8 



MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



MICHIGAN 



ROADS AND FORESTS 



Official Paper of The Michigan Road Makers Association and 

 Michigan Forestry Association. 



70 Larned Street West, Detroit, Michigan. 



Entered as Second-class Matter April 27, 1907. at the Post Office at De- 

 troit, Michigan, under the Act of Congress of March J. 1879. 



Frank E. Carter Editor 



PUBLISHED EVERY MONTH 



BY 

 THE STATE REVIEW PUBLISHING CO- 



SUBSCRIPTION I ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, 

 PAYABLE: IN ADVANCE. 



GOOD ROADS IDEA GROWING. 



Never in the history of this country has 

 there been such widespread interest in the good 

 roads movement as there is at the present 

 time. Up to a comparatively few years ago 

 the only advocates of improved highways were 

 the bicyclists and the automobilists, but now 

 they are only a part of the many who are 

 asking for the betterment of the highways. 

 The farmers and other residents of the rural 

 districts, particularly in the middle Western 

 and Southern States, are showing most earnest 

 interest in plans for the improvement of the 

 roads in their neighborhoods. 



While it may be too much to say that the 

 lessons taught by the last two national good 

 roads conventions have been entirely re- 

 sponsible for this widespread attitude for bet- 

 ter roads it is generally admitted by the dele- 

 gates who attended the recent convention in 

 Cleveland that the influence of these big- meet- 

 ings has been the means of stimulating the 

 good roads interest to the important position 

 it occupies today in many parts of the country. 

 That this movement for better roads is a 

 national one, which is destined to increase, is 

 strikingly evinced by the eagerness of the busi- 

 ness men of St. Louis to have the third annual 

 national good roads convention held in their 

 city. The invitation presented at the recent 

 Cleveland convention by the St. Louis men 

 bore the indorsements of Gov. Hadley of Mis- 

 souri and Mayor Kriseman of St. Louis. Those 

 who extended the invitation showed in a con- 

 vincing manner the growing demand for bet- 

 ter road, not only in their state but through- 

 out the middle West, and St. Louis will there- 

 fore be the scene of the third annual national 

 good roads convention in the early part of 

 October, 1910. 



Plans have already been outlined to make 

 this convention more important than the two 

 preceding ones in the practical demonstrations 

 of road building. Realizing that endurance 

 combined with reasonable economy is the 

 present day problem for good roads in most 

 of the suburban and rural districts of the coun- 

 try, Logan Waller Page, director of the Unit- 

 ed States office of public roads, is preparing 

 to send several of his experts to St. Louis and 

 neighboring localities for the purpose of co- 

 operating with State and county engineers in 

 experimenting with improved methods of con- 

 struction. 



The object of this work on behalf of the 

 Government is to show that it is possible to 



build roads capable of withstanding heavy and 

 continue us traffic without the expenditure of 

 excessive sums of money, provided the work 

 is done by engineers of reasonable experience 

 in the methods cf road construction. 



Chairman George C. Diehl of the National 

 Good Roads Convention has outlined his pre- 

 liminary report of the recent convention. So 

 great has been the demand from highway com- 

 missioners, engineers and others interested in 

 the good roads movement from all parts of the 

 country that it has been decided to publish the 

 proceedings of the Cleveland convention, in- 

 cluding all of the speeches and discussions, 

 in convenient book form, similar to the method 

 adopted a year ago. 



The new publication, however, will be 

 embellished with more scientific material on 

 the subject of road construction, with illustra- 

 tions of different systems of roads, showing 

 the methods adopted for both municipal and 

 country uses. This report is now being com- 

 piled and will be issued within a short time. 



In compiling the list of delegates at the 

 Cleveland convention Mr. Diehl reported that 

 they represented twenty-four States and eighty- 

 nine cities. The Southern States were rep- 

 resented by Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Ar- 

 kansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma, while those 

 from the Western localities were Michigan, 

 Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, Minnesota and 

 Illinois. Some of the cities represented by 

 several delegates were St. Louis Denver, New 

 Orleans, Atlanta, Washington, D. C.; Wilming- 

 ton, Del., while the larger cities, such as Chi- 

 cago, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Philadelphia, New 

 York and Boston, each had a score or more 

 of delegates. 



NEW POLICY A GOOD ONE. 



The Michigan State Highway Department has 

 adopted a new policy with reference to the 

 building of state reward roads. Hereafter all 

 counties, in making up the estimates of appro- 

 priations for state reward roads, will be re- 

 quired by the state to include sufficient funds 

 to replace all wooden culverts with concrete 

 and place concrete floors on all bridges heavy 

 enough to carry them. 



Another important ruling which will have a 

 great deal, it is said, to do with the value of 

 the state system, is a new requirement of the 

 Highway Department that all roads in which 

 state rewards have been paid must be kept in 

 continual good repair in order to secure addi- 

 tional rewards for other roads. The cutting 

 of noxious weeds and brush along the road is 

 considered a part 'of the repairs imposed upon 

 the county ^authorities. 



The new requirements are regarded as a 

 wise move, because it will force county author- 

 ities throughout the state to keep their roads 

 in good condition after they are improved, or 

 forfeit further aid from the state. 



completed will extend from the city limits at 

 Goguac Lake, a mile south through Battle 

 Creek township. The township has raised a 

 fund of $300, the state award will be $500, the 

 farmers to be benefited by the road have con- 

 tributed $100, and Mr. Gibson is now on a still 

 hunt for $150 more, needed to bring the work 

 to a successful completion. 



Application has been made for the building 

 of this read, as has application for the building 

 of a considerable distance of good road, which 

 will commence at the quarter section corner on 

 sections 30 and 31, Emmett township, and run 

 due north along the section line, a distance of 

 one and one-fifth miles, where it will meet the 

 gravel hill on East Main street, Battle Creek. 



As announced some time ago, the Industrial 

 Association, which seems to have taken the 

 initiative in the good roads proposition in Cal- 

 houn county, had intended to have the good 

 roads question submitted to the voters at the 

 coming spring election. But these plans have 

 been ''knocked in the head" through the in- 

 sertion in the amendment to the good roads 

 bill by the last legislature of a little clause 

 which requires the good roads petitions to be 

 signed by ten per cent of the voters of the 

 district. Under the old law, the signatures of 

 but ten freeholders -on the good roads petitions 

 were sufficient to have the question submitted 

 under the new law 10 per cent of the voters 

 of the district must sign the petitions in order 

 to have the question presented. 



Application of the law in a city the size of 

 Battle Creek, according to Mr. Gibson, will 

 practically prevent the submission of the ques- 

 tion to a vote, for the reason that so much 

 time would be required to secure the signa- 

 tures of 10 per cent of the local voters on the 

 good roads petitions. "The only way to build 

 good roads now," says Mr. Gibson, who still 

 is talking good roads regardless of the joker 

 amendment, "is to either bond the county or 

 else build them under the state award system 

 and have the cities and the farmers bear the 

 expense. Battle Creek might as well come in 

 out of the rain and join in with the rest, for 

 our people here are being taxed some $4,000 a 

 year to build good roads in other counties. 

 We help other counties, but we are doing noth- 

 ing for ourselves along this line. The result is 

 that most any old county in the state has 

 more good roads than Calhoun." 



COUNTY SYSTEM NOT FOR CAL- 

 HOUN YET. 



Notwithstanding the little joker inserted in 

 the recent amendment to the good roads bill, 

 it has rather put a "crimp" in the plans re- 

 garding the good roads question in Calhoun 

 county. Secretary John I. Gibson, of the Bat- 

 tle Creek Industrial Association, good roads 

 enthusiast, is now out soliciting funds for the 

 building of a mile of good road, which when 



VALUE OF GOOD ROADS. 



The following may be estimated as values 

 coming to the people of any largely settled 

 county in return for good roads over and 

 above what values would be with unimproved 

 roads: 



Saving of repairs on 12,000 vehicles, 

 at $5 saving on each $ 60,000 



8,000 head horses and mules, at $2 each 



Profit made by each vehicle on good 

 roads over and above what would 

 have been made on bad roads, $10 

 each 120,000 



Annual value of enhancement in land 

 values 40,000 



Total $236,000 



