8 MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



>i:<xtion of the state lands in Wexford county county road system, which, it is said, may cause 



^ has been made in behalf of the state preliminary trouble, especially as the act provides for the 



AND F CjlvIlJ^ 1 iD '" "iTeriii); them for sale to the highest bidder," raising of taxes. There is, hmvi-vcr. some ques- 



savs County Treasurer Wheeler. "It would be tion as to what the courts will say regarding the 



Official Paper of Tlie MkUm Road Makers Association ami . . . , 



Michigan Forestry Association. a good thing for the county in several ways, word and some state officials believe the act will 



70 Lamed Street West, Detroit, Michigan. continued Mr. Wheeler, "if these lands could be stand. 



sold at once. There are about ten thousand If, however, the court should hold that the 



acres not yet being complete. To have these ten whole act applies only to such counties as have 



thousand acres put on the tax list, to have them adopted the county road system, as it reads, the 



Frank E. Carter ....................... Editor improved and to become of live value to the whole highway system of the state might be en- 



" county rather than to remain a dead weight, is dangered, it is said. 



PUBLISHED EVERY MONTH why it is desirable from the Wexford county 

 BY . point of view to have them sold as soon as pos- 



THE STATE REVIEW PUBLISHING CO., sible." County Treasurer Wheeler also agreed AFRICA PUTS US TO SHAME. 



with State Land Commissioner Huntley that it In bis onU; rtaining report on Uganda for the 



SUBSCRIPTION ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, would be best for the county and best for the ycar ^g m . Sr the governor, Sir H. Hesketh Bell, 

 PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. state to havc t i le sa ] e held in Cadillac rather than gives a good accoum o f the progress made with 



in Lansing. road construction in the protectorate. 



CONSERVATION AND COMMERCE. A great road connecting Lake victoria al]d 



The First National Conservation Congress ot MUgT WATCH NEW ROAD LAW Lake A , bert js partly constructc d and motors 



the United States will be held in the Auditorium ...^ ngw ^ , aw ^ c!iange d things so are already running over half its length. The 



of the Alaska- Yukon-Pacific Exposition, tie, ^^ ^ .^ now/ , sayg & prominent Isabc n a governor recor ds that whereas a year ago it took 



Washington, August 2, 27, 28, 1909. Arrange- ^^ farmerj .. big mistakes are being made j n hinl six days to traverse 104 miles of it, he did 



ments for the congress are being perfected by ^ rQad policy But . f wg Qn , y kep Qur hea( , s the same journcy rcccntlv bv motor in scvcl , 



the Washington Conservation Association, an ^ adapt Qur p , ans to {he nw way in g few houn . 



organization comprising several hundred prom- y ^ n jt wjn fae away ahead - of the old plan The , By thc construction of good metalled roads." 



ment men of the state. The Conservation Con- difficu , ty just now is that by the time the new observcs Sir H enry, "and the use of motor 



gress .promises to be the largest and most rep- highway comm i ss i one r, elected in April, gets into wagons, the distressing system of human por- 



resentative gathering of active conservationists office and sizes things up it - s so far a i ong into sum- te rage may soon become a thing of the past. The 



since the conference of governors at the White mef ^ wQrk stafted by hjm grading roads turns natives of Uganda win ceasc to act as bcasts 



House, Washington, when former President The- up ;( bjg ]ot Q{ grassy god _ Our township will of burdcn and wil , ])C in a position to Ulrn their 



odore Roosevelt launched the campaign for a haye tQ ggt tQ thg point of plowing in the fall attention to thc cultivation of the soil and thc 



more systematic and universal conservation of fof proposed grading the following spring development of their country's resources." 

 the natural resources of our country. and then be ready tQ do the work rfght without 



"How shall the conservation of our natural SQ much grassy sod 



resources be conducted so that business of the Much ta , k ^ been , ]eard a , )out the Gfant CONVICT ROAD-BUILDING. 



present day shall receive the greatest proper ben- township ^ award roa , buiu Qn the Dover ^ of ^.^ ^ ^ ^^^ . & ^ 



This is the question presented by = road ^ summer; says a M t.. Pleasant corre- ceiving considerable attention in a number of 



Washington Conservation Association, and the ^^ ^ has been al , eged ^ Ae b , ame js B ^ . & ^ before this 



congress of practica executive professional and du tQ qua]ity of graye , and some reflection has ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ Q{ ^ 



commercial men will be expected to answer , been cast Qn ^ associated with it But according bod w ^ f d whh r favor 



a manner satisfactory to the allied interests of (o good authorjty the condition of this mik of k ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ decided ^ 



the people The discussions will include the ^ road (his spHng requjring repajrs Js due to m ^ ^ ^ ^ 



subjects of Irrigation, Dry Farming Forestry, {wo facts Jn the firgt pkce the season , ast fal , co , istruction Thc first of tbese is ^ a 



Mining, Transportation, Good Roads, Pure Food, P ,,trpmpl^ Hrv Nn watpr fell tn nrovide for i r , c ^ 



,..,,. ., . ,. , w <is extremely dry. i\o wat^r r ]a number of men are imprisoned for short 



Public Morals and Health, and the Relation of .. n.,.-.,.! -o.. t t r -,a;,- r,vpr it was npr , 



cementing the gravel. .But tramc over it was per- terms and it is impracticable to teach them any- 

 Capital to Labor in the work of modern con- ,,.] F VP , V t p-im nvpr it stirred nn the dust u r i 



mltte a- Jivery team [ trade during such a brief period, even in those 



and the wind carried it away to the fields, leav- sta(es where trades arc taugln in the pen j tent j_ 



ing practically no lime to cement the gravel when aries ]t is much better to keep thcse men ; 



IMPORTED TREES AFFECTED. the rains did come. Hence in winter and spring act ; vei use f u l work than in idleness or engaged 



The discovery of a plant disease known as heavy loads readily cut through the loose un- on .m en t a i tasks which are manifestly set merely 



"European current rust" or "blister rust," in a cemented gravel. A second cause is that grading to k eep .them busy. 



number of white pine trees imported from Ger- matter for the deeper fills was extremely dry and Tbe second advantage of convict labor of this 

 many, which have been used for reforesting land did not settle till many months after when the sort - K tbat roads can be obtained in this way 

 in New York and a number of the New England heavy spring rains came. at a ] ow cost w hich otherwise would not be con- 

 states, was the subject of the conference at the strutted for some years. Thc work can be done 

 office of State Forest, Game and Fish Commis- PICKING FLAWS IN GOOD ROADS ACT. under competent inspectors, with authority to 

 sioner Whipple of New York State. Those pres- Now, it is claimed, the voluminous new state make such trials of new systems of construction 

 ent included forest experts from New York, New highway act has been found to contain a weak as the authorities who pay for the work con- 

 Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, spot. This was termed by the Michigan legisla- sider advisable. By following out this plan the 

 New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, as well as ture a codification of all highway acts of the experimental work will be entirely apart from 

 representatives of the national forest service, state, although the state has never had good sue- regular construction and can be conducted under 

 Prompt efforts will be made to eradicate the cess with that class of lawmaking. In manufac- the best of conditions for insuring a thoroughly 

 disease which has proved fatal to large tracts of turing it whole sections and acts pertaining to satisfactory test. There is a general objection to 

 forests in Europe, but which has never gained a this part of the state's activity were taken bodily the use of convicts on roads, due to the aversion 

 foothold in this country. for use in the new law. Among them was the of having them in the neighborhood of settled 



At the close of the conference, the following act in regard to counties which have adopted thc districts, but it has been observed that where 



statement was issued : county road system containing a provision that they are so employed this feeling of distrust soon 



"The trees affected, so far as reported, have no portion of the act should apply except to coun- wears away. The prisoners employed on such 



come from a single nursery in Germany, and as it ties which had voted to adopt that system. Un- work are generaly men serving short terms, who 



is known where the trees have been planted, it fortunately some one neglected to change the are aware that an effort to escape will result in 



should be comparatively easy to take care of the word "act" to "section" and now the law is said such serious consequences to themselves that it 



trouble, if properly attended to." to read that no portion of thc act shall apply to is much better for them to serve out their terms 



"My attention is called to the fact that an in- any except counties which have adopted the creditably. 



