MICHIGAN RCADS AND FORESTS 



Here is a Potent Factor in all Good Roads Work 



The Watson bottom Dumping Wagon will be found in the forefront of all road improve- 

 ment. There is no wagon built which can show an equal record in durability and strength. 



The points of superiority in Watson Wagons are so many that we cannot outline them in 

 this space. Send forour new catalog today. Investigate Watson Wagons when you are about to purchase any 

 dumping wagons, for theyare first in improved features and proven value. 



Watson Wagon Co., Canastota, N. Y. 



Michigan Road Makers' Association 



W. W. Todd, Jackson, President; P. T. Colgrove, Hastings, First Vice-P resident ; C. C. Rosenbury, Bay City, Second 

 Vice-President; E. N. Hines, Detroit, Secretary; E. B. Smith, Detroit, Treasurer. 



Board of Governors: Royal T. Taylor, Cheboygan; D. L. Case, Detroit; Frank F. Rogers, Lansing; W. W. 

 Trayes, Hancock. 



DIDN'T LIFT EARLE'S SCALP. 



Representative \Vhelan will have t<> return 

 to Shiawassee county without the scalp of 

 Highway Commissioner Earle dangling at his 

 Melt as a token of his prowess in legislative 

 battle. When he made his tight to take from 

 the committee on roads and bridges the bill 

 which abolishes the department, he could not 

 even get a roll call to ascertain just how many 

 friends be has in the house. It was a sorrow 

 ful occasion for Whelan. Ever since he ar- 

 rived in Lansing he has been telling what be 

 was going to do to Earle because of that road 

 in Vernon township, Shiawassee county, which 

 Whelan seems to think is not just what it 

 ought to be. but he bad to stand by and see 

 the bill killed without even a display of mourn- 

 ing by any of his colleagues. 



There was not even an oratorical combat. 

 Mr. Wheian was allowed to arise, wave his 

 arms, rock back and forth on his heels and 

 toes until be became tired, whereupon the 

 house voted ibuvn his motion and the deed was 

 done, and incidentally Mr. Whelan has learned 

 his lesson. 



Largely signed petitions protesting againsi 

 the passage of the Whelan bill were sent in 

 from Luce. Midland, Monroe, Wa-htenaw. 

 Mackinac, Van ISuren, liraneh, Mu-kegon. 

 Schoolcraft. Sanilac. Missaukee, Saginaw. St. 

 Clair. Presque Isle. Otsego. O.-coda. Osceola. 

 Gladwin, Houghton, Clinton. Emmet, Mont- 

 morency, Ottawa. Rosci minion. Shiawa 

 Ontonagon, Wexford. St. Joseph. Macomb, 

 Livingston, Montcalm and Xewaygo. 



OCEANA TO HAVE MORE GOOD ROADS 



George C. Myers. Claud E. Jones and II. !".. 

 Sunnier, county road commissioners of Oce- 

 ana. have recommended the raising of Sil.ooi: 

 for use by the commissioners during the en- 

 suing year, and that $2,000 per mile be n-ed 

 on the following roads: Weare township, one 

 mile north from Fry's corners, connecting with 

 stone road already built to Hart town line 

 between sections :;:.' and :>::. In Ferry, com- 

 mencing at northeast corner of section I'.). 

 thence running in a southeasterly direr! ion 

 to center of section 20, thence in an easterly 

 direction for balance of mile. One mile on 

 town line between the townships of Grant and 

 Shelby, same being on the north of sec- 

 tion five. 



WOULD LIMIT SIZE OF LOADS. 



At a big meeting of representative farmers 

 from all over Gratiot county, resolutions were 



pas.-ed asking Representative Chambers, of 

 that district, to introduce a bill into the Michi- 

 gan legislature regulating the size of loads to 

 be drawn upon the roads of the county to two 

 and one-half tons on a three-inch tire, three 

 and one-half tons, on a four-inch tire, and five 

 tons on a live-inch tire. A good many new 

 roads have been built in Gratiot county the 

 past year, and the above act, the farmers 

 think, would help to keep them in first-class 

 condition. T]ie meeting also went on record 

 as favoring the present system of road laws. 



HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER'S FIGURES. 

 A synopsis of the annual report of State 

 Ilighuay Commissioner Horatio S. Earle 

 shows: 



Receipts. 



From state appropriations 



liio.". For state reward $ 20,000 



For department expenses 10, (Kin 



I'.MXi Fur state reward 50,000 



For department expenses lu.otii: 



1907 Fur state reward loo.noo 



For department expenses 10,000 



I'.ios For state reward KiO.OOO 



For department expenses 10.00(1 



From automobile tax IS. (too 



Total receipts $:;>.( inn 



Expenditures (covering same period). 



Road institute.- .? I.Iiso 



Map making 1.200 



Publication of laws 500 



Kiennial reports li.onii 



Road pronn >tion 4.000 



Salaries Ms.oon 



Inspection :!.:.>iii) 



I'.Vidge and oilier work :.'. Odd 



Total $H;.<.I HI 



I'alance in expense fund i?11,!HO 



State reward appropriation $:>:.!(), ooi i 



Paid out ill rewards ::-!(). 750 



P.alance $ 73.250 



A BACKWARD STEP. 



A go,,d roads meeting, held in Ccrcsco, Cal- 

 hoim county, was largely attended and much 

 enthusiasm ua- manifested. 



Representative J. M. Hatch addressed (In- 

 gathering, as did Representative Whalen. of 

 Shiawassee county, the father of the latiion- 

 Whalen bill, the purpose of which is to do 

 away with the ol'lice of state higlu-, 



missiuner and abolish the state reward for 

 good roads now in vogue. Both gentlemen 

 are in favor of this bill and their addresses 

 were along that line. Resolutions were 

 adopted by the farmers favoring passage of 

 the Whalen bill and also the Bryant bill, 

 which provides for the repeal of the present 

 township system of road working and the re- 

 turn to the old pathmaster system. 



GOOD ROADS SAVING. 



Shall Uncle Sam help to build good roads 

 for the farmer? 



President-elect Taft says he favors selling 

 bonds to pay for internal improvements If 

 this policy prevails, good roads will be one 

 form such expenditures will take. 



The importance of good roads to the farmer 

 is suggested in the following considerations- 



I here are in the United States 2,150,000 

 miles of roads, of which only 150,000 miles 

 are improved roads. This is about seven per 

 cent. 



The average haul by the farmer in getting 

 his products to market is nine miles. It costs 

 1.8 cents more to haul a bushel of wheat that 

 nine miles than it does to send that same 

 bushel of wheat 3,1 00 miles, the distance from 

 New York to Liverpool. Or this wheat will 



' half across our continent for less than it 

 costs to carry it this starting journey of nine 

 miles. 



A load of 600 pounds requires two horses 



B hours to haul to market on an unimproved 

 road, while a load of 1.200 pounds can be 

 hauled by one horse in two hours the same 

 distance on an improved road. 



Figures collected by the department of agri- 

 en, tnre covering the crop year of 1905-1906 

 low that the crops hauled from the places 

 where they originated to the shipping points 

 -ling of barley, corn, cotton, flaxseed 

 hemp, hops, oats, beans, rice, tobacco, wheat 

 and wool, amounted to 85,487,000,000 pounds 

 Phis does not include the products of the 

 forests or mines, nor the fruits, nor truck- 

 garden produce. 



An e-timate made by the interstate com- 

 merce commission places the total amount of 

 products hauled at 250,000,000,000 pounds. 



On the basis of these figures improved roads 

 would result in a saving annually of about 



The question of the adoption of the count \- 

 road- system will be submitted in Clare count'v 

 on April .",. 



