238 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



of collecting and disseminating information in the State of Illinois. 

 He cooperated with the officials of the State in building a sample road 

 upon the State fair grounds at Springfield. He also delivered three 

 addresses there upon the general subject of good roads. 



Mr. Gross distributed among the farmers and business men of the 

 State over 200,000 circulars of information. He visited, by invita- 

 tion, 35 county and Congressional farmers' institutes and delivered 

 addresses on " The relation of good roads to farm life," " How to build 

 good roads and the cost thereof," and "Good roads viewed from the 

 farmer's standpoint." 



He made a special feature of State-aid legislation, and 31 out of the 

 35 institutes visited passed resolutions strongly indorsing such legis- 

 lation as would provide for the equitable distribution between the 

 State, counties, and townships of the cost of permanent roads. At the 

 request of the legislative committee of the State Farmers' Institute, 

 held at Winchester, 111. , on October 30, Mr. Gross prepared and pre- 

 sented to the legislature a bill that was known as the ' ' Curtis bill. " 



The result of this work in Illinois aroused a deep and widespread 

 interest in the subject of good roads, and this matter is now a leading 

 topic of discussion by the press throughout the entire State. Public 

 sentiment in Illinois in favor of better roads is rapidly crystallizing. 



WESTERN DIVISION. 



Mr. James W. Abbott, of Denver, Colo. , was appointed special agent 

 and road expert August 18, 1900, to take charge of the Rocky Moun- 

 tain and Pacific Coast division. During his thirty years' service as a 

 civil and mining engineer, Mr. Abbott has had much practical experi- 

 ence with the problems of road location and construction, but in order 

 that he might be able to do the best work as a special agent he gave 

 up his mining work, and has since devoted himself exclusively to 

 the study of the road question and to practical work for the better- 

 ment of the highways in the large territory assigned to him. 



He has had extensive correspondence with the various road com- 

 missions of the several States and of the Dominion of Canada, the 

 directors of agricultural experiment stations, and many others. He 

 has, by personal interviews and private letters, brought the subject 

 of road improvement to the attention of governors and other State 

 officials, the editors of leading newspapers, professors in institutions 

 of learning, presidents and managers of railroads, prominent civil and 

 mining engineers, members of the legislatures, boards of county com- 

 missioners, road supervisors, the heads of leading industries, manu- 

 facturers of road machinery, besides a large number of influential 

 private citizens. 



He attended and participated in the work of four very important 

 conventions, at two of which he read papers. He has written several 

 articles for publication in leading newspapers, and numerous inter- 

 views have been published giving accounts of his movements and 

 work. He spent some time in consultation with the road committees 

 of the Colorado legislature and assisted in framing a carefully pre- 

 pared road law. He visited many places in Colorado, Utah, and 

 California, and gave advice where it was desired regarding specific 

 or general road improvement. Mr. Abbott visited, practically at his 

 own expense, this Office and the highway departments of New York, 

 Massachusetts, and California. In all he has traveled during the year 

 over 12,000 miles. 





