66 
THIRTEENTH REPORT. 
benefit of the doubt. Now, the difference between the cost of moving 
this 8 million tons of freight over the country highways in their present 
condition an average distance of 5 miles and the cost of moving it o\er 
the kind of roads we should have, represents a part of the money we 
hope to conserve when, even our main traveled highways become good. 
From the figures above given it is apparent that this cost could be 
cut, at least in' the middle. A saving of 10 cts. per ton mile for t his aver- 
age haul of 5 miles on 8 million tons of farm products would mean a 
saving of |4, 000, 000 annually to the people of Michigan. Possibly this is 
visionary, but it is hard to show flaws in the reasoning. 
However that may be 1 seldom indulge in such arguments, for I prefer 
to deal more specifically with what might be accomplished with the funds 
now available for road purposes in the state. 
The following table shows the township and county road taxes levied 
and collected in Michigan since 1901: 
YEAR. 
1901 
1902 
1908 
1904 
1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
Total 
TOWNSHIP TAX. 
$2,253,039 45 
2,402, 81G 29 
2,600,727 04 
2,937,219 GO 
2,976,077 47 
2,985,989 17 
3,091,647 59 
2,916,817 01 
3,014,844 94 
3,264,049 30 
$28,500,727 95 
COUNTY TAX. 
$166,441 76 
179,826 45 
239,031 58 
266,555 79 
285,963 80 
420,321 10 
421,307 07 
529,452 45 
741,868 05 
859,157 50 
TOTAL TAX. 
$2,419,481 21 
2,642,042 74 
2,839,758 62 
3,203,775 48 
3,262,041 27 
3,406,310 27 
3,512,954 66 
3,446,269 46 
3,756,212 99 
4,128,206 SO 
$4,109,925 55 $32,610,653 50 
The yearlv average is 1-10 of the above totals. 
These figures show an average highway tax of $3,261,065.35 for these 
10 years. The increase has been gradual, there being only two years 
when the lax was not higher than that of the preceding year. The total 
increase in 10 years is more than 70%. 
In 1907 statute labor for highway maintenance was abolished and all 
highway taxes in the state are now paid in cash. Even this change, re- 
duced the lax of 1908 less than 6% over the tax of 1907. 
But Michigan should not be satisfied with her progress in road better- 
ment. I believe that it is easily possible to gravel or macadamize all the 
leading highways in the state within the next two decades, with but 
slight increase in the present rate of taxation, were all the money used 
to the best advantage. The problem is not so much one of raising more 
taxes, as how best to use the money already at our disposal. 
Not more than one fifth of our 70,000 can be classed as main traveled 
roads. As heretofore shown we have less than 10,000 miles of rail- 
roads, including the interurban lines, which reach all of the cities and 
nearly all of the villages in the state. If to these we add 4,000 miles 
of highways, making a total of 14.000 miles, there can be no question 
