PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 199 



There is another item in the State taking hold of the roads. We 

 want to get those roads away from local influences. When there is a 

 dollar expended on those roads we want that dollar to show, and the 

 only way we can get away from local influence is to take it out of the 

 hands or partially out of the hands of those who meet their fellow 

 citizens and say, "Hello, Bill." or "Hello, Jack." and the man goes 

 out to fix up the road and the supervisor says. "Well, you have got 

 a couple of boys with teams; take them out on the road." That man 

 is spending the county's money. He ought to put in the full time 

 on the road. He ought to see that the county gets its money's worth. 

 It is to his interest to see that, but there are certain local influences that 

 tend to stop that. We want to get away, if we can. from these local 

 influences, and the farther we go the nearer we get to the State where 

 we will certainly get away from some of them. 



Again, the State, in constructing these roads, can employ good 

 engineers, can adopt a system of maintenance that perhaps the county 

 can not take up. perhaps for political reasons, or for other reasons, as 

 lack of funds. Some sort of scheme will be evolved, perhaps on the 

 European plan, of giving a man a section of road and let him care 

 for that. Not to give him too much road, but let him look after his 

 portion and see that it is kept up. Then the system of rewards that 

 they have in Europe might be a good thing, reward the man who does 

 the best work on a certain section of road. That would be an incentive 

 for a man to work a little harder. 



We have seen the failure in the State of the roads, from the use of 

 oil. Most people. I should say. in the State say that oil is a bad thing. 

 I don't condemn it. because I know how it has been used. I believe 

 to-day if it had proper application and proper attention after it had 

 been applied — and by proper attention I mean the strictest kind of 

 maintenance — the oiled road would make a good road and make a cheap 

 road. I have seen a dirt oiled road kept up in such shape that it was as 

 smooth as this floor. I have seen that same road, after the supervisor 

 went out of office and another man took it up. in a year and a half, 

 go to pieces so that it was no better than the ordinary rutty, muddy 

 road that we see so often. 



There is another question that comes in that makes me believe we 

 should take hold of this thing ; the city should pay its part, as they do 

 under the aid plan or as they would do under any state plan. I think 

 in the rural or country districts of the State we need to make the 

 conditions better. I sincerely and earnestly believe that we want to 

 retain the young man and the young woman on the farm, and if we 

 want to retain them there we have got to make something attractive 

 to them, and a road is a part of the scheme of giving them attraction, 

 and I believe with good roads that it will help in holding a great many 

 of the young people on the farm. I think this is a very, very important 

 factor. 



I have spoken to you of the maintenance of roads. I want you to 

 get that clearly in your mind. We have various sorts of roads, different 

 kinds of construction, but we have no system of maintenance. You 

 know that any piece of construction, no matter what it may be. if it 

 is a house it needs painting after a while, if it is any sort of work it 

 must be cared for. and with the road, above every other kind of con- 



