MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



11 



ROAD BUILDERS WANTED. 



Many different localities throughout Michi- 

 gan are writing the State Highway Depart- 

 ment, asking for names and addresses of con- 

 tractors and practical road builders who can 

 and will enter into a contract, or will take 

 charge of and superintend the building of 

 state roads. All persons who desire to make 

 contracts, or wish to be employed as super- 

 intendents, should send their names and ad- 

 dresses to the State Highway Department, 

 Lansing, Mich. 



ALPENA COUNTY ROADS. 



S. W. Flanders, of Flanders, county road 

 commissioner of Alpena county, graded eigh- 

 teen miles of road last season. He hauled 

 1,200 yards of gravel, the average haul being 

 seven miles. He used five wagons while haul- 

 ing gravel. In grading he keeps two graders 

 at work. A ten-ton steam roller completes 

 the outfit. -Mr. Flanders did some excellent | 

 work on Alpena county roads last year, and 

 the good work will be kept up this year. He 

 realizes that the best way to spread the good 

 roads doctrine is to build good roads while 

 one is about it and his roads advertise them- 

 selves. 



REJECTS GOOD ROADS PROPOSITION. 



The board of supervisors of Delta county 

 has rejected the proposition to submit to a 

 vote of the electors of the county the ques- 

 tion of bonding the county for $75,000 for 

 n the county road system. 



OPPOSED TO GOOD ROADS. 



Former Representative Frank E. Osborne 

 created some excitement at the session of the 

 farmers' institute at Pavilion, Kalamazoo 

 county, when he insisted on being heard while 

 he denounced the action of the state employes 

 in traveling about on a mission of agitation 

 for the proposed county roads system. 



Deputy State Road Commissioner F. F. 

 Rogers had given his address on "Good 

 R"ads.' as he does at each institute in every 

 county, and at the close, when the discussion 

 bewail as to the proposal that Kalamazoo. 

 county adopt the scheme for county roads Mr. 

 Osborne began his attack. He severely took 

 to task the commissioner as an employe of 

 the state for attempting to influence the ac- 

 tion of the farmers on this question. He then 

 proceeded to express his disbelief in the value 

 of the good roads scheme. 



ment and opinion the township road and high- 

 way system is best suited to meet the needs 

 and requirements of this county. 



By a yea and nay vote, all voted yea except 

 Supervisor Beckton of Indtarrfields. 



CHEBOYGAN ASKS CHANGE. 



The board of supervisors of Cheboygan 

 county adopted the following at the January 

 meeting: 



Whereas, It is the opinion of this Board of 

 Supervisors that the County of Cheboygan 

 could be better served, and obtain better re- 

 sults from the county road system, if certain 

 changes were made in the existing laws so far 

 as it relates to the County of Cheboygan. 

 Therefore be it 



Resolved, By this Board of Supervisors in 

 regular session, that we request our State Sen- 

 ator and Representative in the State Legisla- 

 ture, to use all honorable means to have the 

 existing laws relating to the election of county 

 road commissioner repealed, so far as it relates 

 to said Cheboygan county, and to enact in lieu 

 thereof an act giving to the Board of Super- 

 visors the authority, at the first annual meet- 

 ing in October, after he passage of his act, to 

 elect one and not more than three such road 

 commissioners for the term of two years, and 

 each two years thereafter, with authority to fill 

 vacancies at any regular or special meetings 

 of said board. 



TUSCOLA SUPERVISORS "KNOCK" 

 GOOD ROADS. 



While the board of supervisors granted the 

 prayer of petitioners to submit the question 

 of the adoption of the County Road System at 

 the April election, it did so only because it 

 obliged under the law to do so. This 

 action was immediately followed by the adop- 

 tion of the following: 



Resolved, That it is the sense of this board 

 duly assembled that the subject matter in the 

 said petition prayed for is not for the best in 

 terests of Tuscola county and that the estab- 

 lishment of said good roads district in said pe- 

 titions asked for is unwise and will tend to un- 

 ju-;ly increase the expense of maintaining and 

 equipping the roads and highways of the coun- 

 ty to the taxpayers thereof, and that the ques- 

 tion of the adoption of the said proposition in 

 said petition prayed for ought, as a matter of 

 right, to be rejected at the polls. And be it 

 further 



Resolved, That we do hereby recommend 

 to the voters of county that in voting upon 

 said proposition at the forthcoming general 

 election in April. 19!). that they vote against 

 the acceptance and adoption of the same. And 

 be it further 



Resolved, By this board that in their judg- 



SAGINAW'S ROAD PLAN. 



The board of supervisors of Saginaw has put 

 the whole matter of the trunk line roads over 

 till the next session of the board, which will 

 be a special called in March. The joint com- 

 mittee on roads and bridges will now meet one 

 week prior to the special session of the board 

 and consider plans for bonding the county for 

 the $400,000 as specified. Meanwhile the legis- 

 lators will be requested to secure whatever 

 change in the law is necessary to carry out tne 

 plans of the board. 



MICHIGAN ROAD NOTES. 

 That the townships in paris of the state 

 having sandy soil like the greater part of Mus- 

 kegon county are wasting hundreds of dollars 

 every year in making temporary repairs on 

 sand roads' and that they might better leave 

 them pretty much alone until they are able to 

 built a better grade of road, is the statement 

 made to Muskegon township and county road 

 commissioners by Deputy State Commissioner 

 Frank F. Rogers. 



Cambria township, Hillsdale county, farm- 

 ers are dissatisfied with the county road sys- 

 tem and . want to return to the old-fogy 

 method. 



At a recent meeting of the Maple River 

 (Shiawassee county) Farmers' Club the 

 county system of highways was thoroughly 

 discussed, and the club will undoubtedly urge 

 its adoption in Shiawassee county. An able 

 paper on the subject was read by P. B. Rcyn- 

 Ids. In the past three years he has traveled 

 through most of the counties that have 

 adopted the new county road system, and 

 he is very loud in his praise of what is being 



Best Road Material 



OUR HOBBY. 



Crushed Granite and Gravel 



SCREENED TO SUIT. 



WRITE US. 



THE HENRY MERDIAN CO., 



43-44 Peninsular Bank Building, 

 Phone Main 6251 DETROIT. 



accomplished in various parts of the state 

 where the- system has been put into proper 

 working operations. 



Apparently the promoters have abandoned 

 the movement to have the adoption of the 

 county road system submitted to the voters 

 of Van Buren county at the April election. 

 The petitions were circulated in all the town- 

 ships last summer, and it was stated at that 

 time that enough signatures had been secured 

 to insure submission of the question. Noth- 

 ing was heard of the matter, however, at the 

 October session of the board of supervisors, 

 nor was anything said at the January session, 

 which is the last at which action can be taken 

 on the matter in time for a vote at the spring 

 election. 



The senate committee of the Michigan leg- 

 islature on roads and bridges is composed 

 of Senators Fox, Kreuger and Ward. The 

 house committee is as follows: Representa- 

 tives De Young, Giles, Baker, Kimmerling 

 and Johnson. 



The taxpayers of Hillsdale county will vote 

 at the April election on the adoption of the 

 county road system. 



The supervisors of Mecosta county have 

 reduced the number of county road commis- 

 sioners from three to one. The commissioner 

 will be elected by the taxpayers next April 

 and will serve for two years. Supervisor 

 Jenkin turned the tide in favor of one com- 

 missioner when he stated that Kent county 

 tried the three commissioners plan and found 

 that it cost them sixty cents for official serv- 

 ice for every forty cents' worth of work 

 done. The commissioner will receive $5 per 

 day, out of which he must pay his own ex- 

 penses. 



The advisability of the adoption of the coun- 

 ty roads system, which having been duly peti- 

 tioned for, and the petition submitted to the 

 board of supervisors will be voted upon in 

 Shiawassee county this spring, is a matter that 

 is very interesting to the farmers of the coun- 

 ty, and is discussed at nearly every gathering 

 where discussions are in order. It would 

 appear from the reports of the meetings that 

 the advocates of the system are largely in the 

 majority and that the county will vote favor- 

 ably on the plan. 



The Wayne county road commissioners have 

 sent to the state highway department the pro- 

 file and specifications for 1.3 miles of maca- 

 dam road on Woodward avenue, Detroit, from 

 the north end of the present pavement to the 

 state fair grounds. This is done to get the 

 approval of the state highway department and 

 enable to secure $1,000 a mile reward when the 

 road is completed. The road is to be 24 feet 

 wide over all, of which 16 feet will be tar mac- 

 adam, with a four-foot packed earth shoulder 

 on each side. 



The supervisors of Berrien county have re- 

 fused to submit the county road system propo- 

 sition to the tax-payers. 



