The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1906-02-15
GREAT INTEREST
IN GOOD ROADS
MANY DELEGATES FROM TOWNS IN THREE
COUNTIES ATTENDING CONVENTION.
Representative CITIZENS MEET
cnflil IlIYc rpnM lyprpIc npaInpc ANN
GOOD TALKS FROM EXPERTS, ORATORS AND
MEN WHO make ROADS.

The first annual convention of the
Tri-county Good Roads association,
held at st. Cloud on Tuesday, was an
unqualified success. When President
G. A. Cooper called the convention to
order there were representatives present
from every section of the three
counties, and the number of delegates
was largely increased with the arrival
OF the noon trains. The attendance
from outside the city was larger than
was anticipated, and the men who
came here are the representative
citizens of their respective commune
ties. Foley sent over big bunch of
hustlers. Rice was represented by
leading citizens, Sank Centre came in
with some heavyweights, Melrose sent
her popular postmaster, and the other
towns along the lines were generously
represented. Maine Prairie delegates
drove up and returned in the evening.
Sank Rapids contributed many men,
bers, and Sherburne county had a
number of we'll known men here.
President Cooper called the conven-
ton to order and his remarks were
timely and eloquent. Mayor Benson
extended most hearty welcome and
turned over the keys of the city to the
convention, but concluded it was best
to keep charge of the lid, for future
reference.
A. G.. Cooper, who has the honor OF
making the first split log drag ever
seen in this country, gave most in
teresting talk about it, and told how it
should be used. His talk called out a
great many questions, and everybody
seemed to be interested In the drag
and agreed that it was good thing.
Mayor Coates of Sank Rapids told OF
the good work it has accomplished on
the streets of that village.
Afternoon Session.
Samuel s.. Chute was the first
speaker at the afternoon session. He
was introduced by President Cooper,
and the St. Cloud engineer spoke on
The Value of Thought in Road
Building" He stated that those who
built the country roads throughout the
country dealt specifically with the
problems before them. He said they
frequently purchased lumber for the
culverts and hauled off the rocks,
which if used in place of wood, would
make better road constructing
material.
Report of Committee.
After a short discussion following
Mr.. Chute's address, in which the re-
marks of the Stearns county engineer
were Endorsed, report was read by
Thomas Harbour, chairman of the
committee on constitution and by
laws. The report recommended that
the present name of the association be
retained, namely, the Tri-county
Good Roads association. The report
was adopted with slight amendments,
chief of which was that the members
of the state highway commission and
the state engineer be made honorary
members.
CooIey's Speech.
George w. Cooley, secretary of the
state highway commission, was the
next speaker. He proceeded to tell
the members of the association and
others present some bare facts regard
ing the roads of the state. 4 He made
the statement that there was less than
500 miles of roads in the state which
were good all the time. He drew some
rather unfavorable comparisons be-
tween the efforts of this state and
other states in the union as regards
enthusiasm over roadmaking and
road building. He showed that the
facilities of other communities,
especially the eastern states, for road
making, was not anywhere as good as
here, but that nevertheless, those
communities had better country roads
even a thousand per cent than were to
be found in Minnesota.
He was not at all mild in his criti-
cism of the statute labor tax law,
which he spoke of as relic of an
tiquity. He stated that it was ineffi-
cient because of the fact that the
farmers throughout the state could
pay their road taxes in labor, that the
supervision of the road work was in
hands of incompetent men, and that
favoritism and politics further spoiled