FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 53 



THE BOARD OP CORRECTIONS AND CHARITIES 



Is another gratuitous Board — there is a provision now that they have 

 one agent in every county in the State, at an expense not to exceed flOO 

 a year. What are their duties? If there are any children sent out from 

 any of these institutions they are to look after them, to see that the 

 families where they are placed are proper ones, and that what is neces- 

 sary is done. If a child is arrested, or found without care on the streets, 

 it is the duty of the County Agent to take care of him, and many times 

 they are kept from going to the Industrial School, are found good places in 

 families, and a great expense saved. There are some institutions I have 

 not mentioned; there is the institution for feeble minded. What is the 

 purpose of that? It is to take the feeble minded children out of society; 

 to relieve the families where they are a skeleton in the closet, and detain 

 them and prevent their multiplying their kind to pollute society. I 

 might go on for two hours and tell jou of such things but you have a long 

 program before you, and I will detain you but a moment longer. In 

 addition to this, you have about forty circuit judges in the State, who are 

 paid from this fund. You have the supreme court judges and their sec- 

 retaries and all the other paraphernalia of a great state, which go to 

 make up state government. 



You scarcely realize that you have it, but if you will look this matter 

 over, and consider what I have said in these brief moments about it, I 

 believe you will realize that your State government is well worth what it 

 costs. While thebusiness of theState isnot done as privatepeople do busi- 

 ness, it comes as near to it as any public business I know of. In some 

 places there ought to be savings introduced — that always will occur. 

 Some of you are supervisors perhaps; you take your dollar and a half 

 a day, and you are not particular whether you work all the time or not. 

 If you go on the Board of Supervisors your journal does not show that 

 you do a great deal of work, but you draw your per diem just the same. 

 It is a good deal this way in State work. 



I want to call your attention to the road convention in Lansing in 

 March. I hope all who can will attend that convention. I presume 

 there will be some people there who will propose the most expensive and 

 elaborate systems; these may not be practicable at this time. There will 

 be others there, who will propose different systems by which we can 

 improve them somewhat. It is to be held in response to requests from 

 Saginaw and Bay City and Traverse City; it comes from a section of the 

 State where the roads are different from what they are around Grand 

 Eapids, where they are passable at any time; there, they have an alluvial 

 soil, and when it is muddy the roads are impassable. They have had 

 some experience with stone roads and are anxious for more. It is a mat- 

 ter in which we are all concerned, because cheap transportation has 

 become one of the great questions of the day, and I hope as many of you 

 as can, will come and take part in the convention. 



