New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-11-07
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Agricultural Department VIII,
Soon Give Out It's knowledge
on That Subject.
CONVICT LABOR FAVORED
In Preparation of Material For Mac
adamizlngg---Railroad Companies
Would Assist, .
CONVICT LABOR FAVORED

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1.-THE agricul
tural department. is about to- issue
elaborate information on the subject Of
''good roads, which congress has di
rected the department. to investigate
The publication will embrace the entire
proceedings of the National Road con
ference, held at Asbury Park, N. j.,
July 5 and last, at which conference
every shade and opinion on improving
roads was presented Mr.. Roy Stone
the special agent and road engineer Of
the department will also include 9
number of addresses Oh the road CUES
ton. He makes no report, so that those
addresses practically constitute re-
port. Mr. Stone says, among other
things:
How Can 1t BE Done.
''The main question is, how can a
people having no surplus capital, build
good roads? For an answer we must &C
where they have done it successfully,
and study the methods. First, we
must study all the economies possible
in construction. Second, we must find
out all the parties to be benefited and
see that each bears his proper share of
the cost, whether or not he belongs to
the immediate locality, or even to the
present generation Of men; third, we
must look into local questions of road
materials and transportation, and into
all late improvements in road nipple
ments and machinery.
The First Practical Step.
But who is to do all this? And that
brings us to the first practical step in
general road improvement, namely,
that every state should have a perma.
nent commission composed of citizens
of the highest character to undertake
this investigation, and recommend the
necessary measures when adopted, and
to secure any possible improvement in
them. The next step is to make the
best possible convict labor in road
building. My own impression is that
state prison convicts will be best en-
ployed in the preparation of road ma
terials in quarry camps or gravel pits.
where they can be guarded and Sc
Guided as easily as in prisons, and that
county prisoners and tramps should do
the grading and all other preparatory
work on the roads.
In regions where rock is plenty, by
using the best machinery for crushing
stone, and employing the convicts only
in quarrying and handling it, an
amount of material could be produced
sufficient to macadamize all the roads
in the state as fast as they could be
prepared, and in addition, to furnish
ballast for the railroads as considera-
ton for their giving reduced rates on
road materials.
Railroads Would Contribute.
Of their own motion, the railroads
are ready to contribute largely in this
way toward Improvement. In their
correspondence with the department of
agriculture Oh the subject, many have
proposed to make half rates or haul at
bare cost whenever a general advance
toward road improvement shall begin,
and the state commission would be in a
position to make better terms with
them than any private individual or
local authority, and better than we
could do Oh behalf Of the general gov.
eminent without the power to offer any
definite assistance on it's part in return.