MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



CASE 



36 HORSE POWER 

 10-TON 



ROAD ROLLER 



1 



Time price, with Simple 

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$2,2OO 



With Compound Cylinder, 

 $2,300 



Ten per cent discount 

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The Only Spring-Mounted Road Roller Built 



Guaranteed to do anything 

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We Sell the Well-Known Line of Troy Dump Wagons and Dump Boxes. 

 Address Road Machinery Dep't 



J. I. CASE THRESHING MACHINE CO., Racine, Wisconsin, U. S. A. 



(INCORPORATED) Send for our Contractors' General Purpose Engine and Municipal Tractor Catalog 14 



and then with our larger ability go away ahead 

 and beyond it. 



In 1893 the county road system was pro- 

 vided fcr Michigan, and my county, Chippewa, 

 was one of the first to adopt it. We have 

 never regretted doing so for it opened up 

 new farming sections equal to any in the 

 state, and furnished means of transporting 

 the crops raised thereon to railroad stations 

 and to beat wharves, thus benefitting farm- 

 ers, dealers, shippers, laborers and taxpayers 

 generally. 



In 1901 the legislature of Michigan auth- 

 orized an investigation of the good roads 

 laws of other states and of materials and 

 conditions in Michigan fcr building such 

 roads. That committee in December, 1902, 

 met for the last time and made several rec- 

 ommendations, as follows: 



1st. "A state highway department should 

 be created for the purpose of education in 

 the building and repairing of roads." The 

 legislature of 1903 created such a department, 

 but as that session failed to submit a consti- 

 tutional amendment to the people, providing 

 for an appropriation the department was de- 

 clared to be unconstitutional and the state 

 highway commissioner, Hon. Horatio S. 

 Earle, served out his term in that capacity 

 honorably, without salary, and paid his own 

 expenses. 



2nd. The committee recommended "the 

 establishing of ccunty road institutes." These 

 have since been established and have been 

 of great worth to the whole state. 



.'ird. "That townships should have the 

 right to build good roads and to raise the mo- 

 ney for building them without asking the 

 state legislature for the privilege." This has 

 been granted by the township bonding act. 



4th. "That the constitution should be 

 amended so as to permit the paying of state 

 reward to townships, districts and counties 

 which should build good roads up to a stand- 

 ard to be fixed by law." The legislature of 



1905 submitted such an amendment to the 

 voters of the state and it was ad pled by a 

 majority vote of 14:i.:_MM. one of the greatest 



P. T. COLGROVE, 



President Michigan State Good Roads 

 Association. 



majorities ever recorded upnn any proposition 

 in Michigan. 



After this vote the same -cssion of the 

 legislature passed the >talc reward mad law 



ch I 



;:: 



;tat 



i 



which originated in Michigan, and which I 

 believe to be the most equitable state aid 

 law in existence .today. Since this law- 

 passed, Michigan has beaten every other state 

 and country on the amount of good road bui 

 Kir the small amount of money expend 

 How was this done? Because we have t_ 

 best law, the material and the human stamin; 

 which made it possible. 



At least one thousand miles cf good roai 

 have been built in the state within the last 

 five years, five hundred and twenty-two mile- 

 of vyhich has been constructed under the <li 

 rection of the state highway department, 

 all (if this wth parsimonious appropriation- 

 such as other states would consider hardl) 

 sufficient to run a state highway department 

 alone, without paying a dollar for state aid 



I believe Michgan should economi/.r in 

 parunents which have no other object in view 

 than to give political positions to the faithful 

 but there shi uld be no scrimping in the 

 propriaticns for state rewards reads. 



Another thought which comes to me 

 forcibly is that we can pass every other n 

 in anything we attempt to do provided th.. 

 is a necessity ahead and a will behind it. Thti- 

 if the states of Washington, Colorado, Vir 

 ginia. Maryland, Florida and ethers, can makt 

 a success in utilizing convict labor to improvt 

 their reads, Michigan can do still better. Ii 

 is not for me to say just how this shall h( 

 accomplished, but the next legislature shoul' 

 make a thorough investigation into the matter 

 and if it be found that it has proven wise, ben 

 eficial and profitable to prisoners and peopli 

 alike, then some active steps should be taken 



I suggest that in order to ascertain whetlm 

 or not the people of the state are in favor ol 

 working convicts on the roads, the next legis- 

 lature give the voters of the state an oppor- 

 tunity of registering their opinion at the Apn 

 election in 1911, and if a goodly majority ol 

 them vote "Yes," then that same legislatun 



hful 

 r 



