The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1901-04-13

state, which most needed relief. This
has been the experience of hundreds
Of productive neighborhOOds for
years, and it will continue to be the
experience until there is a general
system of good roads connecting the
country districts with points on rail
rOnds.
1t may be assumed that the people
of Illinois are ready to begin the
work of road building, They have
begun it, but the results have not
been satisfactory because they did
not begin at the beginning. The
first steps must be taken in the leg
stature. The old laws of 50 years
standing must give place to laws
framed to meet present conditions
and the popular demand.
Two bills have been introduced in
the legislature to meet this demand.
These hard-road bills have been pre-
pared under the direction of agents
of the United States department of
agriculture. They provide for a state
engineer of roads to give advice and
suggestions on road drainage and
construction. The several townships
are to determine by a vote the gener-
al character, extent and location Of
hard roads to be built. Then the
state engineer of roads is to furnish
plans and see that the roads are
built-not loosely, as under the pres
cnt methods, but on approved sci
! -Asn- -V--- kFt,- a. --,I- No.,
built the state is to contribute ten
dollars per mile a year toward the
cost Of maintenance. The state, by
general taxation, is to pay, moreover,
one-half the cost of building the
roads.
The principle Of the bills is that
the people of any township shall
have the power to decide for or
against road improvements. If they
decide in favor of hard roads, then
the county and the state are to bear
each it's proportion of the expense of
construction, and the state n fair
proportion of the expense of main
tanning the roads. This is on the
plan followed in other states, the
contention being that as the roads
are used by an, and are for the bene-
fit of all, it is unfair to ask the peO-
pie Of a single township to bear the
full burden of road taxation. The
best point in the new bills is the pro-
vision as to competent direction in
road building and as to the respOn-
sibility for deciding upon the neces-
sity for good roads in any particu-
lar township.
With these new bills enacted into
law, it is estimated, from one-haIf to
twO-thirds Of the present road tax
can be dispensed with. 1t is on
tended that the question of material
In districts where there is no gravel or
stone is not so difficult Of settlement
as supposed. The north and south
railroads, which carry coal to mar
kets and send back empty trains, are
said to be willing TO make advan.
tageOus terms for the transportation
of stone and gravel southwark.
This would put the counties having
no road materials nearly on n level
with those that have. Among all the
measures introduced in the legisla-
ture, few are more important than
the Curtis hard-road bill.-Chicago
Inter Ocean.
Keeping Records Is Hard Work.
Keeping the record Of a large, pure
bred herd is very tedious exacting and
intricate. The value of pure-bred
breeding stock depends largely on the
integrity and authenticity of the rec
ord of the breeding. Intending buyers
of pure-bred bulls do not always APP