. W. 

 corner of Fiddler's field, thence W. to creek crossing at the Cow ford, 

 thence up the creek to R. R. crossing. Thence following traveled road 

 W. of Gillespie's barn, thenc« westerly to lane between Gillespie and 

 Fiddler, thence following traveled road to near the S. E. corner S. W. N. 

 W. Sec. 33-31-26, thence W. along center line of Sec. 33 to near W. line. 

 Thence following old road past residence of old man Jeffries striking 

 center line of Sec. 32 near S. E. corner of S. W. N. W., thence W. on 

 line past house of Jas. Jeffries to W. side of a hollow, thence in S. W. 

 direction to crossing on Limestone near line between N. E. S. W. and 



S. E. S. AV., Sec. 31, thence W. to intersection of and 



road." 



County Supervision — The office of county highway engineer directly 

 concerns- this ofBce. It is allied to this office by mutual interest and 

 should be by law. I would refrain from mentioning it but for the fact 

 that it is a very unpopular law^, and, under the present form, it is doubt- 

 ful if it will withstand the unfavorable sentiment. The county highway 

 engineer law provides the way whereby any county ma}^ avail itself of 

 good supervision, but much of the present dissatisfaction seems to be 

 over the fact that such provisions are now a part of the road laws, 

 while there are enough people in some counties looking for excuses and 

 means to keep from making roads to prevent the fulfillment of the law's 

 intentions. The law intended that the county highway engineer should 



