The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-09
BODYBUILDING SCHOOLS
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS IN
DERTAKEN TO TEACH PEOPLE.
Township, Village or Town Must Fur
Have Brought About the Reform.

States government has officially undertaken
to instruct the people in the matter of road
building. This is a fact, however, and the
work is now progressing rapidly. The first
experiments are being made at New Bruins
wick, n. j.. the seat of Rutgers College.
Some idea of the scope of the work in
tended is given in special letter from New
York to the Cincinnati Enquirer which con-
tains the following:
Not very many months ago there was
an appropriation put through Congress at
a rapid gait, the League of American
Wheelmen handling the prod pole. The
bicycle is the recognized forerunner of good
roads, and so its deVoteeS, whose number
needs seven figures, forced the good roads
appropriation through Congress and now
New Jersey is getting the benefit of it,
Thus far II seems to be a decided success
and the example of the people who secured
the trial of the new, idea for New Bruins.
wick has been emulated by a score or
others the country over, who have already
besought the. government authorities to
give them a little road building, too.
THE bill making the appropriation pro-
vided ostensibly that only in places where
what are known as the state experiment
show the people how to build roads 1t
seems, however, that the bill was rather
loosely constructed and so it happens that
any place that goes through the proper for
mula and unwinds sufficient yards of red
tape may learn all about building the right
sort of roads according to government
ideas. The experiments do not consist in
building the roads of an entire village or
town, but the men who have the matter in
charge select a section of what seems to
them the most convenient thoroughfare to
illustrate the ideas it is hoped to impress
upon b 1hat G t Oh t me bdin Of Seb
ways. While the bill making the appropria-
ton provides that the work shall be done
at government expense, there is a reserva-
ton in this regard which might be over
looked by the enthusiast until too late. 1t
is this: That the government shall furnish
crushers rollers and carts, but that the
township, village or town city shall fur
niSh the labor and material
There is nothing about this law that
savors of a steal of government funds 1t
is one of those few acts of Congress really
intended TO benefit the people rather than
the individual. AS a matter of fact, the
idea is not intended for the benefit of the
city at all. The promoters of the plan be-
lieved that the cities should surely be able
to take care of their own roads as we'll as
employ men who understand thoroughly
the art of building them. 1t is the ordinary
highway of suburban civilization at which
the bill is aimed. No reasonable person eX-
poets asphalt pavement in wilderness, but
there is nothing unreasonable in thinking
should be made WELL The complaint that
has gone forth is that the rural roadbuilder
is not an expert in the art and SO the gov.
know all about it to teach him the knoWl-
edge that he lacks.
ONLY FOR RURAL DISTRICTS.
with the aid that the government fur
nishes the bodybuilding experiment will
prove no additional expense to the rural
or semiurban communities where it is tried.
The material and the labor are usually the
cheapest clements in the matter of con-
structing roads 1t is the first-class imple-
ments needed to bring the highways to a
moderate degree of perfection that cost
money and make the taxpayers groan. In
the superatively rural community the
q generally made nv the citizens
themselves and their hired men This is
known as working out the highway tax.
Therefore, the community itself would re-
ceve no money in any event, but simply
the labor of the person taxed, or his repre-
sentative, at the rate of what is considered
a fair compensation for such tasks.
These facts were realized by the wheel
men who were behind the movement that is
now giving practical results. 1t is, they
claim, merely the diversion of labor from
work that has accomplished small good to
work that will accomplish great good They
hold that there is no necessity for the
deeply rutted and literally sluiced road that
one meets with SO often outside the village
and sometimes inside 1t is they say, like
the difference between a man who knows
how to sail q boat and one who does not
The one who does not is always making
trouble for himself. The one who does
has a very comfortable time of it.
There is a good roads department. of the
Department OF Agriculture. IT IS TINS por-
ton of the government which has the road
building matter in charge. Prof. T. b.
Voorhees, has charge of the New Jersey
State Experiment Station in New Bruins
wick. He was the first one to petition for
the building of a section of road by the
government The matter was placed IN
charge of E. B. Harrison, special agent
of the Good Roads Department, and he was
sent to New Brunswick TO lay the matter
before the city authorities New Bruns-
wick people are rather enterprlsing, though
their numbers are small, and so Mr.. Harrl-
sons visit resulted just Prof. voorhees,
has believed it would. College avenue, the
widest of New BrunsWickS thoroughfareS,
was selected as the place to try the expert
ment and that is where 1T Is going on TO-
day. The widest interest Is being taken by
not only the residents of New Brunswick,
but all the people who live in the nelghDor-
ing towns and villages. The boys or Rut-
gers College are also being instructed.
Farmers sons the most of them, the
knowledge they will gain will be of the
greatest use to them and may, and prob
ably will result in a far wider dfssemina-
ton of information of what good roads
really are than could be accomplished in
any other manner. New Brunswick in
fact is in one of the most thickly populated
sections of New Jersey, and, therefore,
this government experiment is bound to
produce sweeping results.
so far twenty-five eXpeflment stations
in the United States have apphed 10 be
considered as the scene of roadbuilding eX-
Deriments Secretary Wilson, of the United
States Department of Agriculture has the
matter under consideration and Will allot
the necessary time as soon as possible.