MICHIGAN RQADS AND FORESTS. 



13 



Xo. 4'.i7. Wayne county, 54 mile, macadam, 

 state reward $250. 



Xci. 4',is. Wexford county, 1.018 miles, gravel, 

 state reward $5(i'.i. 



Xo. 499. \Vexford county. .976 mile, gravel, 

 state reward $4-v 



Xo. 500, Wexford county, 1 mile, gravel, 



state reward $500. 



Xo. 501. Menominee county, 1 mile, "C" 

 road, ,-tate reward $750. 



Xo. 5o:2. Menominee county, 1.028 miles, "C" 

 road, state reward $771. 



Xo. 503, Menominee county, 1 mile, "C" 

 road, state reward $750. 



Xo. 504. Menominee county, .971 mile, "C" 

 road, state reward $728. 



Xo. 505. Menominee county, 1.031 miles, "C" 

 road, state reward $773. 



Xo. 506, Menominee county, 1 mile, "C" 

 road, state reward $750. 



Xo. 507. Menominee county, .SOfi mile, 

 gravel, state reward $403. 



No. Ids. Menominee county, 1.011 miles, "C" 

 road, state reward 3 



X'o. 509, Menominee county, .999 mile. ''C" 

 road, state reward $749. 



Xo. 510, Menominee county, 1.032 miles, "C" 

 road, state reward $774. 



X'ci. 511. Menominee county, 1.498 miles, 

 gravel, state reward $749. 



Xo. .)!:?. Menominee county, ^ mile, "C" 

 road, state reward $375. 



X'o. 513. Menominee county. 1.162 miles, 

 macadam, state reward $1,162. 



Xo. 514. Elmwood township, Tuscola county, 

 l.OOS miles, gravel, state reward $504. 



Xo. .ii."), Elmwood township, Tuscola county. 

 1 mile, gravel, state reward $500. 



BAD ROADS A BIG TAX. 



"I regard the proposed change in the road 

 laws of the state, doing away with the state 

 highway department, as unwise legislation, and 

 a step backward." says Count}- Highway Com- 

 missioner Edward X". Mines, of Wayne county. 



"The state highway department is the out- 

 growth of the experience of the people of 

 the state with the inadequate and slipshod 

 methods of road building under the township 

 and pathmaster system, which has wasted 

 millions of dollars in so-called road making. 

 This road making consisted largelv in scrap- 

 ing loose dirt and leaves out of the ditches. 

 putting them in the center of the road, and 

 leaving them to be washed back again with 

 the first rain or else converted into mud in 

 wet weather or dust in dry. 



''The best feature of the state highway de- 

 partment and the payment of bounties for 

 roads built up to certain standards, is that the 

 improvement? must be made under expert 

 supervision. This insures good results. 



"X'o business man or farmer would under- 

 take to build a house or barn without experi- 

 enced mechanics, yet they often think they 

 can build roads when they are not qualified. 

 The attempt to abolish the state highway de- 

 partment should fail unless a better substitute 

 can be offered for the present system. The 

 specious plea of economy is a false plea to 

 begin with, as good roads mean short miles 

 and bad roads long miles, and the city con- 

 sumer pays an enormous tribute to the neg- 

 lected condition of the country roads. There 

 is not a ton of freight which comes into a 

 city which has not at some time passed over 

 a country road. 



"The trouble comes largely from the will- 

 ingness of the American people to pay a large 

 indirect tax in preference to a small direct 

 one. The great social and economic benefits 

 of good roads are not fully understood. It 



will be found that the advantages and econo- 

 mies possible under improved conditions far 

 outweigh the burden of the tax measured in 

 dollars and cents alone." 



NEW KIND OF ROAD MATERIAL. 



The farmers in central Kansas, as well as 

 the people in the town*, have K-i n interested 

 in good roads for sever.il years, and in this 

 part of the state one can see almost any kind 

 of a made road. 



At one or two places in this county there 

 are short roads where treatment has been 

 given that is similar to the pavement on Doug- 

 las avenue in Ellsworth. Here there are two 

 blocks that fool four-fifths of the visitors lo 

 the town. The treatment of this street was 

 commenced about two or three years ago, con- 

 sisting of coarse and fine cinders in layer-;, 

 then a covering surface of sa'.t and a'kaii 

 scale. 



The water in this country is very hard, and 

 in all the steam boilers at the salt mills and 

 other factories a sort of alkali forms which 

 must be removed frequently; and this, with 

 the salt and alkali scale that forms in the 

 salt pans, is used on Douglas avenue. It forms 

 a hard crust and makes a most excellent 

 street. It is a success on the most busy thor- 

 oughfare of this town, and if the supply was 

 imt so limited the farmers would use it for 

 the rural roads and more of the streets of 

 this city would be paved with it. The salt 

 and alkali crust on Douglas avenue is now 

 about three inches thick, and this lies on three 

 inches of coarse cinders and three inches of 

 fine cinders. It makes a pretty street, its 

 appearance being like an asphalt pavement be- 

 fore it becomes dirty. Ellsworth, Kan., Cor- 

 respondence. 



NEED CO-OPERATION OF CITIES. 



A. J. Sager. of Climax, is one of the enthusi- 

 astic good roads advocates of Michigan. In 

 maintaining roads in the country Mr. Sager 

 says that he employs the use of the common 

 "T" rail. Discussing the county road system, 

 he says: 



"Among those interested in road improve- 

 ment, the farmers, of course, stand first. The 

 character and condition of the roads are of 

 vital interest to the dairyman every day in 

 the year. The farmers, until recently, have 

 been compelled to struggle with the road prob- 

 lem without much help or encouragement from 

 any other class. Xow. however, some strong 

 elements of the city population are rallying 

 to their support. 



''Just now the dairymen who want better 

 roads are brought face to face with a most 

 important question: Will he accept the assist- 

 ance of these city allies? Will he welcome 

 the aid of the road machinery man, the capi- 

 talist, the bicylist and the automobilist? Or 

 will he treat them as schemers who are trying 

 to meddle with his affairs? 



"The answer to these questions ought to 

 depend on what these city friends of good 

 roads are proposing to do. If they propose 

 to have the country roads improved in order 

 to increase their business and enhance their 

 pleasures, wholly at the expense of the farmer, 

 then he should spurn the proffered alliance. 

 If, on the contrary, they are proposing through 

 state and national taxation to lift a large 

 part of the burden off the farmer and place 

 it on the taxpayers of the cities, he ought 

 to bid them welcome and extend the glad 

 hand. 



"This is a live question for the dairy f.irmer 

 to consider and answer. Already the oppon- 

 ents of state and national aid and co-operat'Ve 

 county systems are at work trying to sow 

 seeds of suspicion in the minds of the farmers, 

 and they will do their best to prevent any 

 co-operation between the country and city 

 friends of good roads. 



"As a matter of fact, state and national aid 

 by reward laws to co-operative county systems 

 offer the only hope of general road improve- 

 ment, and such aid can never be secured if 



the city people array themselves against it. 

 Unless the farmers are wholly blind to their 

 own interests they will welcome aid from any 

 and every source, and will make every effort 

 to secure the powerful aid of the state and 

 national governments by the reward system. 

 To this end, to secure an increased appropri- 

 ation for state rewarded roads in Michigan 

 and the passage of the national aid bills, let 

 the farmer and the city man petition his repre- 

 sentative in the state legislature and congress 

 to bring about the passing of the national 

 bills now pending making them a reward 

 system/' 



HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. 



There is no question but that the improve- 

 ment of the highways would add largely to 

 the value of much of the farm property in 

 Berrien county, and it is also true that good 

 roads leading into Benton Harbor would in- 

 crease the trade of our merchants and ma- 

 terially add to the prosperity of the city. The 

 question then is as to how this improvement 

 should be made on a basis that will be equit- 

 able both to the farmers and the residents 

 of Benton Harbor. It would seem desirable 

 that a bill be introduced by our member of 

 the legislature that would contain provisions 

 that would enable us to have the roads built 

 in such a way that they will be of benefit 

 to the farmers who trade here and the people 

 of our city who would have to pay part of 

 the cost of same. What we want is a law 

 that will enable us to get quick action and 

 go to work at once and improve the roads 

 leading into this city. Benton Harbor News 

 Palladium. 



CALHOUN ROAD WORK. 



The matter of good roads has occupied a 

 good deal of the attention of the Battle Creek 

 Industrial Association during the year. Secre- 

 tary Gibson says: We were successful in get- 

 ting a petition signed in all the townships and 

 incorporate cities and villages of the county, 

 instructing the board of supervisors to submit 

 the question of the good roads county road 

 system to the electors next spring. The good 

 roads leaven which was set in operation by 

 the building of the Beadle lake road is still 

 at work, and from present indications it will 

 will only be a comparatively short time until 

 every road leading into Battle Creek .will be 

 a good road indeed. This year two miles of 

 state reward road have been built in Leroy 

 township, one mile in Newton, one and three- 

 quarter miles in Battle Creek township, and 

 one mile has been started in Emmett; this 

 last will connect Beadle Lake with Spauldin^'s 

 school house, so that there will be a good 

 road from Battle Creek to Coldwater. Our 

 work for good roads has attracted the atten- 

 tion of the authorities at Washington, and 

 they have appointed your secretary official 

 good roads correspondent for Calhoun 

 county." 



CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING. 



Advertising in the classified col- 

 umns of the "State Review" 

 will be inserted at the rate of 7 

 cents per agate line. 



Help Wanted. 



COLLECTOR Experienced collector, with best 

 of references, wanted at once ; good money for 

 right man. Business Men's Credit Exchange, 

 325 Hammond Bldg., Detroit. 



YOUNG MAN, good habits and scholar, position 

 to keep cost and material in sheet metal works. 

 W. J. Burton Co.. 164 Larned st. west, Detroit. 



