Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1913-10-16
Wants Convicts to
Work Public Roads

w Va N 0OA4~
Redfeld, Oct. 14.-At the opening of
the second annual meeting of the
South Dakota Good Roads association,
held in this city, Friday, President
Parmley explained that it was not the
plan to have long speeches or papers
but that it was the intention to make
the meeting a convention in which
all good roads advocates present were
invited, urged and expected to take
part.
In a ten minutes talk he reviewed
the work in the state during the past
year. In speaking of the legislation
accomplished through the efforts Of
the association he said that while it
was far from what was hoped and
worked for it was a long step for
ward, and urged greater endeavor. He
expressed the wish that strong men.
elected to the legislature who were
road enthusiasts, would study the
question in the light Of recent legis-
lation in the more progressive states
and formulate a law suiting South
Dakota conditions, founded upon the
most advanced and workable laws OF
other states. This he thought would
be much more satisfactory than to
| u q xyn cN-raIJaI INhhxyscfe 1OoIx;n,- =
such legislation.
Referring to the accomplishments
of the Good Roads Association during
the past year, he explained that thru
its working the law Of the preceding
session was amended SO as to make
it more simple and workable. 1.-THE
present motor vehicle law is proving
a success and justities the association
in its effort to obtain such a law. The
law was modelled after that of the
state of Iowa and already in the diff
ferent counties a fund of considerable
dimensions has been created from Ii.
cense fees, The criticisms, whatever
criticism there has been, has come
from two source-one, the man who
will in the next thousand years never
do a stroke of volunteer work on the
road and who begrudges the registra-
ton fee paid, although the same goes
directly to a fund for his benefit. The
other criticism, and the more numer.
Gus, is that the registration fee is not
large enough and that it should be
graduated according to value, age or
power of machine. These questions
were all threshed out in the legisla,
ture and the present law perhaps
comes nearer coinciding with the
views of all than any other possible
law. The law providing for a non.
salaried, nonpartisan highway com
mission was emaseulated SO that there
Is not very much to it other than an
enthusiastic, overworked highway con
mission that is creating public sent;
ment and doing great service for bet
ter methods and better roads without
money and without price. We want
ed state aid and a fund with which
the highway commission could &C
{ 'complish something similar to the
i work done in state-aid states but oul
goal was not reached. The machin,
! went into the ditch but the pennan'
still waves and the wheels go around
). The other machine was in the way ant
we couldn't pass it. I am not
phophet or the o Of a prophet but
! make this prediction. 1.-THE taxatio,
/ OF all property for highway purposes
i state aid and a highway commission
in fact as we'll as in name, will be a,
accomplished fact in South Dakota a
, well as in nearly every state in tn,
union within the next ten years"
We failed absolutely in getting
law providing for prison labor TO
, highways. While conyicts in othe,
states are building great roads an,
saving hundreds Of thousands OF dol
lars, U prisoners are inhaling tuber
) culosis germs and doing business a
B the old stand at SO cents per day
D making shirts in competition will
honest labor. You and l are still pay
] ing two to four dollars per day 70
men less skilled than these to work ii
our fields and on our highways a
) healthful employment and are evel
allowing them to boss the job in orde,
to keep them, and at the same tim,
we are boarding, housing, clothin,
J land we ought to be attempting t,
reform,) two hundred of our abb,
D bodied men, our wards, at an expens,
OF 80 cents per day and selling thei
labor for ss cents. There is not a.
automobile in Redfeld today that ca,
o go fast enough to keep o patien
81 listeners out Of the way of the sherii
Il you conducted your private busines
i IN the same way this state business /
d managed.
o These were some OF the things az
D complished and some which fell b
the way. ] g no reason for chang
o Of campaign. / am more than eve
convinced that South Dakota needs
0 recast Of her road and bridge law
and In addition to those now in fore
D we should have state aid, a workabl
o highway commission law and conyit