The log cabin Democrat., 1906-08-09
SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD ROADS
Hon P. Fl. Prince Would Utilize
 Convict Labor.
Former County Judge and Representative Suggests Means for Improvement
 of Public Highways.
Editor Log Cabin Democrat:

Editor Log Cabin Democrat;
 If you will look in the Sundays S Gazette, you will see on the 7th page q believe, ) an article by me on good roads, and in case, you should copy it in the CABIN, it will not injure me and l am sure do your paper no harm, as 1 have many friends in this County who will be glad to read it. That arti- cle is a practical solution of the road making. P. H. PRINCE.
 Conway, Ark. August 5, 1906.
 The article referred to by Judge Prince is reprinted below:
 To the Editor of the Gazette:
 I have noticed from time to time great deal being said through the Gazette and other papers about good roads, and am struck with the fact that no practical remedy is ever offered. This talk more or less has been going on for twenty five years, about good roads.
 Now, there was road law pass ed by the legislature of Arkansas in 1858; and when l was in the legislature in 1897, l got up and had another road passed, known as the Prince road law. And what amused me more than anything else, when l was trying to get this law through the legislature, near ly every one of that body wanted to tack on an amendment, and l told them no; to get up law and have 1t passed, if they could; that this law I had gotten up, and 1t should go through and be law as I had gotten it up, otherwise would kill 1t.
 Now, since that law was passed, MT. Cotton, in 1899, had another law passed called the Cotton law, which is the Prince law with an amendment making the political townships each road district, al lowing the road overseers to be elected by the voters of the town ships and requiring the road taxes for each township to be collected by the collector and spent on the roads in the respective townships, and this amendment, in my opin- ion, injured the law. But MT. Cotton was kind enough to make his law stand alone, by saying that it should not amend or repeal any other law.
 The Prince road law has been on the books since 1897, and the roads wherever it has been enforc- ed have been greatly improved. It is the law here in Faulkner county, and the roads have steadi- ly improved. The only trouble IS that the law is not enforced to the letter but as the people understand, it is enforced better from year to year.
 There can be great deal more done for good roads. We need some more legislation, if it is only sane and practical. A little com mon sense mixed with honesty will put roads after time i'll fine fix throughout the state.
 You have heard for the last thlr- ty years a great deal said about convict labor, and all the time these convicts have been contract ed and worked, so as to benefit the state very little. Let us pass a law for all time to come that will settle this convict labor question, by working the convicts on the roads of the state. But now comes the rub; how are you going to work them? You must divide them up and work them in the different counties throughout the state-put a squad in each county, there to stay and help work the roads of that county; then put the county convicts of that county with this squad of state convicts and make them also work the roads. It will only take so many guards to guard them, after once having prepared in each county to take care ot the convicts therein. Then lay out two roads running through the center of the county, one from cast to west and one from north to south, and let the law make these two roads state roads, and require them to be worked and kept up by this squad of state convlcts, with the help of the county con victs, and inside of five years these roads will be graded and macada- mixed and in every way hrst-class roads. Then at the same time let the counties levy and collect the road taxes, as they are now doing, and have the road hands in the