The Nevada County picayune., 1912-07-12

good rOa0S movement, as Wei aS III other lines of human endeavor. One of his most striking statements was that Oklahoma had been built by the audacious use ink, whereas that state does not possess a single natural advantage over Arkansas. His obser- vation that Arkansas is still in the "sharpened stick and poke berry juice stage" caused smiles.
 Senator Rogers stated that Benton county has 1000 miles of public road. The road tax annually amounts to about $20,000. The labor tax amounts to s15,OOO. or equivalent to that many dollars. Actual experience, he said, showed that dirt road could be kept in good repair for SC a mile per year and that therefore by using the drag system, the entire mileage of Benton county could be maintained for S6,0oO, leaving 5000 days labor for miscella- neous repairs. This would leave fund of s2O,000 a year for constructing new roads.
 At it's closing session, the conven- tion went into permanent organization by electing Senator Rogers president and giving him power to name an eX- ecutive committee to arrange details of the annual meeting to the good roads boosters, to be held at Monte Ne The date has not been fixed.
 In making the direct charge that .$7,000,000 of the money of the tax payers had been worse than squander- ed the past eight years and not sin gle mile of good road to show for the money, Senator Rogers drew consider able applause from the audience in this connection He pointed out that In the same time the new statehouse had been constructed and paid for out of levy of half a mill tax. He then continued: What if the admin istrative officers had squandered the statehouse fund and could not point out to you a pround and creditable structure to show for It. What would the people do? It is my opinion that they would rise up in their wrath and hang somebody. It is lamentable that S7000, 900 of the peoples money can be thrown away and public sentiment still lie dormant"
 The Benton county senator prom ised to work for more effective road legislation and at the same time warn ed the people that they must organize and appear before the legislature next winter prepared to enforce their just demands. He stated further that pub lie sentiment is just as essential to the building of good roads as it is to the enforcement of any other laws.
 "Coin" Harvey also spoke in favor of the better road legislation and fa- vored the purgine of the law-making body of all standpatters. Now that a policy of progress has been promul- gated at Baltimore, he believes it time for Arkansas to fall in line. by cutting loose from the conservatives.
 F. J. Hahn Pulaski county expert Tn road building, made one of the hits of the day in his straight-from-the shoulder practical talks. He land down the principle that the poor roads of Arkansas are due for the most part to poor execution of the road laws. He stood for the appointment of all road oyerseers by couny judges and condemned the use of free labor on the highways as a falure He advo- cated a highway engineer for each county and spoke in high praise of the well-crowned and drained dirt road Oiling and dragging were strongly urged and as an example of what oil ing will dc. the speaker called atten- tion to the modern pike roads of Se- bastian county. He closed with an appeal to the people to take more- per sonal interest in good roads.