HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 331 
so heavy that the farmers have been either unable or unwilling to bear 
it, so as to bring us in very good results. 
I say we have had a very beneficial jllustration and object lesson to 
the whole country, and to the whole world, for that matter; that when 
a State takes hold of this work and raises a general fund it is a meas- 
ure of relief to the agriculturists. You take notice of the fact that 
half of the population in the older States—at least in the northern 
States—is concentrated in cities, and a good deal more than half 
of the wealth, and under the prevailing system—that is, under the 
system that has prevailed up to very lately—all of that population of 
wealth is relieved from sharing in the burden of cost and improve- 
ment; but if you adopt a method of a general fund, of course they are 
peu in to the extent that the general fund furnishes a portion of 
the cost. 
The Crarrman. Pardon me for interrupting you, but is not this a 
line of thought more applicable to the consideration of the general 
road bill when we reach that? We want this morning to confine our- 
selves strictly to the appropriation of the public road increase; and to 
bring you back, perhaps, to what information the committee needs 
this morning, I will take this question in your item, entitled ‘‘ Experi- 
ments and object lessons in road building,” and ask what you propose 
to do under that new legislation. Do you propose to go into several 
States and build sample roads? 
Mr. Dover. No, sir; not to pay the cost of building. We respond 
to requests from different sections of the country to send men and 
machinery to aid, and we find that the aid which we give and which 
perhaps is not more than equal to 10 per cent of the cost of the road 
1s so highly appreciated that these requests are multiplying on us. 
Mr Beane You have been doing this work for some time? 
Mr. Dopex. Yes, sir; about three years. 
Mr. Scorr. What is the object of the new language in this para- 
raph? 
< The Cuatrman. The committee will notice in italics what we term 
‘*New legislation” —‘‘ Object lessons in road building;” the next is 
**Employment of experts.” 
Mr. CassincHam. What page is that on? 
The CHarrman. On page 27. The title of the paragraph is ‘‘ Public 
road inquiries.” 
Mr. Doper. Mr. Chairman, I have not noticed just how it was 
printed here. I suppose the words in italics are new words? 
The Cuartrman. Yes, sir; that is what we call ‘‘ new legislation.” 
Mr. Doner. It is not the thought or purpose of the Department to 
do anything different than what we have done, but simply to do more. 
We do not propose to build any road, but simply to give assistance, in 
the way I have partly stated, to those who are in a position to go for- 
ward with the work, but are in doubt as to how to proceed. We find 
there area good many people, a good many communities, that have got 
to the point of desiring to do something, and they have some means to 
do with, but they often are in doubt as to material to be used, and 
they send for us to advise them in that respect. We either send an 
expert to examine or request them to send samples of the different 
road-building material that is common in their section of the country. 
After ascertaining the most suitable for use we advise them accord- 
ingly, and advise them that, if they have sufficient money or labor and 
