The San Francisco call., 1897-05-30
MORE LABOR FOR
GOOD ROADS
The New Department Of
Highways Swings
Into Motion.
The Engineers Cling to the Plan
TOR a Grand System of
State Highways.
President Marsden Manson Is Dis.
gusted With the Late Legislature,
but Strong for the Future.

The Department OF Highways was or.
ganized last Tuesday and squared away
for an important two years career. It's
the Department OF Highways now instead
of the Bureau of Highways, as it was be-
fore.
Marsden Manson, the surviving mem
Der of the old commission, was elected
president, and when he was in town yes
terday he told something of the hopes,
plans and projects of the new com mission,
w. l.. Ashe, ]. 4. Price and himself
Mr.. Manson has no exalted opinion of
the benefits of Legislatures to the good
roads movement, and neither have other
road experts.
''They turned everything backward that
the com mission recommended" declared
MIR. Mansen yesterday. "We recon-
mended laws that would have produced a
systematic betterment of the roads at less
taxation than now and they created a
chaotic condition at increased coat. We
recommended systematization and ciassi-
heaiion, providing for State, county and
district highways. We recommended a
scheme of great State highways, planned
with reference to the general needs of the
State and its future development. and not
to the wants of particular towns. We
placed them where nature made them
proper, gave the general termini and out
lined their general alignment. The Legis-
lature provided that any county may petit
tion the Department of Highways to have
any piece of road in its borders declared
State highway, and if We refuse the
matter must be decided by an arbitrator.
A State highway should be State high
way and not wholly county road. The
Governor vetoed most of the other road
laws passed, for which I am not sorry.
''At the close of the session the Legisla-
ture passed the Clark district road law,
which was chaotic and idiotic measure,
and distinctly step backward in road
Improvement. 1t upsets the method Of
road administration throughout the coun-
ties and may put stop to road improve
ments until the courts can adjust the legal
com plications involved. In connection
with other laws it creates question as to
whether the County Supervisors or the
District Trustees provided for shall have
Jurisdiction. The Attorney-Generai has
recommended that the question be taken
to the courts, and it may result in having
to wait two years for much road improve
ment."
During the next two years the depart
m ent of highways will carry on the work
of the past two years in more extended
way, cilnging tenaciously to the purpose
of establishing grand system of State al
we'll as county and district highways, ex-
ploring every part Of the State for the
best and economical supplies of road ma
terials, keeping up the agitation for good
roads, holding public meetings, publish
ing road information, advising road
builders everywhere. and getting ready
batch Of road laws to risk on the next
Legislature.
During the present season Messrs. Price
and Ashe will travel through Central and
Northern California. giving special study
to the proposed main State highway, al
ready located in outline, locating their
etc, more definitely, with a
view to the future. Marsden Manson will
give this season ainly to Southern Cali
fornia, studying especially the occurrence,
mode of development, ETC., of
road materials in that part of the State.
Several bulletins relating to road matters
will depend on the Office of Public Printer.
The department will have the pioneer
work of the past two years to build on in
putting at the service OF the State the
most approved methods of highway con.
struction, as the law demands.