MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



GOOD ROADS CAMPAIGN IN HILLS- 

 DALE. 



Brewster E. Kies, of Hillsdale, has made a 

 powerful plea to the supervisors of Hillsdale 

 county in the interest of good roads. If Mr. 

 Kies' plan is followed out, Hillsdale county 

 in a few years, would be able to boast some 

 of the finest highways in Michigan. Mr. Kies 

 asks that the county purchase two stone crush- 

 ers and utilize the "hard-heads," with which 

 the county abounds, in making macadam roads. 

 He showed that the cost of the crushers would 

 be in the neighborhood of $1,500 each; that 

 they could be loaned to the various townships 

 for their use and that most of the townships 

 in the county, had right at hand the rocks 

 necessary for the building of the roads. The 

 cost for each mile of road, as estimated by 

 State Highway Commissioner Earle, in Hills- 

 dale county would not exceed, probably $1,000. 

 Mr. Kies offered to give several days each 

 year of his time, with a team, to help on the 

 work, in addition to paying his share of taxes, 

 and the probability is that many other farm- 

 ers would do the same, if they could be assured 

 of the kind of roads that a concerted plan 

 worked out honestly would make. 



NEW ROAD ASSOCIATION. 



J. A. Long is president and Stephen Turner 

 is secretary and treasurer of the State Good 

 Roads Association which has been organized 

 at Pittsford, Mich. The new association was 

 brought into existence because of the neglect- 

 ed condition of the roads in the vicinity of 

 Pittsford. Since the association has organized 

 much enthusiasm has been aroused among the 

 farmers living near Pittsford, with the result 

 that several bees have been held and the old 

 roads put into passable shape. A strong in- 

 centive to the action taken b}' the association 

 was the word which was sent out from Wash- 

 ington to the effect that if the roads were not 

 improved at once rural free delivery would be 

 cut off. 



the township center line, and is thirty-six feet 

 between gutters, with a nine foot road way 

 of heavy gravel. The road cost the township 

 $1,667, but it will receive a rebate of $500 a 

 mile from the state, thus giving the township 

 a good road at a moderate price. 



NEW COUNTY ROADS. 



The following roads in Saginaw county 

 have been named as county roads and plans 

 and specifications for their improvement will 

 be prepared at once: State road in Franken- 

 muth; Kochville road; East street in Spauld- 

 ing; Jamestown road; Cross road;" Shattuck- 

 ville road; Gratiot state road in Jonesfield; 

 town line road in Taymouth; Birch Run road, 

 and Watrousville road in Blumfield. 



On motion of Supervisor Rauchholz the 

 rate of taxation for county roads was fixed at 

 $1.95 per $1,000, according to the 1908 equaliza- 

 tion. 



ROAD NOTES. 



The assessment in Saginaw county for good 

 roads will be $2 per $1,000 valuation. This 

 will give a good amount of money to devote 

 to good roads in the county. 



The board of supervisors of Chippewa 

 county has appropriated $10.742 for good roads. 

 The county road commission will levy a tax of 

 one mill on the dollar which will produce $12,- 

 258 additional. 



Cass county is among the latest to petition 

 for the County Road system and the tax-pay- 

 ers will be given an apportunity to vote on the 

 question. 



Houghton county people will vote at the 

 spring election on the proposition to adopt 

 the County Road system. 



Nine-tenths of the business men of Grand 

 Rapids are in favor of good roads. They say 

 that poor roads cost more than good roads. 



Henderson township has the 'honor of hav- 

 ing completed the first mile of state reward 

 road in Wexford county. It was built ac- 

 cording to the plans of Engineer Delmar E. 

 Teed, of Cadillac. The mile of road is on 



The township board of Leroy, Calhoun 

 county, has decided to make road improve- 

 ments for a distance of two miles. The es- 

 timated cost of the work is $1,550, and appli- 

 cation has been made for a state reward on 

 the improvements, which amounts to $500 per 

 mile for gravel road. 



The drouth this fall was a good thing for the 

 city of Flint. The river was so low that 

 many thousands of yards of gravel were 

 scooped out of the river bed for use upon un- 

 paved streets. The cost to the city was ex- 

 tremely small. 



Menominee county spent $20,000 for its 

 county roads this year. Not only were some 

 of the old highways repaired but many miles 

 of the new road were built, and of a quality 

 that brought $3,750 in awards from the state. 



Among the road improvements in Saginaw 

 county scheduled for next year are roads in 

 Taymouth township to connect with the county 

 stone road giving a macadam road between 

 Saginaw City and Birch Run; also a main 

 road running through Albee and Birch Run 

 townships to the latter village. 



A deputation of farmers from the Trap Rock 

 river district Houghton county has asked High- 

 way Commissioner Paul P. Roehm for a road- 

 way from Copper City, in Section 5, through 

 to Sections 9, 10 and 11 in Calumet town- 

 ship. It is likely that the highway commis- 

 sioner will take action on the petition in the 

 near future. 



Livingston county will vote on the adoption 

 of the County Road System. 



The County Road system proposition will 

 be submitted in Grand Traverse county at the 

 spring election. 



Charles E. Haynes, of Cadillac, T, E. Stan- 

 cliff, of Boon, and Fred Usewick, of Antioch 

 township, the Wexford county road commis- 

 sioners, have been looking over the road to 

 Manton and part of the money which they will 

 ask the board of supervisors to provide for 

 next year's road building will in all probability 

 be spent on the Manton road. The commis- 

 sioners have asked for an appropriation of 

 $13,000, of which $3,000 will be put into equip- 

 ment. 



Trustee Emil Basserdot of Ford has in- 

 troduced a resolution in the Ford council 

 for the paving of Biddle avenue, a continua- 

 tion of West Jefferson avenue, Detroit, through 

 the village. The village has an enabling act 

 to bond for $80,000 for improvements. It is 

 thought the paving can be done for $75,000. 



The board of supervisors of Hillsdale county 

 is considering the purchase of two stone crush- 



ers. 



Property owners of Grosse Pointe. Wayne 

 county, have practically determined upon the 

 building of a boulevard from Water Works 

 Park, Detroit, to the Bishop road, a stretch of 

 four miles. 



Petitions have been presented from every 

 township and ward in Ingham county, asking 

 the board of supervisors that the question of 

 adopting the county road system be submit- 

 ted to a vote of the people next April. 



The board of supervisors of Oceana county 

 has given the county road system a black eye. 

 The board laid on the table all the recom- 



mendations of the county road commission 

 and then reduced the number of commissioners 

 from three to one. 



"I cannot explain the alleged sales by specu- 

 lators, prior to the time they, the speculators, 

 obtained from the state the lands they are 

 charged with having sold. All I can say now 

 is that these speculators must have gambled 

 at long odds on subsequently being able to 

 buy at a low figure from the state the lands 

 they had previously sold. That's the only ex- 

 planation I can give." 



"This is the statement given out by Land 

 Commissioner Rose in reply to the charges 

 made against his office by the commission of 

 inquiry on state tax lands and forestry. 



Allonez township, Keeweenaw county, has 

 built four miles of one of the finest pieces 

 of public road in northern Michigan. The 

 road runs from Mohawk to Cliff, a distance 

 of six miles. It is almost a perfectly straight 

 road; the remaining two miles will be com- 

 pleted next year. 



The state aid money for the two miles of 

 stone road north of Hart has been paid to 

 Hart township. This is the first time that 

 this township has ever built a road on which 

 it could get any state aid, although many 

 thousands of dollars have been wasted on 

 tinkering the roads of this township in the 

 past three or four years. 



The public highways of Ontonagon county 

 are in better condition today than they have 

 ever been before. In quite a large measure 

 this has been brought about by the agricultural 

 movement and the good roads agitation which 

 has followed in its wake. These highways 

 are not what they ought to be by any means, 

 but there has been advancement and the in- 

 clination of the people is to keep up the good 

 work. 



Wexford county will be taxed $10,000 for. 

 good roads next year. 



Alger county supervisors have appropriated 

 $7,916 for road work next year, in addition 

 to providing $5,000 for interest on the $100,000 

 of road bonds outstanding. 



The County Road Commission of Marquette 

 county has mapped out $40,000 worth of im- 

 provements for next year as follows: For 

 the road from Republic southward to the Dick- 

 inson county line, $5,000; for the road between 

 Humboldt and Republic, $5,000; for the road 

 from Ishpeming to Dexter, $8.000; for the 

 road from Harvey to Green Garden, $12,000: 

 and for the purchase of necessary equipment 

 and tools, $10,000. 



The road commissioners of Wayne county 

 have ordered tile to be put in this fall for 

 about a mile of improvement on Gratiot ave- 

 nue and two and six-tenths miles on Van Dyke 

 road, which will be macadamized next year. 

 Similar advance work will be done on nearly 

 all the roads included in next year's improve- 

 ments. 



The question of adopting the County Road 

 System in St. Clair county will not be sub- 

 mitted to the people until next spring. 



The North Muskegon road leading out of 

 Muskegon is to be made 24 feet wide instead 

 of 16 as at first contemplated. A row of trees 

 will run down the middle of the road, one side 

 being devoted to outbound and the other to 

 inbound traffic. 



Muskegon county will raise a two-mill tax 

 for Good roads for 1909. 



Lake county taxpayers will vote next soring 

 on the question of adopting the County Road 

 System. 



