Weekly journal-miner. [volume] (Prescott, Ariz.) 1908-1929, 1913-04-02
(From Saturdays Daily)


the county for a system of roads,
and the request of the Chamber OF
Commerce to the Supervisors to
call an election for such purpose,
the report of T. G. Norris who re-
turned lately from Washington
where he attended the good roads
convention, is both timely and inter
esting. Mr.. Norris says:
l have recently returned from
attending the Second Federal Aid
Good Roads Convention held at
Washington, D. C., on the 9th and
9TH of this month.
1t affords me pleasure to report
that it was, in my opinion, one OF
1he most, if not the most, effective
road convention l ever attended
1t had a direct and definite purpose
and went about it. A Resolutions
Committee was appointed and set to
work. All resolutions offered in
the Convention were offered in sup
port of specific routes, either North
and South, or Ocean to Ocean
After full discussion, all these re-
solutions endorsing specific routes
were tabled, and a substitute adopt
ed, viz:
Whereas, in the development of
our country's Transporting appliances
for man and goods from place to
place, it has become almost the
universal will of the people of the
United States for better roads;
therefore, be it,
Resolved, that we recommend our
federal government to build and
maintain an interstate system of
highways connecting the capitals of
the various states, and with the
national capital"
To raise money for this purpose
another resolution was adopted, viz:
Resolved, that the tobacco tax
of 1879 be restored, and that the
revenue obtained by this tax be
used for the construction and main
tenance of said system of highways"
1t was argued that this would
provide sixty to eighty millions dol
lars a year, and would not even be
felt by tobacco users.
A highway department was en-
dorsed, viz:
Resolved that we advocate the
creation, wherever they do not now
exist, of effective state departments
of highways, in the various states,
and that a copy of this resolution
be sent to the governor of each
state"
These departments should have
charge of all state road construct
ION and maintenance, and their per
sonnet should be nonpartisan, and
probably serve without pay, en-
ploying on salaries only competent
engineers.
The Joint Congressional Commit
tee having charge of the road legis-
1ation in Congress invited the Con
vention to appoint a committee to
attend the meeting of the Congress-
ional Committee and render such
assistance as might be possible. For
this purpose, the Resolutions Com
mittee of the Convention was con
tinued and directed to confer with
the Congressional Committee when
required This invitation from the
Committee of Congress indicates
The true interest Congress is now
taking in the subject Many mem
bers of Congress addressed the con,
vention, all speaking in behalf o.
National road legislation.
The history of the growth o.
good road systems of many count.
ries was discussed with great full
ness by some of the best engineer:
of the United States, Canada and
France. States represented hat
their engineers present to discus!
the highway systems of the severa
States and the various degrees o.
progress made, all of which led e
the final adoption of the report @
the Resolutions Committee a:
above stated.
While in Washington, the Ariz
ona and New Mexico delegation:
conferred with the Director Of tht
Office of Good Roads. The our
pose was to obtain the appoirtrer
of government engineers T. max,
preliminary surveys and cost esti
mates of road work in 'hc severa
counties of the two States wher,
found necessary; also sIch othei