MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



ni all. The amount of actual road-building 

 still leaves a vast deal to be done before this 

 broad land can be said to be even passably 

 supplied with highways fit for traffic every day 

 of the year. The terror of the impassable 

 country road, with its mud hub-deep, or with 

 ruts that threaten general dislocation of the 

 human frame, still lurks in a thousand coun- 

 ties. It is in the enactment of laws by the 

 various states providing for state assistance, 

 financial and supervisory, to the smaller voting 

 units and localities thru the greatest step for- 

 ward is to be noted. It was early recognized 

 that out of merely local efforts for improve- 

 ment, handicapped by a want of adequate funds, 

 of technical knowledge, and by the hampering 

 influences of local interest in the selection of 

 routes and road-building material, little good 

 could come. For the greatest profit to all it 

 was necessary that the state should take 

 charge, and that the cities should assume a 

 share of the taxation for country roads from 

 which they too would benefit. 



More States Falling in Line. 



The roll of the states granting state aid has 

 grown steadily since New Jersey, some years 

 in advance of the rest, took the lead in 1891. 

 The last official report shows that during 1905 

 no less than 147 bills touching various phases 

 of mad administration were enacted into law 

 by thirty-one states. In 1902, when the Bu- 

 reau of Public Roads Inquiries, now the Office 

 of Public Roads, was created, with the excep- 

 tion of New Jersey the statutes of all these 

 states lacked such provision. In the single 

 year of 1905 alone, the states of Illinois, Idaho, 

 Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, and Wash- 

 ington formally adopted state aid laws, and a 

 highway commission was created in Minnesota. 

 There had previously been adopted measures 

 embodying some of the principles of state aid, 

 state co-operation or supervision, by all the 

 N'ew England states. New York, New Jersey, 

 Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland. Ohio, Illi- 

 nois, Iowa, Minnesota, Idaho, and California. 



"The principle of co-operation between the 

 states and the civil subdivisions thereof," com- 

 ments M. O. Eldridge of the Office of Public 

 Roads, "is meeting with popular favor through- 

 out the country, and appropriations for this 

 work are greater and more numerous than the 

 most enthusiastic advocates of the plan ever 

 contemplated." 



ROAD NOTES. 



A stone road leading from every direction 

 to St. Charles. This, we believe, would be a 

 greater benefit to this village than another rail- 

 road. Agitate this question and see if it is not 

 possible to build one stone road this year. St. 

 Charles Union. 



The Calumet Township Board has appropri- 

 ated $20,000 for a highway fund. This will 

 mean a number of improvements for the roads 

 which are located in the vicinty of Calumet 

 and will be much appreciated by the farmers 

 and others in that community. 



By the completion of the Bay Shore road 

 connecting the cities of Escanaba and Glad- 

 stone, in Delta county, and the placing of the 

 new road in a fair condition for travel automo- 

 biles are now covering the distance betweei: 

 the two cities in less than half an hour. 



Iron county is improving its roads in state re 

 ward manner, and the county commissioners 

 have received high praise from State Highway 

 Commissioner Earle, who recently inspected 

 the work in progress. 



Some fine road building is being done in 

 Hillsdale county this year. 



Stone Road Built by a Delta County Township Under Its Own Plan. 



Macadam Road Built by Delta County Under State Reward Plan The Lower Road Is a Con- 

 tinuation of the First $1,000 a Mile Was Paid by the State 

 No Reward on the Road in the Upper Picture. 



BLAME AUTOMOBILES. 



Are the roads of Kalamazoo county becom- 

 ing better or worse? The farmer who has occa- 

 sion to use them the most and therefore is the 

 most competent judge, declares they are much 

 worse than a few years ago, and assigns as a 

 reason that of the automobile. 



The roads over which the automobiles do not 

 run are as good condition as ever and no 

 complaint has been registered against them, 

 but thoroughfares over which the machines are 

 driven constantly are torn and rough and in 

 some places almost impassible, made so by the 

 automobile at a time when the roads have been 

 soft. 



The Gull Lake, Galesburg, Long Lake and 

 other main roads of the county show the ef- 



fects of the automobile travel and even the 

 graveled turnpike is severely damaged by the 

 machines. 



In some places the roads have become so 

 badly cut up that new paths have been made in 

 order to get around the dangerous spots. 



The cost of maintaining the roads has in- 

 creased to a very great extent and each town- 

 ship finds that in order to maintain its high- 

 ways in the usual way that the cost has been 

 greatly increased. 



Kalamazoo county has never possessed roads 

 worthy of mention in any of the good roads 

 magazines, although some of them have been 

 fairly god highways. But farmers say, not- 

 withstanding this fact, it ought to be up to the 

 county to see that the roads are not entirely 

 ruined by automobile drivers. Kalamazoo Ga- 

 zete. 



