Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-02-07

Newly Appointed Highway Com
mission Issues Letter
to the People.
TELL WHAT THEY WILL DO
Work for General Advantage of All
Communities and Ask Official
Cooperation.

Edmund J. James and Joseph r. Full
kerson. the Illinois state highway com
mission, recently appointed under an
enactment OF the last legislature, today
made public a letter to- the people OF
the state in which they outline their
general policy and ask for the coopera
ton of county township and district
highway officers Their function they
state. if of u general nature. They are
not named To support propaganda for
any particular variety of roads nor to
favor any particular community. After
asserting an intention of laboTing for
the general advancement of road max
ing in Illinois the letter continues:
over 81 per cent of the actual high
way mileage of the state is earth road,
for aught we can see, will be for gen
erations to come the prevailing type
of roadway. 1t will be our effort, there
fore. TO make such a study of the CON
struction. care and improvement of
these roads as will yield valuable re-
suits for the benefit of every portion of
the state. keeping in mind the fact that
the Improvement of these roads bene
fits Immediately all classes of the com
munity and every part of the state
alike
Draw Up specifications.
''In some portions of the state the
local authorities are constructing gray
81 and macadam roads. We shall try to
offer to these sections of the state
such assistance in the way of advice
as We may be able. by drawing up
standard specifications. testing the
quality of road-building material and
finding deposits of material which may
be of use in such road construction In
the last mentioned task we have been
promised the aid of the state geological
survey. We shall thus hope to make |
some valuable contributions TO this
style of road building wherever local
authorities desire and local conditions
justify il.
Eve hope further to be of assistance |
to all departments of the state alike i'll |
furnishing on request. advice and spe |
cifications as 10 bridges. culverts. and /
other forms of structure necessary TIC |
highway maintenance We shall aim |
10 develop an engineering force OF |
such character and training as will put !
at the disposal of the poorest road dis
trict in the state the best possible eX-
pert advise as to all matters falling
within it's jurisdiction. So that upon
questions of grade. culvert and bridge
construction the roG masters of any
district or the highway commissioners
Of any township or the authorities OF
any county may obtain. upon request.
the best advice we can furnish.
Publish Statistics.
1.-The law makes it our duty to col
Iect and publish full statistics relating
to the highways OF the state. and
makes it the duty of local officials to
give us the necessary information up
on blanks furnished them for this pUr
pose. We make an urgent appeal,
therefore. to all road officials to assist
us in the performance of this portion
of our duty
1.-The law of the state relating to the
employment OF convict labor in our
state penitentiaries makes it the duty
of the boards of management of these
institutions 10 furnish 10 the highway
commission such quantities of broken
stone as it may call for-this stone to
be of a size and quality suitable for
use in highway construction The
state highway commission is authoriZ-
ed by law to distribute this stone
among those road districts of the state
asking for it free OF all charge to these
districts so far as the railways of the
state are willing 10 carry such stone in
return for similar stone TO be used by
them. The quantity of such stone